Chaos erupted outside of Gracie Mansion on Saturday afternoon as New Yorkers clashed with far-right influencer Jake Lang and his posse, leading to a slew of arrests.
Photo by Dean Moses
Fists flew and pepper-spray blew outside of Gracie Mansion on Saturday afternoon as New Yorkers clashed with far-right influencer Jake Lang and his posse, leading to a slew of arrests and a bomb scare.
Amid the chaos that erupted outside the mayor’s official residence, someone screamed and held up a device with smoke emitting from it, which some feared to be an explosive. The individual apparently attempted to hurl the object at protesters there to oppose Lang, a pardoned Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionist turned right-wing celebrity who spewed Islamophobic slurs and simulated a lewd act in front of protesters at Washington Square Park on Friday.
The individual who held the suspicious device was immediately tackled to the ground by police officers, piling on top of him. Cops evacuated the area and called in the Bomb Squad to investigate, according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
“The exact nature of the device is not yet clear,” Tisch said at a Saturday evening press conference. “Based on preliminary examination and X-ray imaging, the devices, which were a bit smaller than a football, appear to be a jar wrapped in black tape, importantly, with nuts, bolts, and screws, along with a hobby fuse that could be lit. At this time, we do not yet know whether the devices were functional, improvised explosive devices, or hoax devices.”
The chaotic scene unfolded on 89th Street and York Avenue when Lang declared that he would be participating in a hateful demonstration against Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Big Apple’s Muslim community.
“God’s with us and patriots stand tall,” Lang claimed.
But New Yorkers were not having it.
When Lang stepped out of his U-Haul van, with a goat in tow, and surrounded by about a dozen of his cohorts, they were met by counter-protesters enraged by his racist taunts.
Vastly outnumbered, the NYPD shielded the far-right group, keeping the demonstrative crowd at bay as they made their way toward Gracie Mansion, while wild punches, shouts, and altercations ensued.
A procession of punches continued until the NYPD separated both groups into pens outside of Gracie Mansion on 87th Street and East End Avenue.
On one side, a group held up a flag with a racist Muslim caricature being lynched, and on the other, demonstrators burned the Confederate flag.
In one startling moment, a far-right protester broke through the ranks and began pepper-spraying people, causing several individuals to be incapacitated.
Those exposed to the spray were left on the ground, weeping, while others frantically attempted to flush their eyes out with bottles of water.
Meanwhile, outrage grew when police did not immediately arrest the assailant, but instead, rushed him back to Lang’s pen.
“I saw a pepper spray flying in the direction, and I saw little children standing right next to it. Four people got hit, at least,” one eyewitness said.
Tisch said that the suspect behind the pepper spray attack was arrested.
“There was a period of time between the pepper spray incident and the arrest, and officers at the scene did their initial investigation and had to make sure that they were not acting in that they were acting in a way that wouldn’t further inflame tensions,” Tisch said.
Lang tried to flee the area; however, when the U-Haul he arrived in returned, it was immediately bombarded by New Yorkers punching the vehicle and using their bodies in an attempt to block it from leaving the area.
Lang was left behind until the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group cleared a path for him to leave. Police say six arrests have been made, including for assault on a police officer and disorderly conduct.
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