Accused Arsonist Leaves Manifesto After Turning Himself In for Nearly $1 Million in NYPD Damage—Circulating Widely on Anarchist Platforms
Executive Summary
Jakhi McCray, accused of torching 10 NYPD vehicles in Brooklyn in June 2025, turned himself in after weeks on the run—leaving behind a manifesto on anarchist website Never Sleep. His letter, distributed as a series of images, frames the attack as resistance to state violence and solidarity with other protest movements. The case is being treated by federal authorities as a serious escalation in the tactics and propaganda of the radical left.
Key Judgements
Key Judgement 1
The coordinated arson attack on NYPD vehicles and the subsequent manifesto mark a deliberate effort by radical networks to escalate from protest to kinetic attacks against law enforcement, using propaganda to justify and encourage further violence.
Evidence: The Never Sleep post features McCray’s personal letter defending the act as part of a larger struggle against police repression, citing solidarity with anti-police uprisings and opposition to the Israeli state. The attack itself was executed with premeditation, using incendiary devices and targeting police infrastructure in a manner designed for maximum impact and visibility.
Key Judgement 2
The use of a visually driven, first-person manifesto seeks to garner sympathy for the accused while reframing the narrative from criminal act to political resistance—an approach intended to inspire copycat actions and recruit support from broader activist communities.
Evidence: The manifesto, distributed in a series of images showing McCray at different life stages, focuses on themes of state violence, racial injustice, and international solidarity. It highlights his age, lack of fear, and prior experience with the criminal justice system, while likening U.S. law enforcement actions to historical oppression of marginalized groups globally.
Key Judgement 3
The rapid online amplification of the incident and manifesto by anarchist and anti-police channels reflects both a sophisticated propaganda apparatus and the vulnerability of local institutions to ideologically motivated attacks.
Evidence: The letter appeared within hours of McCray’s surrender on anarchist platforms, paired with sympathetic coverage. The narrative was quickly repurposed by far-left websites and social media accounts, linking the arson to national and international protest movements.
Analysis
The arson attack that destroyed 10 NYPD vehicles in Brooklyn stands as a clear example of escalating tactics among anarchist-aligned networks operating in the United States. The precision and scale of the attack—targeting a secured police lot and deploying multiple incendiary devices—demonstrate intent far beyond opportunistic vandalism. McCray’s subsequent surrender, timed after a coordinated media push, enabled him to frame his actions as a principled stand rather than a crime.
By publishing his “letter to the movement” as a series of highly curated images, McCray and his supporters sought to personalize the political violence, drawing a line between state repression and personal sacrifice. The narrative draws from a deep well of grievance politics—linking police violence in the U.S. to the oppression of Palestinians, referencing COINTELPRO, and invoking a history of revolutionary struggle. These rhetorical choices are not accidental; they are meant to provide ideological cover and legitimacy for illegal actions, while directly appealing to the sympathies of domestic and international activist communities.
Law enforcement and intelligence professionals should note the sophistication of this propaganda strategy. Rather than simply claiming responsibility in anonymous communiques (a common tactic in previous decades), the movement is now foregrounding the personal stories of actors, aiming for maximum empathy and recruitment. By leveraging the viral potential of visual content, groups like those behind the Never Sleep site hope to transform criminal suspects into folk heroes—a tactic with proven effectiveness in both radical left and right ecosystems.
The implications for public safety and social stability are profound. The incident has already sparked debate over police resource allocation, the limits of protest, and the security of critical city infrastructure. The broader risk is that these tactics—and their framing as justified resistance—will embolden similar attacks, both in New York and elsewhere, especially as political polarization intensifies in the U.S. and abroad.
