Army veteran faces arson charge after fire attack outside NYC federal building

The U.S. Army veteran accused of setting a fire outside a New York City federal building that houses an immigration court and other government agencies, including the FBI, and firing a pellet gun, will face an arson charge related to the Monday attack, which he had been planning for months, federal prosecutors said. 

Andrew Arrabaca, 43, appeared in a Manhattan federal court Tuesday for his alleged actions outside 26 Federal Plaza that injured three people before he was subdued. He did not enter a plea.

Despite only a few injuries, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky, noted that the attack could have ended tragically.

“The crime you’re charged with is troubling,” said Tarnofsky, who immediately conducted a bail hearing and ordered Arrabaca to be released to a mental health facility.  

Arrabaca, who served as a mechanic on Patriot missile systems in the Army, harbored anti-ICE and anti-government views, James Barnacle, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, said Monday.

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“He is an anti-American, anti-government extremist,” Barnacle told reporters at the scene.

Voter records show he has registered as a Democrat and was a member of the left-wing Working Families party.

Arrabaca “came armed with bad intentions” and was found with a range of weapons, including a pellet gun, knives, a hammer, and a machete. Authorities said the upstate New York resident arrived at the federal building sometime around 8:30 a.m. and lit a large firework before pouring a liquid that ignited a fire.

Videos and images from the scene showed a fire with a plume of smoke and bright orange flames near a building entrance, as well as law enforcement officers restraining the suspect.

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In addition to allegedly setting the fire, Arrabaca also fired five to seven pellets from an airsoft rifle toward the building, Barnacle said. He was arrested by federal officials a short time later and has been in custody since.

He made several anti-government and anti-ICE statements during the incident and said “he was okay if he hurt or killed people going in and out of the building, whether they were federal employees or civilians,” the FBI said.

Upon his arrest, authorities said they found Arrabaca with two axes, a hammer, a machete and three knives.

Federal prosecutors said he had been planning the attack since January, when he began buying supplies and visiting sites around New York. 

Arrabaca allegedly told law enforcement that he went to several other sites around the city bringing materials and considered attacking them. After months, he decided to attack the federal building near the courthouse.  

On Sunday, he made his way to Lower Manhattan with the weapons and other items used during the attack, prosecutors allege. He spent the night in a park and arrived at the building on Monday morning.

He told law enforcement he targeted a specific entrance because it was busy and employees were heading to work and members of the public were heading inside.  

Arrabaca admitted that he was aware people could be hurt and was willing to accept the risk, said prosecutors, who described his actions as “calculated.” He was also aware he could die.

Defense lawyer Jennifer Brown said Arrabaca has mental health issues, and asked that he be placed in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health hospital for evaluation and treatment. Prosecutors noted that Arrabaca does not have a stable residence or employment and was living out of a car before the attack.  

“The mental health issues that are quite likely the cause of the behavior, I seriously considered the alternatives proposed by Ms. Brown, but I had to reject them because I don’t think it’s sufficiently clear you would comply with treatment,” Tarnofsky told Arrabaca. 

The federal building in Lower Manhattan has been the scene of protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency charged with enforcing the nation’s immigration laws amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

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One of two people hurt during Monday’s incident was an immigrant who appeared at the building for a hearing, the FBI said.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 4. He faces a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison. 

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.