Minneapolis police arrested Jake Lang and six of his supporters for rioting Saturday outside city hall.

Police said Lang and his entourage drove onto the sidewalk in front of city hall toward a crowd. Social media videos showed Lang standing in the bed of a pickup truck with a sign that included a racial slur.

Videos showed Lang and his fellow activists clashing with counterprotesters. Minneapolis police eventually came out from city hall, with Lang driving off around the same time.

Interim police chief Bill Petersen said at news conference that a chemical irritant “believed to be mace was deployed by both sides.” Petersen said there was “no evidence” police used any irritants.

Police said they tracked the two vehicles with Lang. One was stopped near Washington Avenue and Interstate 35W while the other was near the Mall of America.

Everyone in both vehicles was arrested on suspicion of rioting. Lang was booked into the Hennepin County jail without bail. Police did not respond to a request for the names of the six supporters also arrested.

Mayor Jacob Frey said police are still collecting evidence and the investigation into Lang and his supporters is ongoing.

“Certainly, there’s the possibility of other charges, but there’s still evidence to determine what happened. We’re in the early stages right now of any additional investigation.”

Petersen said three officers were injured, with one hospitalized and released. One of the officers may have had his ankle rolled up by one of the vehicles driving off and another was hit by a projectile.

He said investigators received a report of someone who was assaulted and are trying to get a statement from the victim.

Lang was in town holding a rally for Shiloh Hendrix, the Rochester woman who in 2025 called an 8-year-old boy with autism a racial slur while he was on a playground. Hendrix was found not guilty of disorderly conduct for accosting the boy, but was convicted on the same charge in July for doing the same to a bystander who recorded the altercation.

Four others not connected to Lang were also arrested, including one for rioting and another for assault, Petersen said.

Source: mprnews.org