Timeline & Background
Military Service & Initial Law Enforcement Contacts
2001 – 2005
U.S. Army Service: Andrew Arrabaca serves as a specialist repairing Patriot missile systems.
National Guard: Completes additional service, concluding in 2005.
Prior Encounters: In subsequent years, maintains an active Instagram presence, attends political rallies, and has minor contacts with authorities regarding emotional distress.
Pre-Attack Transit to Lower Manhattan
Sunday Evening, July 19, 2026
Travels from the Poughkeepsie/Harlem area toward Lower Manhattan, utilizing the NYC subway system with a pushcart.
Arrival at 26 Federal Plaza
Monday, July 20, 2026 — 8:20 AM
Arrives outside 26 Federal Plaza (housing ICE offices, immigration courts, and the FBI Field Office) wearing a military-style helmet.
Pulls a cart featuring a sign reading “ICE Off Our Streets” along with anti-ICE literature.
Execution of the Attack
Approx. 8:25 AM – 8:30 AM
Pyrotechnics & Airsoft: Lites a bundle of fireworks and fires 5 to 7 pellets from an airsoft rifle directly toward the building.
Arson: Dumps gasoline near the employee entrance stairs and foliage, igniting it with a lighter and firework canister, causing visible flames and smoke.
Subjugation & Arrest
8:30 AM
Two Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers, a security contractor, and an FBI agent tackle Arrabaca at the scene.
Weapons Recovered: Search reveals a second airsoft rifle, 2 axes, a hammer, a machete, 3 fixed-blade knives, extra fireworks, and a written manifesto.
Aftermath & Immediate Investigation
Post-Arrest (July 20, 2026)
Injuries: Three minor injuries reported (one asylum seeker grazed by fireworks, two government/security personnel). One person is briefly hospitalized.
Building Impact: The building remains operational, though planned events (including a naturalization ceremony) are canceled.
Investigative Statements: Arrabaca makes anti-government and anti-ICE statements to agents. The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) leads the ongoing investigation.
The building houses ICE offices, immigration courts, the FBI’s New York field office, and other federal agencies. It has been a repeated focal point for protests against the administration’s expanded detention and deportation operations. Arrabaca arrived around 8:20–8:30 a.m. wearing a military-style helmet and pulling a cart.
Security video and witness statements match this sequence. Two Federal Protective Service officers and a security contractor tackled him; an FBI agent assisted in the arrest. He was carrying additional items: a second airsoft rifle, two axes, a hammer, a machete, three fixed-blade knives, and more fireworks. The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating. No formal charges had been publicly announced in initial reporting.
Three people sustained minor injuries: one civilian (an asylum seeker present for a hearing, grazed by fireworks), and two government employees/security personnel.
One person was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries; others were treated and released or refused further care. The building remained operational with some disruptions, including a canceled naturalization ceremony.
📚 Primary Coverage & References
ABC7 New York: Suspect sets fire and fires pellet gun outside 26 Federal Plaza immigration court
Wall Street Journal: Joint Terrorism Task Force Investigates Lower Manhattan Attack
Military.com: Army Veteran Accused of Setting Fire Outside Federal Building That Houses ICE
