NEW YORK — A protest outside New York City’s mayoral residence that escalated into violence — including the alleged use of improvised explosive devices — became the focus of the latest episode of the Shots Fired podcast.
Co-hosts Mark Redlich and Kyle Shoberg analyzed the March 7 incident outside Gracie Mansion, where a small protest targeting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani drew a much larger counterprotest and eventually led to multiple arrests and a counterterrorism investigation.
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The hosts examined the event from a law enforcement perspective — including how protests are monitored, why they can turn volatile quickly and what officers face when they are caught between opposing groups.
“We talk about protests being peaceful,” Redlich said during the episode. “But it only takes one person to kick off a chain of events that turns everything into chaos.”
According to reports discussed on the podcast, roughly 20 protesters gathered outside Gracie Mansion on March 7 for a demonstration directed at the mayor. The event was advertised as “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City,” a protest targeting Muslims and the city’s first Muslim mayor. The demonstration reportedly included symbolic actions widely viewed as provocative toward Muslims, including bringing a roasted pig and a goat.
Soon afterward, an estimated 120 to 145 counterprotesters arrived, dramatically increasing tensions between the groups.
The situation escalated shortly after noon when a protester allegedly pepper-sprayed members of the opposing group, triggering confrontations.
Minutes later, an 18-year-old counterprotester allegedly lit and threw an improvised explosive device toward the crowd and nearby officers.
Bomb squad investigators later described the device as a glass jar wrapped in tape and filled with nuts, bolts and screws with a fuse attached, the hosts said.
NYPD later confirmed the devices were capable of causing significant harm. During a March 9 press conference, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said testing by the NYPD bomb squad and FBI bomb technicians determined the devices were not hoaxes or smoke bombs, but improvised explosive devices that could have caused serious injury or death. One device contained triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a volatile homemade explosive used in terrorist attacks around the world.
Tisch said the incident is being investigated as ISIS-inspired terrorism, though officials have not identified any direct connection to overseas conflicts.
Mayor Mamdani said two suspects traveled from Pennsylvania and attempted to bring violence to the city during the protest.
“They are suspected of coming here to commit an act of terrorism,” Mamdani said.
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Quick police response prevents further harm
Redlich and Shoberg highlighted the rapid response by NYPD officers, who were already assigned to the protest area.
Officers quickly moved toward the suspect and detained him while he was allegedly attempting to ignite another device, according to the hosts.
“Thank God no one got seriously injured or killed during this whole thing, especially the cops who are literally chasing this guy. He’s throwing these devices down,” Shoberg said.
City officials also praised the officers who confronted the suspect during the chaotic scene. Mamdani and Tisch specifically commended Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards and Sgt. Luis Navarro, who ran toward a lit device during the protest to stop the threat.
Because the incident occurred near the residence of a political official and involved an explosive device, federal authorities and a joint terrorism task force are assisting with the investigation.
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What officers face when protests collide
A major portion of the discussion focused on the challenge officers face when managing protests involving opposing ideological groups.
Law enforcement officers are often required to physically position themselves between protesters and counterprotesters — effectively becoming a buffer zone.
“You just don’t have protesters, counterprotesters,” Redlich said. “You have protesters, counterprotesters and law enforcement. And it’s a trio. And it’s always difficult.”
Shoberg noted that officers must remain neutral regardless of their own personal beliefs.
“As a cop, you might swing one way or the other, but you don’t get that right to have that vote when you’re in uniform. You have to stay neutral. And that’s what makes it very challenging,” he said.
The situation can become even more complicated when officers have personal connections to the issues being protested.
In this case, Redlich noted that some NYPD officers may share the religious identity being targeted by protesters, making the requirement to remain professional even more challenging.
“That shows the professionalism a lot of cops have,” he said.
Identifying agitators in a crowd
The hosts also discussed how officers attempt to identify individuals who may escalate violence during protests.
Contrary to what many people assume, agitators are not always the loudest individuals in a crowd, Redlich said.
“With my experience, you’re really looking for the person that isn’t willing to get to the very front. They do a lot of movements. They move around. Sometimes they’re not the loudest ones. And those are the ones where you’re like, ‘Okay,’ cuz you’re you’re looking at a crowd. You’re observing. The ones generally in the front, right up next to you, are just the very loud vocal ones that are just really antagonistic towards law enforcement.”
That type of behavior can signal someone preparing to provoke a confrontation or introduce a weapon into the crowd.
Intelligence gathering before protests
Another point emphasized during the episode was the amount of planning and intelligence work that typically happens before demonstrations begin.
Law enforcement agencies routinely monitor social media and public posts to identify planned protests, potential counterprotests and key organizers.
“There are groups of cops who their sole purpose is to get as much in intelligence as they possibly can on both groups of people that are going to be there,” Shoberg said.
During the protest itself, officers may also operate undercover within the crowd, relaying information back to a command post where supervisors track developments and adjust deployment.
Security scares a growing concern for law enforcement
Redlich and Shoberg also placed the incident in a broader context, noting several recent security scares involving transportation hubs and public gatherings.
With tensions rising domestically and internationally, the hosts warned that law enforcement officers may increasingly encounter politically motivated violence at public demonstrations.
“If you’re going into large crowds,” Shoberg said, “pay attention to what’s going on in the world.”
For both officers and civilians, the hosts emphasized one key takeaway: situational awareness.
Hosts point to other recent security incidents
Redlich and Shoberg also noted in the episode that the Gracie Mansion incident was one of several potential security threats that unfolded over the same weekend.
“Over the last three days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, there’s been three incidents involving law enforcement and FBI looking into potential terrorist incidents in the United States,” Redlich said.
During the episode, the hosts referenced reports of a Southwest Airlines flight diverted to Fort Lauderdale after a bomb threat, as well as an ongoing bomb threat investigation that prompted evacuations at Kansas City International Airport.
Shoberg said incidents like these highlight the types of calls officers increasingly face.
“If you’re a cop today in America, it’s only getting more and more dangerous having to respond to these types of incidents,” he said.
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