Man accused of setting off incendiary device at federal building due in court

The man who allegedly set off an incendiary device outside a Manhattan federal building that houses an immigration court is due in court on Tuesday afternoon.

There were no charges immediately listed on the court docket for 43-year-old Andrew Arrabaca.

On Monday morning, Arrabaca, a former soldier, allegedly poured gasoline on the ground outside 26 Federal Plaza and ignited it with a lighter and a large firework in a canister, FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle said. Arrabaca also allegedly fired several pellets from an airsoft rifle toward the building, Barnacle said.

Barnacle called Arrabaca "an anti-American, anti-government extremist."

Barnacle said after Arrabaca was arrested, "he did say he was targeting the building and he was OK if he hurt or killed people going in and out of the building, whether they were federal employees or civilians."

Two government employees and one civilian suffered minor injuries, Barnacle said, noting that the civilian victim was an immigrant there for an immigration hearing.

Arrabaca is a former soldier who served from 2001 to 2005 and worked as a mechanic on Patriot missile systems, officials said.

He was armed Monday with two axes, a hammer, a machete, three knives and several incendiary devices, Barnacle said.

Arrabaca had a cart with a sign reading "ICE Off Our Streets," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, and he allegedly "yelled derogatory terms toward ICE" during his arrest, according to Barnacle.