Spider-Man Takes a Stand Against Racism at Minneapolis Protest, Faces Arrest

A Spider-Man cosplayer has taken the internet by storm this weekend, embodying the hero he represents by confronting racist Jan. 6 rioter Jake Lang at a protest in Minneapolis. In videos capturing the moment, the cosplayer leaps onto a truck carrying Lang as it maneuvers through a crowd of counter-protesters on what looks like a sidewalk. The Spider-Man is seen grappling with Lang to snatch away a sign displaying a racial slur. A photographer managed to capture a shot that resembles both a classic renaissance painting and an epic comic book cover.

Lang, a white supremacist and participant in the Jan. 6 riots, was in Minneapolis alongside a group of his racist allies to support Shiloh Hendrix, a Minnesota woman infamous for hurling racial slurs at an 8-year-old autistic Black boy last year. This incident turned her into a controversial figure, and she has since raised nearly a million dollars following her viral moment. Although she faced two counts of disorderly conduct, she was only convicted of one and fined $1,000 after the trial concluded earlier this year, which led Lang to organize a “N- March” where Hendrix was invited to speak.

Both Lang and the Spider-Man cosplayer were arrested, with the cosplayer claiming that the police failed to read him his rights. He has since launched a crowdfunding campaign to assist with his legal defense.