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Let’s start with some commentary . . .
Spider-Man Charged With Assault
After Confrontation With Jake Lang
in Minneapolis
Minnesota Now
August 25, 2026
A protester wearing a Spider-Man costume during Saturday’s chaotic demonstration outside Minneapolis City Hall has now been charged following a confrontation with far-right activist Jake Lang.
Minneapolis police identified the man as 33-year-old William Nicholas Love [right]. According to newly released information, Love has been charged by the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office with fifth-degree assault involving fear of bodily harm or death.
Video recorded during the August 22 demonstration shows a person dressed as Spider-Man jumping onto the back of a pickup truck occupied by Lang. The video appears to show the costumed protester throwing punches toward Lang and attempting to take a sign from him.
A detailed criminal complaint outlining the City Attorney’s allegations against Love has not yet been publicly released, so additional circumstances surrounding the charge remain unclear. The charge comes as prosecutors announced a different decision regarding Lang himself.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Tuesday that her office would not pursue felony charges against Edward “Jake” Lang stemming from Saturday’s confrontation.
Moriarty said prosecutors reviewed extensive evidence involving communication and logistical coordination between the Minneapolis Police Department and Lang’s security detail and determined there was not a path to prove felony charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Lang had initially been arrested on probable cause riot allegations after the demonstration deteriorated into confrontations involving his group, counterprotesters and police.
The rally was organized by Lang in support of Shiloh Hendrix, the Rochester woman convicted in connection with a highly publicized confrontation at a Rochester playground where she repeatedly used a racial slur against a child.
Saturday’s demonstration attracted a large number of counter-protesters and quickly became contentious. Video from downtown showed confrontations around Lang’s vehicles as police attempted to separate people and regain control of the area.
Although Hennepin County has declined felony charges against Lang from Saturday’s events, he has other pending legal matters, including a felony vandalism case in St. Paul involving the destruction of a “Prosecute ICE” ice sculpture.
Lang also remains in custody following his Minneapolis arrest because of an out-of-state felony hold connected to his pending Texas case.
The charge against Love demonstrates that authorities are continuing to review individual conduct captured during Saturday’s demonstration even as felony charges against Lang have been declined.
‘Spider-Man’ Hailed as Hero After
Jake Lang Clash Has Domestic Violence
and Felony Firearm Convictions
By Jenna Gloeb
Alpha News
August 25, 2026
The man in the Spider-Man costume who became an overnight “hero” after throwing punches at controversial activist Jake Lang outside Minneapolis City Hall has been celebrated across social media, praised in legacy news coverage and showered with more than $120,000 in donations.
But there’s a significant chapter missing from the superhero storyline: the criminal record of the man behind the mask.
The costumed counter-protester is 33-year-old William Nicholas Love – a convicted felon with prior convictions for domestic assault and another domestic violence-related offense. He was later charged in a case in which he was accused of threatening the mother of his child with a gun.
Saturday’s confrontation came after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey had publicly urged residents not to give Lang and his rally the attention they were seeking. In a social media post ahead of Saturday’s event, Frey encouraged people to stay away rather than engage with Lang.
“Let this lame-ass racist rally fall flat and fade into irrelevance,” Frey posted on X.
A crowd of counter-protesters showed up anyway as Lang arrived outside Minneapolis City Hall Saturday for an event that quickly descended into chaos.
Video of the confrontation went viral, including footage showing Love – dressed as Spider-Man – climbing onto a pickup truck occupied by Lang and striking him as protesters surrounded the vehicle.
[. . .] Love was also arrested Saturday along with three other counter-protesters but was released from the Hennepin County Jail that evening and cited for misdemeanor assault. It is unclear whom Love is accused of assaulting. Video from the protest shows him striking both Lang and a Minneapolis police officer.
To read Jenna Gloeb’s article in its entirety, click here.
So, yeah, this Spider-Man isn’t perfect. And I hope and pray there has been atonement and healing in his life and within his personal relationships.
I also understand that William Love’s use of violence against Jake Lang is problematical for many. At the same time, what happened this past Saturday in Minneapolis served for many as a much-needed release, with Love’s presence and actions being viewed as a powerful act of defiance and repudiation of the much greater violence of fascism and the racism which is always a fundamental part of it. And let’s not forget that
here in Minnesota we endured the Trump regime’s truly
awful (and
deadly)
immigration crackdown earlier this year, a crackdown that saw a
surge of undisciplined and lawless
ICE and Border Control agents
on our streets and in our neighborhoods.
Like Trump, Jake Lang is vehemently racist and anti-immigrant. The character of Spider-Man, on the other hand, like so many archtypal superheros of our culture (from
Black Panther to
Superman), is the polar opposite. Watching Spider-Man clobber and topple Jake Lang, even if just for a moment, represented for many of us a take-down of Trump’s
fascist America, along with its naked
racism,
Christian nationalism,
corruption, and death-dealing
goon squads.
So with all of this in mind and heart, I share this evening not only the above commentaries but images and memes of Spider-Man in Minneapolis.
This picture should be Photo of the Year because it embodies the absurdity and desperation of the times we’re living in.
Spider-Man being physically harnessed against bigotry and Christian fascism is almost too perfect. Oscar Wilde would appreciate the irony. Life imitating art until the distinction becomes meaningless.
I want to see more of this.
Superheroes are modern mythology. They’re symbols most of us learned as children, and the basic lesson was rarely complicated: when bullies terrorize people, you stand between the bully and their target.
So use the imagery.
Make these racists explain why Spider-Man kicked their ass.
They’ll never live it down.
A GoFundMe campaign for William Nicholas Love, the Minneapolis Spider-Man cosplayer who punched far-right activist Jake Lang during a confrontation outside Minneapolis City Hall, has now raised more than $100,000.
The fundraiser was originally seeking $10,000 to help Love with his legal issues following the August 22 incident, but quickly blew past that goal as supporters rallied around the cosplayer.
According to The Popverse, both Love and Lang were arrested following the confrontation. Love’s family is now set up to receive the funds raised through the campaign.
The whole story is bizarre enough to sound like something ripped straight from a comic book, but the fundraiser has clearly struck a chord with people who saw Love’s actions as standing up to Lang and his inflammatory activism.
Related Off-site Links:
Minneapolis Residents and Local Spider-Man Drive Out Jake Lang, Escorted by MPD, Drawing Outrage – Izzy Canizares (Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, August 24, 2026).
A Spider-Man Cosplayer Punched Far-right Activist Jake Lang, and His Supporters Have Now Raised Over $100,000 to Help Support His Legal Issues – Grant DeArmitt (The Popverse, August 28, 2026).
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Avengers Assemble!
• The Important Cultural Moment That Is Black Panther
• Celebrating Black Panther – Then and Now
• Wolvie
• Season of the (Scarlet) Witch
• One Divine Hammer
• What the Vatican Can Learn from the X-Men
• The New Superman: Not Necessarily Gay, But Definitely Queer
• Greg Ketter: A Valiant Minnesotan
