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Counter protesters outnumber Jake Lang’s ‘CRUSADER MARCH’ and toss water balloons and snowballs
Brendan Rascius in New York Saturday 17 January 2026 23:27 GMT- Bookmark
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A pardoned January 6 rioter led a rally in support of federal immigration officers in Minneapolis but was vastly overwhelmed by counter protesters demonstrating against Donald Trump’s administration and a surge of law enforcement agents in the city.
Jake Lang, who was among the roughly 1,600 rioters granted clemency by the president on his first day in office, was chased from the city’s federal courthouse and targeted with water balloons amid sub-freezing temperatures Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Lang’s group played the song “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice and railed against immigrants, who they claimed were “replacing” white people as counter protesters shouted them down, according to The Washington Post.
Lang, who promised to burn a Quran during the demonstration, branded the rally a “CRUSADER MARCH” on “Little Somalia,” referencing the state’s large Somali population that the administration has accused of widespread fraud as the president expands his mass deportation campaign.
The event drew sharp opposition from critics, who derided his march as racist and Islamophobic.
open image in galleryJake Lang, a Jan 6 rioter pardoned by Donald Trump, led a pro-ICE march in Minneapolis, which was vastly outnumbered by counterprotesters who chased the group off the street (REUTERS)Ahead of Saturday’s rally, Lang said he planned a burn a Quran on the steps of City Hall. “America is a CHRISTIAN COUNTRY; we will not allow Somali Daycare Pirates to overtake Minneapolis,” he wrote on social media.
A group called the People’s Action Coalition Against Trump said on Instagram that it would demonstrate against Lang’s “hateful anti-Islam rally,” and dozens of counter protesters arrived on the scene.
“Hey, Minnesota what do we say?” one demonstrator chanted into a megaphone. “F*** Nazis every day.”
They also tossed water balloons at the pardoned rioter and hurled snowballs at other anti-immigration protesters as they chased them from the scene.
Video footage posted by Lang shows throngs of counterprotestors, some of whom held anti-ICE signs, surrounding him, pulling at his clothes and attempting to remove him from outside the courthouse.
Lang later claimed on X that he was “stabbed by a crazie white commie leftist rioter.” Video footage shows him walking away from the area with what appeared to be blood on his neck.
open image in galleryCounter protesters tossed water and water balloons and overwhelmed Jake Lang, who labeled his rally a ‘CRUSADER MARCH’ to support ICE (REUTERS)
open image in galleryLang, who was charged with attacking police officers with a bat at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, was hit with silly string during his pro-ICE rally on January 17 (REUTERS)The dueling demonstrations unfolded after hundreds of federal immigration agents flooded into Minneapolis in recent days, following a pair of shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. On January 7, an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, sparking political outage and protests across the country.
On Thursday, Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act — an emergency power not used for more than three decades — to deploy active-duty troops against citizens protesting his administration. But the president appeared to walk back his comments one day later.
State and local officials have sought to expel federal immigration officers from the North Star State. After Good’s killing, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey delivered a blunt message to ICE to “get the f*** out.” And last week, Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration over its “unprecedented” surge, alleging it violates the Constitution.
The White House has vowed to redouble its immigration enforcement efforts and accused Democrats of supporting violence against law enforcement. The Department of Justice has accused Frey and Minnesota Tim Walz of obstructing law enforcement, which the governor condemned as a “dangerous, authoritarian tactic” that weaponizes the justice system against the president’s political opponents.
Lang, who was charged with attacking police officers with a bat at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, spent four years in jail before Trump pardoned him upon returning to office.
In March, he mounted a longshot bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Florida.
On social media, where he has amassed thousands of followers, Lang regularly rails against immigrants, particularly Muslims. Earlier this month, he posted footage of himself holding a pig’s head with a Quran in its mouth. In recent days, he’s made racist attacks on Minneapolis’ Somali community, which the president has repeatedly used racist and derogatory language to describe, including labeling them “garbage” who “come from hell.”
open image in galleryCounter-protesters rallied near Minneapolis City Hall after federal law enforcement surged into the city to support Trump’s mass deportation campaign (REUTERS)The governor has directed the mobilization of the Minnesota National Guard to to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
“They are not deployed to city streets at this time, but are ready to help support public safety, including protection of life, preservation of property and supporting the rights of all who assemble peacefully,” according to the agency.
On Friday, a federal judge limited the use of force against protesters in the city, blocking agents from “retaliating” against peaceful protesters and indiscriminately using riot control weapons on crowds.
“While peaceful expression is protected, any actions that harm people, destroy property or jeopardize public safety will not be tolerated,” agency commissioner Bob Jacobson said said Friday. “Demonstrations must remain safe, and they must remain lawful.”
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