Far-right influencer Jake Lang charged with damaging ice sculpture at Minnesota Capitol
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Far-right influencer Jake Lang was charged Friday with felony damage to property, after posting video to social media showing him damaging an ice sculpture outside the Minnesota Capitol.
The incident happened Thursday, with the sculpture — commissioned by a veterans organization — originally spelling out “PROSECUTE ICE,” in opposition to the ongoing surge of federal immigration agents to Minnesota.
Lang — who was pardoned for his participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and who organized an anti-Islam demonstration in Minneapolis last month — posted video to his social media account showing him kicking down several letters from the sculpture so that it spelled “PRO ICE.”
According to the criminal complaint filed Friday in Ramsey County:
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The original sculpture, unveiled around midday Thursday, was a permitted display on the Capitol steps, with organizers paying more than $6,000 to have it created. It was set to be removed Thursday night, and donated to a local business to be displayed for a longer time.
State troopers who provide security at the Capitol were notified about the vandalism at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday. They stopped Lang’s pickup truck as he left the area.
Lang allegedly told troopers that “he was on the Capitol grounds exercising his ‘First Amendment Right to Artistic Expression.’”
“Lang was placed in a squad and asked a cohort to take a photo of him,” the complaint states. “A trooper advised Capitol security dispatch to save the video of the incident, and Lang replied that he had great video of the incident. Lang asked to be placed in protective custody at the jail.”
That request was granted, and Lang was held in the Ramsey County Jail overnight.
The complaint alleges that Lang declined to make a statement while in custody, but asked that a message be delivered to prosecutors.
“I was creating art,” that message said, according to court documents. “I was exercising my First Amendment right to artistic expression.”
The criminal complaint further states, in response: “The First Amendment does indeed protect artistic expression — the creation and display of an ice sculpture, for example. The First Amendment does not, however, provide protection against damaging someone else’s property.”
Court records indicate Lang, who is 30 years old and from Florida, made an initial appearance on Friday afternoon, where he was granted release on the condition that he must stay at least three blocks away from the State Capitol. Jail records show he was released from custody later in the afternoon. He’s due back in court on March 3.
Lang had previously announced plans to hold a weekend rally at the Capitol, in support of ICE. It was unclear whether that rally would still take place.
The State Patrol said Friday that it can’t discuss specific security details, but that it had a “plan in place” for the weekend.
If convicted on the single felony count, Lang faces up to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine, or both.
