January 6 Pardonee Promoted Controversial Protest in Michigan

A right-wing influencer who was pardoned for crimes related to the January 6 Capitol attack promoted a book burning protest in Dearborn, Michigan that did not go ahead.

Jake Lang, a 30-year-old conservative influencer who served four years in jail for crimes connected to the January 6 attack, said on X Sunday that he was participating in what he called the largest book burning in American history in Dearborn, which became the first Arab-majority city in the United States in 2023.

In a stream on X, Lang speaking from a vehicle said he would be burning LGBTQ books, as well as the Quran and Hindi books.

"I will not be replaced," he said.

Event Did Not Happen

Local publications claimed the event did not go ahead and Lang said he was arrested on his way to it.

The Detroit News said several hundred people came out in support of Dearborn's Muslim community.

Videos on social media appeared to show counter protesters with megaphones and Palestine flags shouting at Lang as his vehicle appeared on the street.

Lang also claimed he was arrested at the scene and wrote on X that he had just been released from Dearborn County Jail. He said his arrest was for texting while driving.

Newsweek has not been able to independently verify Lang's arrest and reached out to Dearborn Police Department by email to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.

Middle Eastern Ancestry

Approximately 54.5 percent of the nearly 110,000 residents of Dearborn, Michigan's seventh-largest city, are of Middle Eastern or North African ancestry, according to the 2020 census up seven percentage points compared to 2019 data.

Political polarization has increased in recent years, sparking conversations about the balance between free speech and offensive discourse.

The war with Iran, which started when the United States and Israel launched joint military strikes on the country on February 28, has resulted in concerns about increased Islamophobia. Between that date and March 5, researchers at the Center for the Study of Organized Hate documented 25,348 posts on X with Islamophobic content, and when accounting for reposts, the reach expanded to 279,417 mentions.

Florida Republican Randy Fine faced calls for his resignation after the congressman suggested in a February social media post that given a choice, he'd choose dogs over Muslims. In March, he triggered a backlash when he wrote on X: We need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational.

Previous Incidents

Lang has had several high-profile brushes with authorities in recent months. In February, he was arrested after recording himself kicking an anti-ICE sculpture in Minnesota, which was made from ice. In March, he was charged with first-degree damage to property. Lang pleaded not guilty and his trial date is set for July 27.

In March, he was also charged with making threatening statements about an officer he spoke to at a January 6 riots fifth-anniversary event.

Lang also clashed with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in March after Lang organized a protest outside the mayor's residence, Gracie Mansion.

Yesterday, white supremacist Jake Lang organized a protest outside Gracie Mansion rooted in bigotry and racism, Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, wrote on X at the time about the events. Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city's values and the unity that defines who we are.

In November, Lang and other conservative influencers held an anti-Islam rally in Dearborn.

This story was reported by Newsweek based on Lang's X posts and claims about the event.