Army Veteran Accused of Starting Fire at ICE Office in New York ⁠72%

By Malcolm Ferguson⁠72%

7/20/2026, 8:44:39 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 24 faulty reasoning types, including Availability Heuristic, Confirmation Bias, and Appeal to Emotion, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 38.2% saturation with 104 hits. Analysis detected 808 faulty-reasoning hits from 272 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 65.1% and a BS Rank of ⁠72% (5,736 of 20,515 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 72.00% of the article peer group.

Former U.S. 
Army soldier Andrew Arrabaca is in custody after reportedly setting off fireworks and starting a fire outside of a New York federal building on Monday morning. 
He is said to have had anti–Immigration and Customs Enforcement material and two pellet guns on his person. 
A video shows the moment a suspect started a fire outside of 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, where a federal immigration court is located. 
More: https://t.co/Qgi8dXyKUq pic.twitter.com/ZOlAGTtsRP 
Arrabaca, 43, was also accused of setting off fireworks outside the federal building. 
Police said he carried a hammer, knives, and a machete along with the pellet gun when he was arrested. 
FBI New York field director James Barnacle told the Associated Press that Arrabaca “came armed with bad intentions,” and is “an anti-American, anti-government extremist.” 
“What occurred outside 26 Federal Plaza this morning was deeply disturbing. 
I’m relieved no one was seriously injured and that a suspect is in custody,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on X. 
“My team is in touch with the NYPD and we will support the federal investigation. 
Our administration will continue to ensure that every New Yorker is safe in their city—and hold accountable any who threaten that.” 
26 Federal Plaza houses the immigration court that has seen countless protests in President Trump’s second-term immigration crackdown. 
Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and state Senators Jabari Brisport, Gustavo Rivera, and Julia Salazar have all been arrested while protesting there. 
This comes after three men were killed in just seven days—either by ICE agents directly or while fleeing them. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 21.3%Malcolm Ferguson: 5.9%newrepublic.com: 6.1%Confirmation Bias21.3%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.6%newrepublic.com: 0.5%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 22.4%Malcolm Ferguson: 3.1%newrepublic.com: 3.3%Availability Heuristic22.4%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.5%newrepublic.com: 1.1%Representativeness Heuristic0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.7%newrepublic.com: 0.8%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 1.2%newrepublic.com: 1.9%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 18.8%Malcolm Ferguson: 12.7%newrepublic.com: 8.0%Framing Effect18.8%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.4%newrepublic.com: 0.4%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.1%newrepublic.com: 0.3%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.2%newrepublic.com: 0.1%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 15.8%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.7%newrepublic.com: 1.0%Optimism Bias15.8%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 2.2%newrepublic.com: 2.5%Pessimism Bias0.0%This article: 38.2%Malcolm Ferguson: 19.5%newrepublic.com: 13.0%Negativity Bias38.2%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 1.1%newrepublic.com: 0.9%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 6.6%Malcolm Ferguson: 2.1%newrepublic.com: 1.9%Fundamental Attribution Error6.6%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.4%newrepublic.com: 0.2%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 2.3%newrepublic.com: 1.7%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 1.1%newrepublic.com: 1.0%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 8.8%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.6%newrepublic.com: 1.3%Halo Effect8.8%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 1.4%newrepublic.com: 0.6%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.0%newrepublic.com: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 7.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 1.8%newrepublic.com: 1.4%Recency Bias7.0%This article: 11.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.4%newrepublic.com: 0.5%Primacy Effect11.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.0%newrepublic.com: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 8.8%Malcolm Ferguson: 5.9%newrepublic.com: 3.7%Ad Hominem8.8%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 1.7%newrepublic.com: 1.1%Straw Man0.0%This article: 15.8%Malcolm Ferguson: 3.1%newrepublic.com: 3.4%Appeal to Authority15.8%This article: 7.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 2.7%newrepublic.com: 1.9%False Dilemma7.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.6%newrepublic.com: 2.0%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 8.8%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.4%newrepublic.com: 0.3%Circular Reasoning8.8%This article: 6.6%Malcolm Ferguson: 7.0%newrepublic.com: 7.9%Hasty Generalization6.6%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.5%newrepublic.com: 0.3%Red Herring0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.7%newrepublic.com: 0.6%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 21.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 9.4%newrepublic.com: 6.3%Appeal to Emotion21.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 2.3%newrepublic.com: 1.8%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 7.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 2.3%newrepublic.com: 3.1%Post Hoc (False Cause)7.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.1%newrepublic.com: 0.3%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 7.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 1.6%newrepublic.com: 0.9%Burden of Proof7.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.0%newrepublic.com: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.0%newrepublic.com: 0.3%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 9.2%Malcolm Ferguson: 2.7%newrepublic.com: 2.0%Anecdotal9.2%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.0%newrepublic.com: 0.2%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 15.4%Malcolm Ferguson: 1.9%newrepublic.com: 1.8%Ambiguity (Equivocation)15.4%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.0%newrepublic.com: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.0%newrepublic.com: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.2%newrepublic.com: 0.2%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.5%newrepublic.com: 0.2%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.5%newrepublic.com: 0.3%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 8.8%Malcolm Ferguson: 3.3%newrepublic.com: 2.2%Unattributed Quote8.8%This article: 13.2%Malcolm Ferguson: 2.4%newrepublic.com: 1.6%Quote-first Misdirection13.2%This article: 9.6%Malcolm Ferguson: 17.4%newrepublic.com: 15.2%Biased Writer Voice9.6%This article: 7.7%Malcolm Ferguson: 2.8%newrepublic.com: 2.4%Indoctrination7.7%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 11.1%newrepublic.com: 7.2%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.7%newrepublic.com: 0.6%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 1.1%Malcolm Ferguson: 0.3%newrepublic.com: 0.3%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…1.1%

272 words analyzed.

Speakers

3speakers41%attributed speech160writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 12 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 2 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 26 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 18 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 25 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 3 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 13 words • 0.0% coveragepolice • 19 words • 0.0% coverageJames Barnacle • 24 words • 100.0% coverageZohran Mamdani • 11 words • 100.0% coverageZohran Mamdani • 22 words • 0.0% coverageZohran Mamdani • 15 words • 0.0% coverageZohran Mamdani • 21 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 18 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 24 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 19 words • 0.0% coverage
Selected voice

James Barnacle

100%flagged-word coverage
24 attributed words21% of attributed speech99% writer coverage
0%50.0%100.0%Unattributed Quote+100.0 ptsWriter: 0.0%James Barnacle: 100.0%100.0%Biased Writer Voice-16.3 ptsWriter: 16.3%James Barnacle: 0.0%0.0%Quote-first Misdirection-15.6 ptsWriter: 15.6%James Barnacle: 0.0%0.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -1.9 ptsWriter: 1.9%James Barnacle: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.