Back in 2004, John Edwards - then a Senator and presidential candidate - claimed that there were "Two Americas".
He was talking about wealth and "privilege", of course.
But for the past decade or so, there have been two Minnesotas - one with a standard of justice for normies, and one separate, much easier one for classes favored by the left.
Black Lives Matter started blocking freeways in the Twin Cities ten years ago - which led to a few episodes of BLM marchers blockading the gates of the Minnesota State Fair. Conservative groups asked, "What would have happened if a pro-life, Second Amendment, or tax protest group had blocked the freeway?" Attack dogs and water cannon were the most likely answer, but we never really heard back.
A particularly galling example: during the riots of 2020, a group of "protesters" pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus on the state capitol mall:
Five years ago, leftists tore down the Christopher Columbus statue outside the MN Capitol.
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) October 9, 2025
Tim Walz did nothing to stop it and still refuses to reinstall it. Democrats have spent years erasing Columbus from history.
Today, President Trump officially brought back Columbus Day. pic.twitter.com/w76U0AKr0g
This happened as the state patrol stood by and watched.
The ringleader? He surrendered, took an exceptionally sweetheart deal, and was "sentenced" to community service. I used the scare quotes because his "community service" was...
...teaching school kids about the evils of Christopher Columbus.
If anything, the pattern has solidified since 2020.
Last March, an Easter display at the state capitol was destroyed. This report from State Representative Pam Altendorf:
🚨🚨MN State Capitol:
— Rep. Pam Altendorf (@PamAltendorf) March 31, 2025
Police report being filed right now
Pictures of broken cross.
10 Commandments plaque stolen.
Sign left says “All out of F^€ks. Switching to bricks.”
AND the “before” picture.
We are not the same! pic.twitter.com/Wfzn15WubV
Nothing happened. No arrests, no investigation, no nothing.
Fast forward to this past week. A group of veterans put up a "Prosecute ICE" ice sculpture (insert polite chuckle) on the Capitol Mall.
"Far right influencer" (is there any other kind of right winger to our media, really?) Jake Lang exercised mostly peaceful editorial control:
🚨 BREAKING: Outside the Minnesota State Capitol, conservative activist Jake Lang was arrested after defacing an ICE protest ice sculpture, changing “Prosecute ICE” to “Pro ICE.”
— World News (@World_Newsn) February 5, 2026
Authorities say he caused about $6,000 in damage and booked him into Ramsey County Jail. pic.twitter.com/RX0AJCaE1v
Lang, heretofore famous for getting a presidential pardon for his role in the January 6 riot and for getting chased out of downtown Minneapolis last month after a kerfuffle that, unexpectedly, led to zero assault charges, was arrested and, since the frozen water was valued at several thousand dollars, landed some felony charges:
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, around 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Lang was seen kicking and breaking parts of a sculpture that said "Prosecute ICE" that was set up on the Capitol promenade.
Lang, 30, was seen leaving the area in a vehicle and was stopped at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and University Avenue by a state trooper.
He was then arrested without incident and was booked into the Ramsey County Jail on suspicion of criminal damage to property.
Let's be clear here: rights don't conflict with other rights. One's First Amendment right to free speech doesn't involve destroying others' free speech. It's good he was arrested - and his defense attorney will likely tell him it was a tactical error to film himself smashing the "sculpture".
And it's not evident that Lang is engaging in civil disobedience - breaking the law with full expectation of subsequent consequences, to illustrate some injustice.
Which is certainly a missed opportunity - because looking at the disparity in prosecutions between normies and people from groups in favor of the city's political class, there is clearly some injustice to protest.
