'So cringe': Comedy of errors dogs jailed rioter as he tries to launch Trump militia
Jake Lang, a man who is in prison after being arrested for his role in the January 6th riots at the United States Capitol building, tells Rolling Stone that he is on a divine mission in the name of helping former President Donald Trump retake the White House.
While speaking to the magazine from prison, Lang said that "God put into my heart to get the ball rolling" by starting a militia in the name of the former president.
However, Rolling Stone's reporting raises some questions about whether the North American Patriot and Liberty Militia, or NAPALM USA, will be ready for prime time if it has to take to the streets to put Trump back into the White House by force if necessary.
"As a paramilitary force, Lang’s militia may be more intimidating in high concept than in physical reality. Its launch has been dogged by inflated membership rolls; supposed group leaders saying they have nothing to do with the militia; a canceled Instagram account; and by a militia name so cringe that it has already been discarded," the publication writes.
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Rolling Stone reached out to Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, who dismissed the idea that Lang could in the near future form a militia truly capable of wielding mass violence on Trump's behalf.
"I think Jake is a grifter who’s trying to appeal to the absolute lowest common denominator,” Lewis said. “This is the guy who has somehow stayed relevant by claiming he’s like the OG political prisoner.”
According to federal prosecutors, Lang not only assaulted police on January 6th, but also vowed to become even more violent in the future after the assault on the Capitol failed to block the certification of President Joe Biden's election.
Specifically, Lang said after the riots that the next time he and his fellow Trump supporters would use "guns" on the grounds that "the First Amendment didn't work, we pull out the Second."