Plot to firebomb Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani's home disrupted by FBI and NYPD

A plot to firebomb the New York City home of a prominent Palestinian activist was disrupted by the FBI and NYPD, according to a criminal complaint and an interview with the activist.

Nerdeen Kiswani, co-founder of the group Within Our Lifetime, said the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force told her late Thursday about "a plot against my life that was 'about to' take place." It came after the suspect, Alexander Heifler, was arrested, an NYPD spokesperson said. 

Heifler, a resident of Hoboken, New Jersey, was apprehended by the FBI at his home late Thursday, according to the criminal complaint, after revealing to an undercover NYPD detective that he planned to throw a dozen Molotov cocktails at Kiswani's home. Federal prosecutors charged him with unlawfully making and possessing firearms. 

The complaint says Heifler, 25, spent weeks discussing the plot with the undercover law enforcement official, and at one point went to scope out Kiswani's home. He allegedly invited the undercover detective to his home Thursday, where he had assembled components for the firebombs, including rags, corks and Everclear, a highly flammable alcohol. 

"The FBI conducted court-authorized law enforcement activity in the vicinity of Willow Avenue and Clinton Street in Hoboken, New Jersey yesterday evening. As the investigation remains ongoing, no additional details can be provided at this time; however, there is no threat to public safety," an FBI spokesperson told CBS News New York on Friday. 

The NYPD spokesperson said the joint operation was initiated by its Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism Unit as Heifler expressed interest in attacking Kiswani's home in an online group chat with an undercover investigator on Feb. 10. The undercover officer then suggested taking the conversation offline and meeting in-person, they said.

Heifler met with the undercover officer on Feb. 11, March 4, and prior to his arrest on March 26, when he planned to carry out the attack with Molotov cocktails, according to the NYPD spokesperson.

"Our undercover officer identified and tracked the threat — first online and then in person — allowing us to disrupt the planned attack, take Heifler into custody, and ensure that no one was harmed. This is exactly how our intelligence and counterterrorism operation is designed to work," NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement on X. 

Kiswani, 31, said she was shell-shocked by the news, but not surprised.

"I feel very blessed that they were able to thwart this, but it's something that is a constant possibility for people who speak up on behalf of Palestine," she said.

"No one should be targeted or live in fear for expressing their beliefs. Grateful to law enforcement for swiftly disrupting this abhorrent plot," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

The Hoboken Police Department's official X account said Thursday night it was "supporting the FBI in an ongoing investigation," also adding "there is no current threat to the public."