HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY — Alexander Heifler, 26, was taken into custody in New Jersey and charged with unlawful possession and making of destructive devices. Law enforcement agents found eight Molotov cocktails in Heifler's Hoboken, New Jersey home, according to court documents.

On February 10, Heifler participated in a video call with a self-defense group that included an undercover law enforcement officer, according to court documents. During the call, Heifler asked whether anyone in the group had a location where he could throw Molotov cocktails and discussed plans to vandalize Nerdeen Kiswani's home.

On March 4, Heifler and an undercover officer conducted surveillance of Kiswani's home after he obtained her address, according to court documents. Heifler told the undercover officer that Molotov cocktails were not hard to make and that he had made an escape plan to leave the country.

On March 26, Heifler met with an undercover officer near Kiswani's home carrying materials to assemble Molotov cocktails and intended to throw them at vehicles and at her residence, according to the charging document. The charging document did not specify a motive for the planned attack.

"This NYPD investigation uncovered an alleged plot by Alexander Heifler to carry out a violent attack against Nerdeen Kiswani," said New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that Heifler was an alleged member of the Jewish Defense League. "He attempted to blow up the home of Nerdeen Kiswani in a chilling act of political violence and an apparent assassination plot," said Mamdani. The FBI has designated the Jewish Defense League as a known violent extremist organization.

Police believe Heifler was acting alone and not in coordination with an overseas terrorist group or foreign government. Heifler is a U.S. citizen and has no criminal record with the New York Police Department.

Kiswani is a co-founder of Within Our Lifetime, a pro-Palestinian New York City-based organization. Federal authorities informed Kiswani that there was a plot against her life. Kiswani has been a vocal opponent of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.

Kiswani alleged that far-right groups had engaged in a sustained campaign of stalking, harassment, intimidation, and civil rights violations against her and other activists.