On Saturday evening, US police arrested far-right, anti-Islam, and agitating influencer Jake Lang and six of his supporters on charges of rioting in front of the city hall after Minneapolis protests turned violent.
Police reported that Lang and his companions drove their car onto the sidewalk in front of the town hall building towards a crowd of people. Videos showed clashes between Lang and his fellow activists on one side and opposing protesters on the other. Eventually, Minneapolis police left the city hall building and Lang left the scene in his car at approximately the same time. Other videos circulating on social media also documented Lang standing in the back of a pickup truck holding a sign containing a racist phrase.
Police said they tracked the two vehicles carrying Lang and stopped one near Washington Street and Highway 35 West, while the other was near the Mall of America. She confirmed that all those in the two vehicles were arrested on suspicion of involvement in rioting. Authorities explained that Lang was placed in the Hennepin County Jail without bail. Spiderman was also arrested in downtown Minneapolis after attacking far-right agitator Jake Lang.
In this context, interim police chief Bill Petersen stated at a press conference that an irritant chemical, "believed to be pepper spray," was used by both sides.
Petersen added that there was "no evidence" of police using any irritants. Petersen said three officers were injured, one of whom was taken to the hospital and then released. One officer may have sprained his ankle after being hit by a speeding vehicle, while another was hit by a projectile.
He noted that investigators had received a report about a person being assaulted and were trying to obtain a statement from the victim.
Petersen noted that four others unrelated to Lang were also arrested, one on charges of rioting and the other on charges of assault. For his part, Mayor Jacob Frey explained that the police are still gathering evidence and that the investigation into Lang and his supporters is still ongoing. He continued, "There is a possibility of further charges, but there is still evidence to determine what happened... We are in the early stages of any further investigation."
Lang was in the city organizing a solidarity march with Shiloh Hendrix, the Rochester woman who in 2025 directed a racist insult at an eight-year-old boy with autism while he was in a playground.
Hendrix was acquitted of the public order charge for assaulting the child, but was convicted of the same charge in July for assaulting a bystander who filmed the altercation.
