FORMER ARMY SOLDIER CHARGED WITH ARSON AFTER FEDERAL BUILDING ATTACK IN...

Andrew Arrabaca, a former United States Army soldier, was charged with arson on Tuesday following an attack on 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan on Monday morning. According to prosecutors, Arrabaca ignited a fire, discharged a pellet gun and set off fireworks outside the building, which houses offices for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Three people sustained minor injuries during the incident. Federal agents detained Arrabaca at the scene; a prosecutor stated he provided investigators with a lengthy confession detailing his actions.

Arrabaca, aged 43 and a resident of Poughkeepsie, New York, served in the regular Army from 2001 to 2004 and subsequently in the Army National Guard from 2004 to 2005, attaining the rank of specialist. According to prosecutors, he had planned the attack since January while living in his car, purchasing supplies including two axes, a machete, three knives, a mallet, a hammer and fireworks in upstate New York. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Arrabaca made several anti-government and anti-ICE statements during the incident. One account stated he carried a sign reading "ICE Off Our Streets" to an employee entrance before igniting a large firework, whilst another reported he poured an accelerant on the building's stairs.

Arrabaca appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky on Tuesday for a bail hearing. The prosecutor urged detention without bail, arguing he posed a danger to the community and was a flight risk. His defence lawyer requested release into a Veterans Health Administration psychiatric evaluation programme, citing no prior criminal history and a lengthy employment record until recently. The arson charge carries a potential mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the incident as "deeply disturbing" in a statement on social media.