New York Man Charged With Arson After Setting Fire At Entrance Of Federal Building

ANDREW ARRABACA was charged after he set a fire outside of 26 Federal Plaza, sending flames and smoke up the outside of the building. ARRABACA was arrested yesterday and presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky. As alleged in the Complaint:(1) On the morning of July 20, 2026, ARRABACA set off several fireworks in front of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building at 26 Federal Plaza and shot a BB rifle in the direction of the building. ARRABACA then poured a bucket of flammable liquid onto the ground outside one of the building entrances and ignited the liquid. The liquid exploded into flames. ARRABACA was captured on video footage shooting the BB gun, pouring and igniting the liquid, and running from the scene. After setting the fire, ARRABACA retrieved a box of fireworks from a utility wagon that he had wheeled to the area and threw the box into the fire. Law enforcement agents apprehended and arrested ARRABACA just as an explosion sounded from the direction of the fire. ARRABACA was wearing military-style camouflage pants, a belt with tactical pouches containing BB pellets and carbon dioxide cartridges, and a helmet bearing several phrases, including, “Kill yourself.” A cross-body bag containing a knife and matches was concealed under ARRABACA’s clothing, and a New York driver’s license for ARRABACA was recovered from ARRABACA’s person. After ARRABACA’s arrest, law enforcement agents searched the wagon and recovered numerous items, including a BB rifle and a pellet rifle, a machete, two hatchets, a mallet, a hammer, and what appeared to be several fireworks, including a cylindrical, multi-shot consumer firework with a printed label reading “Nuclear Warhead” and a black and yellow radiation symbol. A sign on the wagon bore the phrase “ICE Off Our Streets.” During a recorded, Mirandized post-arrest interview, ARRABACA stated, in substance and in part, that he was motivated to act by anti-government beliefs, including a belief that government authorities were unlawfully harming people, and that he had targeted the building entrance because he previously observed that it was a busy one. At the time of ARRABACA’s actions, the entrances to the Federal Building were guarded by law enforcement officers and/or government-contracted security guards and there were numerous individuals in the immediate vicinity of the Federal Building. As pictured below, some individuals were just feet away from ARRABACA as he poured and lit a flammable liquid, creating a fireball. Multiple individuals were evaluated for injuries, including at least one victim who appeared to have been hit with debris from the fire and/or explosion, resulting in a gash on the back of the victim’s head. ARRABACA, 43, of Poughkeepsie, New York, is charged with destruction of property owned or leased by the United States by means of fire or explosives and causing personal injury or substantial risk of injury, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.