1 Arrest, 1 Charge, and an Incendiary Device at the Building ICE Calls Home

One person is in federal custody and one arson charge has been filed after an incendiary device detonated outside 26 Federal Plaza, the Lower Manhattan complex that houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices, an immigration court, and the FBI's own New York field office, on the morning of Monday, July 20, 2026 ²³⁴. The suspect, identified by the FBI as Army veteran Andrew Arrabaca, 43, is accused of setting off commercial-grade fireworks, starting a fire with an accelerant, and firing a pellet gun at the building before being subdued ⁵⁹. Two people were injured, according to NBC News ³; other early reporting described no serious injuries, and the discrepancy has not been resolved across outlets. The Joint Terror Task Force is leading the investigation ⁴⁸.

The fire broke out around 8:30 a.m., not in the afternoon as some early accounts suggested ²⁷. Surveillance footage released by the U.S. Attorney's Office, and described by the Associated Press, shows the suspect firing fireworks, starting a fire, and discharging a pellet gun at the building before being taken into custody at the scene ⁹. He was jailed on a federal arson charge later the same day ⁴⁹.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle identified Arrabaca on Monday and, according to Gothamist, said the suspect had deliberately targeted the federal building and "was willing to injure or kill people" ⁵¹⁰. The bureau described him as an "anti-government extremist" with a documented history of anti-ICE activity ⁶. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed one arrest ¹¹.

Arrabaca served in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2005, working as a mechanic on Patriot missile systems, according to the Associated Press ²⁶; the New York Post also reported National Guard service ⁸. No source provided by HeyDay News describes a specific prior anti-ICE incident involving the suspect beyond the FBI's general characterization.

26 Federal Plaza, formally the Javits Federal Building, has sat at the center of New York's immigration enforcement story for years. ICE field operations, an immigration court, and the FBI's New York field office all operate out of the same Lower Manhattan complex ^23467811. It has been the site of mass courthouse arrests by ICE agents and sustained protests from immigrant-rights and anti-ICE activists, making it a known flashpoint in the broader fight over federal immigration policy in the city.

On this story, however, the evidence does not line up neatly with the political symbolism the building carries. HeyDay News could not independently verify social-media-circulated details — a shopping cart marked with an "ICE off our streets" sign, for example — that appeared in early descriptions of the scene. Reporting from AP, CNN, ABC, and ABC7 describes fireworks, an accelerant (gasoline), and a pellet gun; none of the sources provided to HeyDay News mentions a cart or such a sign ⁴⁷⁹. Readers should treat those specifics as unverified.