An ice sculpture made out of frozen letters spelling “Prosecute ICE” in front of the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul was vandalized shortly after its unveiling Thursday.
Jake Lang, a Jan. 6 rioter who served four years in prison before being pardoned by President Donald Trump, claimed responsibility for the sculpture’s destruction. Lang posted a video of himself on X, formerly Twitter, kicking the frozen letters.
“I’m currently being arrested outside the Minnesota State Capitol for turning the ‘PROSECUTE ICE’ sign the Democrats erected into the wonderful ‘PRO ICE,’” Lang wrote on X.
It was not immediately clear if Lang was in custody Thursday afternoon.
The sculpture was installed by veterans with Common Defense, a veteran-led movement dedicated to protecting democracy and combating authoritarianism, according to its website.
“I gave eight years of my life in service to this country in the military. For a January 6 insurrectionist to destroy our display is an attack on the First Amendment veterans like me fought to defend,” said Jacob Thomas, a veteran and communications director for Common Defense, in a news release.
Lang in Minnesota
Lang’s act of vandalism comes days before he was set to hold a rally at the Capitol, just weeks after he held a Minneapolis “March Against Fraud,” which was met with counter-protests and violence.
An estimated 2,000 counter-protesters followed the dozens who took part in the march itself. Lang fled after being doused with water, pelted with snowballs and punched by counter-protesters.
In a social media post on Jan. 28, Lang said he would return to Minnesota and had secured a permit for a noon rally at the State Capitol on Saturday, Feb. 7. But a spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Administration said Lang had not obtained approval for the gathering.
The Minnesota State Patrol, which handles security at the Capitol, said Tuesday it was aware of Lang’s plans for a rally and planned to increase its security presence on Saturday.
An anti-Trump group secured a permit for a rally at the Capitol later that day. The People’s Coalition Against Trump is scheduled to gather at 3 p.m. on Saturday, according to a Capitol events calendar.
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