New York (United States), July 22 (LaPresse/AP) — A former U.S. Army soldier was charged with arson and remanded without bail on Tuesday after prosecutors said he confessed to carrying out an arson attack on a federal building in Manhattan that houses immigration hearings. Andrew Arrabaca, 43, allegedly planned the attack for months and also considered other targets in New York City before setting a fire, lighting fireworks, and firing an air gun Monday morning outside 26 Federal Plaza, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha Fry. Arrabaca reportedly told investigators that he was aware the attack could have resulted in injuries or fatalities and that he was even willing to die during the incident, Fry said, describing the act as “calculated, targeted, and unacceptably dangerous.” Three people sustained minor injuries, including one who was in the building for a hearing at the immigration court. The building also houses offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI and has become a focal point for protests against President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration. The charge, involving arson or an explosion causing damage to federal government property, carries a minimum sentence of seven years in prison. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky ordered Arrabaca to be held in a federal prison in Brooklyn, rejecting the defense’s request to transfer him to a secure psychiatric unit of the Veterans Health Administration for an evaluation. Instead, the judge ordered that he undergo a psychiatric evaluation as soon as possible within the prison. “This is a person who, regardless of what he appears to have done, has served our country and is clearly ill,” Tarnofsky stated.
U.S.: Former Soldier Arrested for Arson Attack on Federal Building
New York (United States), July 22 (LaPresse/AP) — A former U.S. Army soldier was charged with arson and remanded without bail on Tuesday after prosecutors said he confessed to carrying out an arson attack on a federal building in Manhattan that houses immigration hearings. Andrew Arrabaca, 43, allegedly planned the attack for months and also considered other targets in New York City before setting a fire, lighting fireworks, and firing an air gun Monday morning outside 26 Federal Plaza, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha Fry. Arrabaca reportedly told investigators that he was aware the attack could have resulted in injuries or fatalities and that he was even willing to die during the incident, Fry said, describing the act as “calculated, targeted, and unacceptably dangerous.” Three people sustained minor injuries, including one who was in the building for a hearing at the immigration court. The building also houses offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI and has become a focal point for protests against President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration. The charge, involving arson or an explosion causing damage to federal government property, carries a minimum sentence of seven years in prison. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky ordered Arrabaca to be held in a federal prison in Brooklyn, rejecting the defense’s request to transfer him to a secure psychiatric unit of the Veterans Health Administration for an evaluation. Instead, the judge ordered that he undergo a psychiatric evaluation as soon as possible within the prison. “This is a person who, regardless of what he appears to have done, has served our country and is clearly ill,” Tarnofsky stated.
