MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.—Jake Lang, a 31-year-old far-right agitator and provocateur, was arrested Saturday in connection with a riot that erupted following a staged protest outside Minneapolis City Hall, the Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement following the incident.
Lang, a popular far-right influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers across social media, first gained national attention as one of the Jan. 6 defendants to receive a pardon from President Donald Trump.
“MPD had been aware of this demonstration for several weeks and developed a robust Incident Action Plan in preparation for the event,” Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Bill Peterson explained on Aug. 22, following the riot.
The protest, scheduled for noon Saturday, took a violent turn when Lang and two other protesters drove a black Honda pickup truck onto a sidewalk in front of city hall and into a crowd of counter-protesters, prompting a defensive response from the crowd.
Chief Peterson explained that both officers and barricades had been placed in advance of the scheduled protest in hopes of preventing any confrontation between Lang’s group and the counter-protesters his vehicle drove through.
A now-viral video on Instagram from user @dwillmodel shows the black pickup, with Lang aboard, displaying a sign containing an anti-Black slur that read, “Jake Lang loves Black people but hates n******.” In the same footage, another individual dressed in all black carried a white cross and wore a neck gaiter featuring a popular “Back the Blue” design.
Chemical irritants were deployed by both protesters and counter-protesters, as well as by some officers. In the bed of the truck, two individuals appeared to be crouching out of reach of objects being thrown by counter-protesters as the vehicle drove toward them.
In the cab of the truck was the driver and another individual who appeared to be armed with a high-capacity mace canister. He used it out the window against counter-protesters as the pickup made its way through the crowd.
Under Minnesota state law, using pepper or bear spray without legal justification constitutes fifth-degree assault, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine per offense. However, using a vehicle as a weapon elevates the charge to second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, a felony punishable by up to seven to ten years in prison per charge, depending on the extent of bodily harm caused and the number of people harmed.
At this time, Lang has been arrested and booked on probable cause for riot under Minnesota Statute § 609.71. The statute is divided into three degrees: third-degree riot (up to 364 days), second-degree riot (up to five years, if a participant is armed), and first-degree riot (up to 20 years, but only if a death results and a participant was armed with a dangerous weapon). No fatalities have been reported in this incident, so the 20-year maximum would not apply, but it was not immediately clear which degree of the charge Lang and his associates are being formally pursued under. Three officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries, including injuries to the head, hip, and ankle.
It is presently unclear whether Lang and his associates will face additional charges, such as assault or battery, or whether the language on Lang’s sign could support a bias-motivated (hate crime) sentencing enhancement under Minnesota law.
Beyond the violence itself, the response from MPD officers became a focal point of public scrutiny, both during the riot and in its aftermath on social media. In several videos posted online, MPD officers were seen walking beside Lang’s vehicle rather than intervening—an observation that prompted allegations from counter-protesters that MPD was providing Lang a police escort.
“Look at them protecting him!” one unidentified person said off camera, continuing, “Look at him hiding…. I can’t believe they’re protecting them. It’s not actually unbelievable, I’m not surprised.” The speaker finished by saying, “Minnesota wants no part of this nonsense, but the cops are protecting them.”
MPD defended its tactical approach, stating that allowing Lang and his associates to leave without further incident was a de-escalation strategy, and confirmed that Lang and his associates were all later taken into custody on probable cause for riot.
Users across social media are expressing their anger, condemnation, and frustration over what many see as MPD shielding a crime in progress rather than halting the vehicle as it advanced through a crowded sidewalk.
According to the Minnesota state government’s website, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights found in 2022 that the Minneapolis Police Department had engaged in a pattern of race discrimination and human rights abuses—evidence that MPD already had a fraught relationship with the public, straining trust further.
We hope you appreciated this article. At People’s World, we believe news and information should be free and accessible to all, but we need your help. Our journalism is free of corporate influence and paywalls because we are totally reader-supported. Only you, our readers and supporters, make this possible. If you enjoy reading People’s World and the stories we bring you, please support our work by donating or becoming a monthly sustainer today. Thank you!
CONTRIBUTOR
