Overview
- Federal prosecutors say Andrew Arrabaca set off large commercial fireworks, poured and ignited gasoline on the steps of 26 Federal Plaza and fired a BB/pellet rifle in a roughly two‑minute episode that security video documents.
- Arrabaca, 43, has been federally charged with destruction of U.S. property by fire or explosives and related counts that carry a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, and a magistrate judge ordered him held without bail.
- Authorities released surveillance and news video showing the sequence of the attack and said investigators found a wheeled cart with axes, knives, a machete, incendiary devices and an 'ICE Off Our Streets' sign that tied the act to anti‑ICE statements.
- Prosecutors told the court the assault was planned over months with trips to upstate New York and Pennsylvania to buy weapons and fireworks, and the defense has requested a Veterans Health Administration evaluation while the court ordered a mental‑health assessment.
- The building houses immigration courts, ICE and other federal agencies and has been a focus of protests, a context officials cite as the likely reason it was targeted and a factor in the ongoing terrorism and motive inquiry.