Army Veteran Arrested After Setting Fire and Firing Pellets at NYC Building Housing ICE

A former U.S. Army soldier was arrested Monday after authorities say he set a gasoline fire and fired pellets at 26 Federal Plaza, the Lower Manhattan office building that houses immigration enforcement operations, in what the FBI is investigating as an anti-government attack.

Andrew Arrabaca, 43, arrived outside the building shortly after 8:20 a.m. wearing a military-style helmet and hauling a cart affixed with a sign reading "ICE Off Our Streets," according to investigators. He poured gasoline onto the ground, ignited it with a lighter and a large firework, then pulled out an airsoft rifle — a type of BB gun — and fired five to seven pellets toward the building, prosecutors said.

A federal security officer tackled and detained Arrabaca at the scene before anyone was injured. Investigators said he was carrying six incendiary devices and other destructive items and that he made "anti-government and anti-American statements" as he was taken into custody. He told investigators he did not care if he killed people, according to a law enforcement account of the arrest.

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force took over the investigation, and FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the bureau was examining the incident. The building at 26 Federal Plaza has become a flashpoint in New York, housing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office and immigration courts that have drawn frequent protests amid the Trump administration's expanded deportation campaign.

The attack is the latest in a string of violent incidents targeting immigration facilities and personnel around the country, a trend that federal officials have warned is escalating as the enforcement drive intensifies. Authorities have cautioned against politically motivated violence from all sides even as the debate over ICE tactics has grown increasingly heated.

Arrabaca faces federal charges connected to the assault on the building. Prosecutors did not immediately detail a possible motive beyond the anti-ICE materials he carried, and it was not clear whether he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. Officials said the swift intervention by the security officer likely prevented a far more dangerous outcome at one of the busiest federal complexes in the country.