Federal authorities have identified the alleged anti-ICE activist accused of attempting to set fire to 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan early Monday and shooting with an airsoft rifle during the attack.
James Barnicle, deputy director of the FBI’s New York office, said the suspect is Andrew Arrabaca, 43, a former U.S. Army soldier who served between 2001 and 2005. According to the official, the man acted with the intention of causing a fatal attack.
“He said his target was the building and that he didn’t care about hurting or killing people entering or leaving it, whether they were federal employees or civilians,” Barnicle stated during a press conference Monday afternoon.
According to authorities, Arrabaca traveled from Poughkeepsie and parked his vehicle in Harlem on Sunday. He then spent the night near the Holland Tunnel and arrived at immigration court around 5:00 a.m. Monday.
Around 8:30 a.m., he allegedly poured gasoline on the street and set it on fire using a pyrotechnic device. Once the fire started, he pulled out what authorities described as an airsoft rifle and fired between five and seven shots.
Federal agents and a building security guard managed to quickly subdue him, handcuffed him and took him inside the building.
Authorities reported that the suspect was carrying several fireworks, as well as two axes, a hammer, a machete and three knives.
“In his cart he had material with anti-ICE messages. While he was arrested he shouted insults against ICE. It is evident that he is an anti-American and anti-government extremist. We know this from what he said before and after his arrest, as well as from the actions he attempted to carry out today,” Barnicle said.
Asked by amNewYork if the FBI previously knew about Arrabaca or if he had participated in protests against ICE, Barnicle responded that federal authorities do not monitor protesters.
For her part, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch noted that the NYPD is collaborating with the federal investigation and that, as of the time of the press conference, no formal charges had yet been filed.
However, police sources maintain that the suspect’s objective was to destroy the building.
After the arrest, authorities recovered a small cart with the phrase “ICE off our streets.”
The attack left three people injured, one of whom was taken to a hospital.
Barnicle also indicated that a naturalization ceremony scheduled for that day had to be canceled and that one of the civilian victims was an immigrant who was attending a hearing related to his immigration status.
“It’s very unfortunate and, at the same time, quite ironic,” he said.
For more than a year, 26 Federal Plaza has become a symbol of ICE activity in New York City, after masked agents arrested immigrants — including mothers and fathers — as they emerged from mandatory immigration hearings, even when many had no criminal records.
As public outrage grew, the site also became a frequent point of protests.
“We are always on alert because there are constantly demonstrations here. When I saw the fire I thought of 9/11,” an employee at a nearby parking lot told amNewYork. “The police arrived very quickly.”
Throughout the day, FBI agents remained at the scene collecting evidence, including the alleged airsoft rifle used during the attack.
