Far-right activist Jake Lang and others were arrested Saturday following a planned demonstration outside Minneapolis City Hall that devolved into sidewalk traffic confrontations, chemical irritant deployment, and subsequent highway traffic stops by law enforcement agencies.
The afternoon demonstrations brought demonstrators and counter-protesters into downtown Minneapolis. What began as a scheduled appearance outside municipal buildings quickly escalated when vehicles associated with the visiting group moved onto pedestrian walkways.
City Hall Confrontations and Sidewalk Traffic
According to the Minneapolis Police Department, the incident started at 11:50 a.m. when vehicles arrived near City Hall with seven occupants linked to the activist group. Interim Police Chief Bill Peterson detailed the sequence during a press briefing, noting that authorities had known about the event ahead of time and had planned for it, placing a "significant number of personnel" in the area and barriers around City Hall to create a safe separation between demonstrators and vehicle traffic.
Despite these preparations, as the vehicles neared Forest Street and Third Avenue South, Peterson said both vehicles unexpectedly drove onto the sidewalk toward a crowd of people. Police said the vehicles were driving slowly, but others quickly surrounded both vehicles. "Almost immediately, a confrontation developed between members of the crowd and individuals associated with both vehicles," Peterson said. "Chemical irritant believed to be mace was deployed by individuals on both sides." Officers then moved closer to the vehicles and directed both to get off the sidewalk and out of the area, police said.
The interim chief said multiple officers were assaulted by thrown objects as they attempted to get the vehicles off of the sidewalk and away from others. According to Peterson, three police officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the incident, which included one officer being taken to the hospital, who has since been released. Peterson said officers allowed both vehicles to leave the area once they created a path to de-escalate the situation, but both were pulled over at a later time with help from other agencies.
Highway Interceptions and Multiple Arrests
The Minnesota State Patrol pulled over the first vehicle near Washington Avenue and southbound I-35W. Minneapolis Police then arrested all three on probable cause riot charges: Eric Wayne Dawson, 53, Stephen Edward Major, 42, and Matthew Pike Oduguwa, 33. Oduguwa was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation of chest pain and was taken to Hennepin County Jail after he was medically cleared.
Police said all occupants in the vehicle, including Lang, were arrested for "probable cause riot", and both vehicles were impounded. Four more arrests were made at city hall. Minneapolis Police confirmed in a press release on Saturday that it made 11 arrests in connection with a confrontation outside the city hall. The arrestees include Jake Lang and six other people, who were at the scene for the right-winger’s rally.
Conflicting Narratives Over the Downtown Clashes
The opposing factions offered sharply contrasting accounts of the afternoon events. After the pardoned January 6 rioter was apprehended, a tweet from his official account slammed the local authorities, accusing them of setting him up. The post from the right-wing influencer read: A SET UP AND TRAP TO TAKE JAKE AS A POLITICAL HOSTAGE!!!!!!
The tweet stated that Jake Lang and his security personnel had shown up to a planned freedom of speech rally in Minneapolis
on Saturday. The X post further claimed that the far-right activist’s security had spoken to the local police beforehand to come up with a plan to keep them and everyone safe.
The tweet further alleged: BY NO ONES SURPRISE, that did not happen and within seconds Jake and his security were boxed in, brutally assaulted and left with no way out, all while police struggled to maintain any control of the rabid animals attacking them!
Jake Lang’s X post asserted that the right-wing personality and his security team had to flee for their life,
before the police followed and arrested them for inciting a riot.
The tweet further questioned the allegations against the conservative influencer: SO BECAUSE HUNDREDS OF DERANGED LUNATICS COULDNT ACT LIKE CIVILIZED HUMAS AND CAME OUT TO ASSAULT AND THREATEN THEM, THAT IS THEIR FAULT????
The X post accused the government and the police of failing to honor Jake Lang and his team’s First Amendment rights. The tweet continued: None of those violent animals had to show up to a protected first amendment rally, to harass, asssault, destroy their vehicles and threaten to kill them!!
The tweet further slammed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey by alleging: “THIS WAS PLANNED BY THE MAYOR TO CHARGE JAKE BEFORE JAKE EVER EVEN GOT THERE!! A COMPLETE SET UP FOR THEM TO TAKE HIM AS A POLITICAL PRISONER AND TO CREATE BOGUS BULLS*** CHARGES BLAMING JAKE AND HIS SECURITY FOR THE ACTIONS OF THEIR VIOLENT RESIDENTS!!!!!” The X post confirmed that Jake Lang and his security personnel have been booked into jail, while appealing to the internet users for financial support for the right-winger.
Next Steps in the Judicial Process
The right-winger was previously arrested for destroying an ice sculpture outside the Minnesota State Capitol in March and is facing felony charges. With all primary suspects booked into the Hennepin County Jail, Minneapolis Police confirmed the charges against all of them as "probable cause riot" in a press release on Saturday.
