A protest organised by conservative influencer Jake Lang at Minneapolis City Hall ended early after his threat to burn a Quran drew a large counter-protest that vastly outnumbered his supporters.
Lang had posted earlier that he intended to burn the Muslim holy book during a demonstration he called the “March Against Minnesota Fraud”. The event, scheduled for 1pm, attracted minimal backing, with media reporting fewer than a dozen supporters present.
By contrast, an estimated 2,000 counter-protesters gathered near City Hall. They drowned out Lang’s attempts to speak, threw snowballs and sprayed him with water as tensions rose.
As Lang attempted to move through the crowd, he was struck several times. Video footage showed him ducking and holding his head, which appeared to be bleeding, as he was escorted away by associates. Less than an hour after the protest began, he was guided into a nearby hotel while counter-protesters followed, with at least one person seen striking him from behind.
After Lang left the scene, counter-protesters held up a Quran that he had threatened to burn along with a tactical vest he had been wearing during the rally.
Lang is a Republican candidate for the US Senate in Florida. He was previously convicted of assaulting a police officer during the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol and served four years in federal prison before being pardoned by President Donald Trump.