NYC Mayoral Inauguration Bans Flipper Zero and Raspberry Pi

New York city’s 2026 mayoral inauguration of zohran Mamdani has published a list of banned items for the event,specifically prohibiting the Flipper Zero and raspberry Pi devices.

As first reported by Adafruit, the ban list appears in the inauguration event’s official FAQ, which lists items that may or may not be brought to the event.

The list of prohibited items also includes large bags, backpacks and duffle bags, weapons, fireworks or explosives, drones and other remote-controlled aerial devices, strollers, coolers, chairs, blankets, umbrellas, bicycles or scooters, alcoholic beverages, illegal substances, pets other than service animals, laser pens, and bats or batons.

The Flipper Zero is a handheld device for learning and testing wireless dialog protocols, including RFID, NFC, infrared, Bluetooth, and radio signals.It is indeed commonly used by security researchers, developers, and hobbyists for protocol analysis and penetration testing.

A Raspberry Pi is a low-cost, general-purpose single-board computer capable of running standard Linux distributions and a wide range of software. Available in multiple configurations, the devices can be expanded using add-on modules and peripherals, enabling them to perform many of the same tasks as a desktop or laptop computer.

Unlike most other items on the prohibited list, which are grouped into general categories, both devices are specifically named, rather than being restricted under a general computing or wireless device category.

Devices such as the Flipper Zero have previously drawn scrutiny from governments.

2026/01/01 05:13:39