MINNEAPOLIS — Political activist Jake Lang and 10 other people were arrested Saturday after competing demonstrations outside Minneapolis City Hall escalated into a chaotic confrontation involving vehicles, chemical irritants and alleged assaults.
The Minneapolis Police Department said it had known about the planned demonstration for several weeks and developed an incident-action plan involving additional officers, public-safety partners and barricades intended to separate Lang’s supporters from opposing protesters.
Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Bill Peterson said Lang arrived near City Hall at approximately 11:50 a.m. with six other people traveling in two vehicles.
Police allege both vehicles drove onto the sidewalk outside City Hall toward a crowd of counterprotesters. Officers moved toward the vehicles and directed them away from the sidewalk as people surrounded the vehicles and confrontations quickly developed.
Videos from the scene show officers forming lines around the vehicles while members of the opposing groups shouted, pushed toward one another and deployed chemical irritants.
Police said people associated with both Lang’s group and the counterprotest used chemical irritants. MPD said it had found no evidence that its officers deployed an irritant during the confrontation.
Because of the size and intensity of the crowd, Peterson said officers determined that immediately arresting the occupants would have been unsafe. Officers instead allowed the vehicles to leave the area, which Peterson said helped de-escalate the immediate confrontation.
Law-enforcement agencies subsequently tracked both vehicles.
The Minnesota State Patrol stopped one vehicle near Washington Avenue and Interstate 35W in Minneapolis. Bloomington police stopped the second vehicle near Lindau Lane and IKEA Way. Minneapolis officers arrested the occupants of both vehicles, and authorities impounded the vehicles.
All seven members of Lang’s group were booked into the Hennepin County Jail on probable cause for riot. Jail records identified them as Edward Jacob Lang, Eric Dawson, Charles Miles, Stephen Major, John William-Kei Irwin, Matthew Norby and Jayden Scott.
Probable-cause bookings are not formal criminal charges. Prosecutors will review the available evidence before determining whether charges should be filed. Everyone arrested is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Police also arrested four people near City Hall on suspicion of offenses that included assault and disorderly conduct, bringing the total number of arrests connected to the demonstrations to 11.
Three Minneapolis police officers were injured during the response, according to Peterson. One officer was transported to a hospital and later released. Authorities said none of the officers suffered serious injuries.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey defended the arrests during an afternoon news conference.
“If you’re going to come in here, you’re going to drive on the sidewalk, you’re going to incite a riot and be a problem for people’s safety, then you’re going to get arrested,” Frey said.
Videos circulating online raise additional questions about the confrontation. One recording appears to show an occupant inside a vehicle holding what resembles a handgun near the steering wheel. The available images do not clearly establish whether the object was a functional firearm, whether it was pointed at anyone or what occurred immediately before it appeared.
Separate social-media posts contain allegations that threatening statements were made during the confrontation. NCN has not independently authenticated every complete recording or confirmed whether police are investigating those statements as potential criminal threats.
NCN photographed a substantial law-enforcement presence outside City Hall, including bicycle officers, officers wearing protective equipment, barricades and an armored Minneapolis police vehicle.
The National Correspondent Network sent media inquiries to the Minneapolis Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol and Bloomington Police Department seeking incident numbers, arrest information, details about the vehicle stops and clarification regarding any weapons or chemical irritants recovered.
NCN also requested information about body-camera footage, squad-camera recordings, dispatch audio, surveillance video and the agencies’ respective roles in tracking and stopping the vehicles.
Authorities have not announced whether additional arrests or charges are expected. The investigation remains active, and additional information may become available as officers review video, interview witnesses and submit evidence for prosecutorial review.
NCN will update this report when law-enforcement agencies or prosecutors release additional verified information.
Photographs by Saed Dahir/National Correspondent Network.
Sources: CBS News Minnesota, FOX 9, Minnesota Star Tribune
