No felony charges for white supremacist Jake Lang after Minneapolis riot

Lang during the riot in Minneapolis -- image via news video screenshot

By R. L. Richards, People's World

MINNEAPOLIS — After spending roughly three days in Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis, white supremacist and far-right activist Jake Lang will not be charged in connection with his earlier arrest for probable cause riot, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced on Tuesday.

The county’s decision stands in stark contrast to the arrest of William Nicholas Love, otherwise known as “Minneapolis Spiderman” online, who will be charged with fifth-degree misdemeanor assault for allegedly getting into a physical altercation with Lang as the truck Lang and his associates were on was illegally driving through a crowd of counter-protesters on a sidewalk in front of Minneapolis City Hall.

The handling of charges sparked outrage online for what many call prejudice and uneven enforcement by the Minneapolis Police Department and the Hennepin County District Attorney’s Office.

In her statement, Moriarty outlined that her office could not bring felony charges against Lang because her office did not have enough material to criminally charge him. Moriarty did confirm in her statement that the lack of felony charges does not prevent her office from charging Lang with gross misdemeanors in connection with Saturday’s protest. She called the actions of Lang and his associates “despicable and disgusting.”

“A lack of felony charges does not in any way condone this conduct. This is a legal decision based on applicable law, and we simply cannot prove the requisite intent in light of the evidence of communication and logistical coordination,” Moriarty concluded.

Lang is presently detained without bail on an administrative hold from another state. It is presently unclear when Lang will be released or whether he will face extradition for any outstanding charges elsewhere.

People’s World reached out to Moriarty’s office but received no response before press time.

R.L. Richards is an independent journalist, trans liberation activist, and member of the Communist Party USA based out of Northeast Pennsylvania.

This work was shared via a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US License and with the permission of the author. It originally appeared on People's World