Arson charge lodged against ex-Army soldier in fiery attack on Manhattan federal building

NEW YORK (AP) — An arson charge was lodged Tuesday against a former Army soldier accused of going to a federal building in Manhattan that houses immigration court proceedings and setting a sidewalk fire, igniting fireworks and firing a pellet gun.

Andrew Arrabaca, 43, was charged in Manhattan federal court a day after the attack at 26 Federal Plaza that injured three people before security officers subdued him. The building is two blocks from the courthouse.

Arrabaca appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky, who read him his rights and explained that he has a right to have a lawyer appointed for him if he cannot afford one.

The building has been a hub of protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

At a news conference Monday, authorities said that Arrabaca, wearing a military-style helmet, dragged a cart featuring a sign that said “ICE Off Our Streets” up to an employee entrance at the building before igniting a large firework. He then fired several airsoft rifle pellets at the building and ignited gasoline he’d spread on the sidewalk.

He was subdued and apprehended by two Federal Protective Service officers and a security contractor, according to James Barnacle, who leads the FBI’s New York field office.

Barnacle said Arrabaca, formerly a resident of Harlem and Poughkeepsie, made “anti-government and anti-American statements” as he was arrested and told investigators that he didn’t care if he killed people.

Although the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force was investigating, Barnacle did not label the attack terrorism.

Two government employees and a civilian who was going to immigration court were injured, along with a bystander who was grazed by the fireworks, authorities said, though only one person was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Barnacle said Arrabaca, who repaired Patriot missile systems in the Army from 2001 to 2005, derided ICE with profanities during his arrest. In addition to the pellet gun, Barnacle said, Arrabaca had two axes, three fixed-blade knives, a hammer and a machete. An Army spokesperson said Arrabaca had no deployments and left the Army as a specialist, including a one-year stint in the Army National Guard-New York.

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Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report

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