Jake Lang — January 6 Rioter Who Fuels Antisemitism, Islamophobia

• Who is Jake Lang?
• What Anti-Jewish and Anti-Muslim Claims Has Jake Lang Made?
• Jake Lang, Antisemitic Violence, and Islamophobia
• How You Can Counter Antisemitism
• How You Can Respond to Anti-Muslim Bigotry

Jake Lang is a right-wing influencer, provocateur, and a candidate in Florida for the U.S. Senate Republican primary in August 2026 who has gained national attention for his extremist views and events. AJC is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that neither supports nor opposes candidates for elective office. However, when a public figure’s actions and rhetoric counter AJC’s policy and values, we call attention to it and urge leaders to speak out.

Lang has targeted both American Jews and American Muslims. He foments hatred of Jewish people by spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jewish control, greed, and the Great Replacement ideology. He has also made American Muslim communities a key target of his provocations.

Here is what to know about Lang, including how he promotes antisemitism and anti-Muslim bigotry, and the way he is fueling extremism in young far-right circles.

Key Takeaways

1. From January 6 to Politics: Jake Lang has seized on the notoriety of his presidential pardon for charges of criminal activity on January 6, 2021, to gain prominence in the far-right movement, especially among young Republicans. 
2. A Game of Horseshoes: While Lang espouses racist far-right ideologies such as the Great Replacement conspiracy and tropes about Jewish money and control, his anti-Zionist views give him common ground with extremists on the far-left, a dynamic sometimes described by commentators as the ‘horseshoe theory,’ which suggests common ground between extreme political ideologies on the far-left and far-right.
3. From Online to Real Life: Though he started mainly in the online space, Lang and his supporters have staged live in-person protests in recent months in Dearborn, MI, East Plano, TX, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, MN, and New York City, NY. 
4. Muslim and Jewish Targets: Lang’s theatrical demonstrations take aim at and insult both Jews and Muslims, sometimes at the same time. He also has targeted undocumented immigrants. 

Who is Jake Lang?

Edward Jacob “Jake” Lang, 30, graduated from high school in Pike County, Pennsylvania in 2013 and dropped out of college after a year to become a digital entrepreneur. 

Public records show he tried to sell vapes and custom baseball caps online, as well as consulting services to help prospective models grow their social media following. He also tried to launch a social media platform of his own called “Liberty Centric” – billed as a platform for “free thinkers” with no fact-checking, no advertising, no algorithms, and no censorship.

Lang claimed to have become more religious in 2020. During a podcast conversation with far-right commentator Laura Loomer, he said he was baptized as a child, distancing himself from his mother’s Jewish heritage and adding she is one of the “amazing, patriotic, white Jews … who exemplify everything it needs to be an American.”

He says this new path also had a political component, which led him to the nation’s capital on Jan. 6, 2021, and to the U.S. Capitol building with a baseball bat and riot shield. He was arrested several days later and indicted on 11 counts of assaulting officers at the U.S. Capitol, among other crimes after posting photographs and videos of himself on social media.

“Arrest me. You are on the wrong side of history,” he wrote as a caption for one of the videos.

Since receiving an unusual pre-trial presidential pardon for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack, Lang has become a right-wing influencer and provocateur, and a candidate in Florida for the U.S. Senate Republican primary in August 2026.

Some of his more troubling statements include his calls to “ban Islam” and “deputize the Proud Boys, and the January 6 Patriots to bounty hunt illegal immigrants.”

What Antisemitic, Anti-Muslim Claims and Insults Has Jake Lang Made?

Before heading to Minneapolis, Lang led a protest outside the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC, giving a Nazi salute in front of a banner proclaiming “Make Jerusalem Christian Again.” He threw chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil as he accused politicians of being under the control of “Jewish money.”

“White people in America, you will be replaced, and your children will be Black Muslims if you don’t stand up now,” he yelled, echoing the Great Replacement conspiracy. The deadly conspiracy, one of many that fuels antisemitic actions and beliefs, claims that Jews promote mass non-white immigration and inter-racial marriage for the purpose of making whites extinct. 

Similar ideas about the so-called Great Replacement inspired the shooter at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, to murder 11 worshipers in 2018. 

In November 2025, Lang led his supporters to Dearborn, MI to stage an anti-Muslim rally, which he repeated in December in Plano, Texas. In Dearborn, counterprotesters stopped him from lighting a Quran on fire. Instead, he slapped the sacred text with a slab of bacon, which Muslims are not allowed to eat. 

In Lang’s Plano, TX provocation he screamed Islamophobic slogans in front of a mosque while holding up a severed pig’s head with a Qur’an in its mouth. 

In January 2026, as many residents of Minneapolis protested the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation there, he led his supporters to the city to denounce the Muslim community there. He again threatened on social media to burn a Quran, this time on the steps of Minneapolis City Hall and to march through a neighborhood that is home to a large Somali community. Counterprotesters chased him off before he had the chance. 

He made national headlines again in March when he organized an antisemitic and anti-Muslim protest outside Gracie Mansion, the home of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

At the protest outside Gracie Mansion, Lang marched up the street carrying a roasted pig, which he and his supporters hauled on the back of a truck flying a Confederate flag. They unloaded the pig and left it in front of Effy’s, a kosher restaurant, in an apparent attempt to insult both Muslims and Jews.

His anti-Zionist beliefs are becoming clear too, as exhibited outside AIPAC headquarters in January. This form of antisemitism, disguised as hatred for Israel, is something he and his far-left counterparts can agree upon, supporting the horseshoe theory of political antisemitism. This theory suggests far-left and far-right ideologies are much more similar to each other than to the political center.

Why is Jake Lang’s Brand of Antisemitism and Islamophobia Particularly Dangerous? 

Lang has a history of turning violent words into action – both carrying it out himself or baiting those who oppose his views. 

Days after January 6 but before his arrest, he jumped on Telegram, an encrypted messaging channel known for giving a platform to antisemitism and other extremist ideologies, and began 

recruiting an armed militia posting instructions for members to prepare for a national “blackout,” by buying long-range walkie-talkies and stocking up on guns, ammo, and food.

“It was the first battle of the Second American Revolution—make no mistakes,” he wrote about the January 6 insurrection. “This is WAR.”

While he was in custody awaiting a trial for the charges stemming from January 6, Lang and others reportedly continued to recruit a nationwide network of regional armed militias called the North American Patriot and Liberty Militia, or NAPALM. 

But since the presidential pardon, his violent rhetoric and organizing has moved well-beyond the keyboard morphing into a national tour of sorts. Lang searches for the most provocative spaces to stage stunts that will generate clicks and provoke aggressive responses. Since November 2025, his protests in Dearborn, MI, Plano, TX, and Minneapolis, MN have yielded counter-protests, injuries, and viral footage that he posts for clicks. 

Much to its credit, the Muslim religious leadership of North Texas preemptively called on their community not to engage and not to succumb to Lang’s rage baiting.  

In March 2026, he targeted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Muslim faith outside his New York City residence during Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, observed worldwide as a period of fasting and prayer. As part of his “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” demonstration that day, Lang showed up with about a dozen followers, dragging a goat on a leash, which he reportedly called “Mamdani’s second wife.” The protest then escalated when two teens inspired by ISIS and now indicted with terrorism charges threw improvised explosive devices toward Lang.

How You Can Counter Antisemitism

We are all responsible for combating antisemitism. Here are some proactive measures you can take to fight this scourge.

• If You See Something, Say Something—Jews should not bear the responsibility of countering antisemitism alone. Everyone should report anti-Jewish incidents, whether to the FBI or local law enforcement, federal agencies, or social media platforms. In 2025, 45% of U.S. adults witnessed antisemitism in the past year. The vast majority (74%) saw or heard this content online or on social media.
• Take Action—Call on Congress to take concrete, actionable steps to counter the surge of anti-Jewish hate on social media and AI platforms. Send your email to Congress now.
• Share AJC’s Translate Hate Glossary—This glossary explains when, why, and how certain terms, tropes, themes, and memes are antisemitic, including anti-Jewish phrases that have resurfaced in recent years. We are seeing in real time how new antisemitic language emerges and old tropes evolve — often used to cast blame on Jews or the Jewish state for broader societal problems. Bookmark the glossary today.

How You Can Respond to Anti-Muslim Bigotry

AJC fundamentally believes that hatred against any minority community threatens all minority communities. As we have seen, Jews are not the only ones facing hatred online and in-person.

The same crude hatred informs both Lang’s antisemitism and his Islamophobia. 

Just as we call out anti-Jewish hate, we must all continue to call for prompt and public condemnations of anti-Muslim bigotry. These proactive efforts can deepen ties with community leaders and remind everyone that hate crimes seek to inflict fear or intimidation on the community as a whole. 

We have seen that when our communities stand together there can be a profound impact in maintaining dialogue and efforts to advance Muslim-Jewish relations despite challenging moments. For example, in October 2023, when a 6-year-old Muslim boy was murdered and his mother critically injured by a man who targeted them because of their faith and Israel’s defensive war against Hamas, American Jewish Committee joined more than 100 Jewish groups condemning the attack and rejecting any effort to exploit the situation in Israel and Gaza to spread hate and bigotry.

“We also know that we are not the only ones being targeted in this moment,” the statement said. “Our Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian American neighbors are facing bigotry, threats, and violence … Let us be unequivocally clear: The Jewish community rejects Islamophobia, anti-Arab hate, antisemitism, and all forms of bigotry.”ry.”