New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino on Monday criticized Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his response to an explosive device incident near Gracie Mansion over the weekend, accusing the mayor of refusing to call the suspects "terrorists" while focusing instead on condemning a protest organizer as a white supremacist.
Two men were arrested after authorities said improvised explosive devices were thrown during clashes outside the mayor's official residence during an anti-Islam protest Saturday night, according to law enforcement officials.
Investigators said the devices contained the highly volatile chemical TATP, sometimes referred to as the "Mother of Satan," which has been used in terrorist attacks around the world.
The devices failed to detonate and no injuries were reported, but police said the explosives were capable of causing serious injury or death.
Federal authorities, including the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, are assisting the NYPD in the investigation as officials examine whether the suspects were influenced by ISIS propaganda.
Appearing on Newsmax TV's National Report on Monday morning, Paladino blasted Mamdani's reaction to the incident and said many New Yorkers were outraged by what she called the mayor's refusal to label the suspects domestic terrorists.
"I am so furious right now," Paladino said. "I am seething, as are most New Yorkers."
Paladino said the mayor had shown his "true colors" in a social media post responding to the protest.
"This guy, this Zohran, has surely, surely, absolutely showed his true colors in that despicable tweet," she said. "In his response to this, I am sick and tired."
The councilwoman ripped Mamdani for condemning protest organizer Jake Lang as a white supremacist while failing to characterize the suspects who allegedly threw the explosive devices as terrorists.
"Didn't even know who this guy Lang is," Paladino said. "But we do know who these are and he refused to call them out as terrorists."
She also accused the mayor of withholding information about the explosives used in the attack.
"He refuses to tell you the truth about what actually took place there," Paladino said. "What was loaded in these things that they threw."
Paladino further claimed the suspects had links to ISIS training and said the investigation was expanding.
"They were ISIS trained," she said. "Their parents were just naturalized in the early 2000s. And also the FBI raided three other homes ... and they are finding more and more information out."
Authorities have confirmed that federal investigators executed searches connected to the suspects as part of the terrorism probe.
Paladino also criticized the timing of Mamdani's public response following the incident.
"The lack of response, timelinewise, was a disgrace in itself, she said. "So you're waiting a long time to hear from him now. You heard from him, and what he had to say was all about white supremacy.
"No. This is about terrorism in our city, and you refuse to face it."
Mamdani, who became New York City's first Muslim mayor after winning the 2025 election, condemned the violence but also denounced what he described as a protest rooted in bigotry and racism.
The investigation into the explosive devices and the suspects' potential motivations remains ongoing.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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