Far-right influencer Jake Lang charged with vandalizing sculpture on Minnesota Capitol steps

Law enforcement arrested pardoned Jan. 6 insurrectionist and far-right influencer Jake Lang in St. Paul, Minnesota, for destroying a sculpture on the front steps of the Capitol on Thursday. Lang now faces a felony charge.

Lang posted a video to social media of him kicking the newly-installed sculpture that reads "prosecute ICE." 

A state trooper arrested Lang a short time later near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and University Avenue. He was booked at the Ramsey County Jail.

On Friday, prosecutors charged Lang with first-degree damage to property, a felony. According to a criminal complaint, Lang requested and was granted protective custody at the jail. He also allegedly told authorities he was "exercising my First Amendment right to artistic expression."

"Complainant notes that the First Amendment does indeed protect artistic expression — the creation and display of an ice sculpture, for example," the complaint read. "The First Amendment does not, however, provide protection against damaging someone else's property."

A judge on Friday ordered Lang to stay at least three blocks away from the State Capitol. He is due back in court March 3. 

Lang previously said he planned to hold a rally inside the building on Saturday, but officials say he does not have a permit to do so.

The sculpture had been put up earlier the same day by Common Defense, a group of veterans who were protesting ICE's ongoing presence in Minnesota.

"We've been working across the country to help push back against the terror campaign that ICE has unleashed on our cities," Common Defense Communications Director Jacob Thomas said.

Thomas said the goal now is to rebuild the sculpture, possibly even bigger this time.

"Art can be destroyed, but our resolve to defend democracy and to defend our neighbors and fight for what is right cannot be destroyed," Thomas said.  

Last month, Lang, who is from Florida, led an anti-Islam rally in Minneapolis, which drew a large crowd of counter-protesters.