The Editorial Board of The Masses received the following report from RF-FR Great Lakes on their efforts to drive fascist agitators from their streets.
BRIDGEVIEW, Illinois — On October 4, 2026, ultra-reactionary Jake Lang organized a “Crusader March,” targeting Chicago’s 4th annual Palestine Fest in Bridgeview, Illinois. Lang was a rioter in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Since then, he has received a pardon from the Trump government. He is a white nationalist, and has been placed on multiple hate group watch-lists following his instigation of multiple anti-Muslim “crusader marches”. Additionally, he has instigated other reactionary anti-national minority riots around the country, including recent appearances in Texas and Minneapolis. Lang arrived at the fest in a flatbed truck accompanied by other white supremacist, Christian nationalist, and MAGA supporters. Their goal was to protest against the “Islamification of Chicago” in tandem with Lang’s false narratives of “Black Muslims” attacking white people in Chicago. Later in the demonstration, a second group of fascists called “European Americans,” led by former Richard Spencer ally Greg Conte, arrived to sling anti-Jewish slurs at both revolutionary activists and Jake Lang, while giving Nazi salutes. Similar to his past attempts at agitating Muslim and Arab communities in Minneapolis, he was met by widespread pushback by allied organizations, Palestinian families, and other unified community members.
Various independent media outlets, such as Amal Media Group, warned of his arrival days before the festival, calling on community members to “not engage, stay vigilant, remain peaceful and report threats or suspicious activity to law enforcement.” Despite warnings from bourgeois politicians anticipating his disruptive “march,” he was still supported by those same leaders in protecting his “right to free speech.” Lang also received dedicated protection from Bridgeview police and Illinois State police forces as well as additional support from State authorities in neighboring townships. Similar to the bourgeois politicians, the police exist to aid fascists and to defend the bourgeois class as a whole. As a militarized arm of the Old State, the police serve as a necessary force in protecting the system of U.S. Imperialism and aiding in the suppression of oppressed communities such as Little Palestine.
Refusing to let fascist elements invade our city undisturbed, the Revolutionary Front – Frente Revolucionario, or RF-FR, in Chicago organized a counter-protest against Lang and his ultra-reactionary goons. The Chicago Worker’s Circle, People’s Defense Chicago, Corriente Popular Damián García, Borike’n Liberation Front, and the Revolutionary Student Union-Chicago, alongside allied organization, the Bori Collective, banded together in a mass counter-action against Lang and his Crusaders’ attempt to take over the cultural celebration for the Palestinian community of Bridgeview. While Lang sought to infiltrate the Palestine Fest and antagonize its attendants under the guise of “exercising his right to free speech,” our militant response, alongside that of the broader community, was instrumental in executing an organized struggle to defend against ultra-reactionary and oppressive State-sanctioned forces.
This action represents a concrete expression of the determination, hope, effort, cooperation, militant leadership, and revolutionary optimism alive within our struggle to organize the strength of the masses. Overall, the counter-protest to Lang’s “Crusader March” proved successful, as the fest carried out uninterrupted. Families were able to safely attend the fest without any other interruptions. According to Mayor Steven Landek, “The protests outside of the event ended with no arrests made.” The Chicago Sun Times reported two arrests were made. Lang’s reactionary cronies fled shortly after Lang’s abrupt departure, which came only an hour after his arrival. In his attempt to flee, members of the counter-protesting crowd obstructed the truck’s path. They began throwing rocks, water bottles, garbage, and silly string at Lang’s truck before smashing his windshield in. The level resistance and solidarity among our organizations and the broader community forced Lang and his so-called “Crusaders” to abandon their efforts of reactionary violence against the Palestinian Fest. He failed to cause any further disruptions among the crowd, with no activists facing lasting punishment for combating oppression within their community.
It is our duty as the masses to continue joining forces in building a unified resistance against fascistization. When we engage with building neighborhood defense organizations, we demonstrate “it is right to rebel” and that we “dare to struggle, dare to win” in our collective struggle against fascistization. Collective mobilization efforts and wielding our revolutionary power is an essential piece of fighting repression of righteous protest from the Old State, ending police militarization, and expelling fascist sympathizers, like Lang, from the streets and out of our communities.
