An improvised device thrown at Jan. 6 rioter Jake Lang at an anti-Muslim protest he organized outside Gracie Mansion was an actual explosive that could have caused carnage, police said Sunday. Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, were arrested in connection with the device at Saturday’s chaotic rally, which saw clashes between Lang and counterprotesters outside the Upper East Side mayoral residence of Mayor Mamdani. The 19-year-old’s last name has also been reported as Nikk. “The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or a smoke bomb,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a social media post Sunday. “It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.” Tisch added that investigators are continuing to analyze a second device. A third “suspicious device” was found in a Hyundai tied to one or both suspects parked on East End Ave. between 81st and 82nd Sts., the NYPD posted on X. Police have blocked off the surrounding area and are “conducting limited evacuations of buildings while the Bomb Squad assesses and removes the device,” according to the post. The FBI is currently investigating the case as a potential act of terrorism, with the teens facing federal charges, law enforcement sources said. Balat lives in Newton, Pa., while Kayumi lives in nearby Langhorne, according to police sources. Barry Williams/ New York Daily NewsNYPD Bomb Squad officers investigate at least one suspected explosive device near Gracie Mansion on Saturday. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News) In his own social media post Sunday, Mamdani blasted Lang’s protest, calling it “rooted in bigotry and racism,” but said the counterprotesters’ actions were even worse. “Such hate has no place in New York City,” he said of Lang’s rally. “It is an affront to our city’s values and the unity that defines who we are. What followed was even more disturbing. Violence at a protest is never acceptable. The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.” Mamdani went on to thank “the brave men and women of the NYPD who acted quickly to keep New Yorkers safe.” Lang, an alleged white supremacist and far-right provocateur, was awaiting trial for allegedly attacking cops with a baseball bat and shield during the Jan. 6, 2021 riots when President Trump pardoned him. He recently organized a pro-ICE counterprotest in Minneapolis. He showed up walking a goat on a rope to his anti-Muslim protest in front of Gracie Mansion, which was called “Americans Against Islamification” and advertised with a poster portraying soldiers in armor evoking the Crusades — a series of wars started by Christianity to wrest control of Jerusalem from Muslim control a millennia ago. Barry Williams/ New York Daily NewsJake Lang walks with a goat to a secured protest area near Gracie Mansion on Saturday. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News) His 20 or so protesters drew a counterprotest, and chaos ensued. Balat threw a homemade device at about 12:38 p.m. at Lang and his group at the corner of E. 87th St. and East End Ave., and it gave off flames and smoke but didn’t explode, Tisch told reporters Saturday. Balat then ran south on East End Ave. toward E. 86th St. and got a second device from Kayumi, lit it and started running with it before dropping it on the avenue’s west side near E. 86th St., Tisch said. Cellphone video circulating on social media appeared to corroborate Tisch’s description of the events. In one video, a mostly unseen man runs up from behind the person filming and lobs a smoking object into a crowd about a block away. In another video, a man in a gray sweatshirt matching the person in the first video can be seen jogging toward someone in a green camo jacket, who is casually smoking a cigarette as he hands over an object the man in gray lights up and runs with before quickly getting tackled by police officers. The man in gray appears to shout something as he is being held on the ground and handcuffed. Police arrested both at the scene. Barry Williams/ New York Daily NewsA man is arrested after a device was thrown during a rally organized by right-wing activist Jake Lang and his supporters near Gracie Mansion on Saturday. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News) Tisch on Saturday described the devices as jars “a bit smaller than a football,” wrapped in black tape and packed with nuts, bolts and screws, along with a “hobby fuse” — typically used to ignite fireworks or model rockets. A police source said at least one of the devices was composed of a plastic bottle filled with explosive materials inside a jug filled with metals, such as bolts. The two men remained at the 26th Precinct stationhouse Sunday as members of the NYPD and FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force investigated. Charges against them were pending. The suspects told investigators their actions were because Lang “hates Islam,” a police source said. Police also arrested Ian McGinnis, 21, of Philadelphia, charging him with reckless endangerment, assault and unlawful possession of noxious matter and accusing him of spraying pepper spray at counterprotesters. ...read more read less