FBI and NYPD Arrest New Jersey Man Who Built Molotov Cocktails to Firebomb Palestinian Activist's Home

Federal and local law enforcement agencies disrupted a violent plot to firebomb the home of prominent Palestinian-American activist Nerdeen Kiswani on Thursday, arresting a 26-year-old New Jersey man as he assembled Molotov cocktails intended for the attack, officials announced Friday.

Alexander Heifler, of Hoboken, New Jersey, was taken into custody by FBI agents and officers from the New York City Police Department's counterterrorism bureau after a weeks-long undercover investigation that began when detectives identified him online making threats against Kiswani, a well-known organizer of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in New York City. According to federal prosecutors, Heifler was arrested Thursday evening at his Hoboken apartment while in the process of building the incendiary devices, which investigators said he planned to throw at Kiswani's residence.

Kiswani is the co-founder of Within Our Lifetime, an organization that has organized some of the largest pro-Palestinian protests in the United States since the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza. She has become one of the most recognizable faces of the movement in New York, frequently leading marches that have drawn tens of thousands of participants. In a statement posted to social media Friday, Kiswani said law enforcement had informed her of the plot and that she was safe. 'I am deeply grateful to the officers who took this threat seriously,' she wrote. 'This is what happens when you speak up.'

The NYPD's investigation began weeks ago after officers in the department's Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism unit identified Heifler online discussing his intentions. An undercover detective infiltrated the group chat where Heifler had been communicating, monitoring his messages over several weeks as he detailed his plan and obtained Kiswani's home address. Prosecutors allege that on March 23, Heifler texted that 'Thursday night would be best to bake' — a coded reference to preparing the incendiary devices. Investigators also say Heifler conducted physical surveillance of Kiswani's home in the days before his arrest.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch praised the department's counterterrorism capabilities in a statement, saying the arrest demonstrated precisely how 'our intelligence and counterterrorism operation is designed to work.' She said the department would not tolerate threats of political violence against any New Yorker regardless of their views. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force assisted in the investigation and prosecution. Heifler faces two federal counts of unlawfully manufacturing and possessing destructive devices, each carrying a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. He was denied bail pending a detention hearing.

The case has drawn attention from civil liberties advocates and political observers who note the rising level of political violence and threats in the United States. Within Our Lifetime condemned what it called a climate of intimidation against Palestinian activists and called on other advocacy groups across the political spectrum to denounce political violence. New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the disrupted plot 'deeply disturbing' and praised law enforcement for preventing what she described as a potentially deadly attack. The arrest comes as tensions over U.S. military operations in the Middle East have intensified demonstrations in cities across the country, including in New York where Kiswani's organization has been particularly active in recent weeks.