Far-right activist Jake Lang was attacked by a man dressed as Spider-Man during a chaotic anti-Muslim rally outside Minneapolis City Hall.
The incident took place as protesters clashed with Lang and his supporters as they drove their vehicles along a sidewalk that had been barricaded. Protesters surrounded the vehicles and hurled water balloons, bottles, glitter and other objects at the group.
At one point, a man dressed as Spider-Man jumped onto the back of Lang’s truck and began attacking him before the superhero impersonator was pulled away.
The incident came as more than 100 counter protesters gathered outside City Hall during the time Lang was scheduled to hold what he had described as a “peaceful Freedom of Speech” rally. Fewer than a dozen people attended the event.
Lang had previously attempted to hold an anti-Muslim rally in Minneapolis on Jan 18 but was met by protesters and eventually chased out of the area. He had announced last month that he would return to City Hall.
The situation escalated after Lang’s group drove onto the sidewalk, with Minneapolis police saying that the vehicles moved through the crowd at a very slow speed.
“Almost immediately, a confrontation developed between members of the crowd and individuals associated with both vehicles; a chemical irritant believed to be mace was deployed by individuals on both sides,” Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Bill Peterson said.
Lang and his co-conspirators were later arrested with help from state troopers after the vehicles were stopped and impounded. Four other people were also arrested at City Hall.
Police said that a man dressed as a law enforcement officer who deployed pepper spray during the confrontation had no affiliation with the department.
Counter protesters later criticised Minneapolis police for appearing to shield Lang’s group as officers formed a barricade around the vehicles and pushed protesters away.
Jay Yates, an organiser with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, accused police of protecting white supremacy and questioned why Lang had been allowed to drive onto the sidewalk.
Peterson said that officers did not have the opportunity to direct the vehicles because they had moved onto the sidewalk unexpectedly.
“We certainly talked to the mayor about this. It was not safe for us to make any sort of arrests on those individuals in that large crowd,” Peterson said. “The best thing, from my perspective, was what did occur and direct those vehicles to leave the area, which essentially de-escalated things.”
Mayor Jacob Frey had urged people not to engage with Lang before the rally and repeated the position after the clashes.
“I gave a suggestion that this horrible racist hate rally can fall on deaf ears. But that’s a suggestion,” Frey said.
Lang is currently being held without bail at the Hennepin County Jail.
