Hate never waits for an invitation. It just shows up, right when people are most vulnerable, and makes sure everyone knows it’s there. It doesn’t need weapons or violence to make its point. Sometimes a symbol, a group of people, and a camera are enough. This time, New York City faced that challenge in Ramadan, the holiest month of the Islamic calendar.
Jake Lang, who Trump pardoned after January 6 and who has made a name for himself on the far right, showed up outside Gracie Mansion. That’s the official home of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New York’s first Muslim mayor.
Lang showed up on March 7 with a roasted pig wrapped in tin foil, a live goat, and a handful of supporters. He called the rally “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City,” and picked Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims, on purpose. The pig itself was a nasty swipe at the Islamic ban on pork.
In the video that has since gone viral on social media platforms, Lang and a small group showed up on York Avenue carrying a roasted pig. Right away, a crowd of counterprotesters spotted them, and drums started pounding, people shouted, some called Lang and his crew Nazis. The crowd grew fast, close to a hundred counterprotesters, yelling, throwing eggs, while Lang’s group shouted back, calling for Mamdani’s deportation.
By the time the protest peaked, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CNN that the counterprotesters numbered around 125. Things got uglier as someone from the far-right side started pepper-spraying people, and at least four got hit.
Then, out of nowhere, two homemade devices went off near the mansion. Jars, wrapped in black tape, filled with nuts, bolts, and screws, burning with a hobby fuse.
Cops reportedly ended up arresting at least six people, including the person who threw the device and a Lang supporter who had pepper-sprayed the crowd. Lang and his group jumped into a U-Haul as protesters chased after them, smashing up the truck as it sped away.
Social media blew up as soon as the protest videos hit X and TikTok. Clips of Lang walking down York Avenue with the roasted pig went viral, and most people weren’t shy about their anger or disgust. Tons of comments zeroed in on the timing, right in the middle of Ramadan, and called it out as a clear move to intimidate, not just some political stunt.
Internet Reacts as Jake Lang Brings Pork at Zohran Mamdani’s New York Residence
The clip quickly drew backlash online, with many viewers condemning the act as disrespectful. “Disgusting, bigoted stunt using food as a weapon to mock someone’s faith isn’t patriotism, it’s just pathetic Islamophobia. Real Americans build bridges, not burn them with this kind of childish hate,” one person wrote. Another added, “So doing that to someone who is observing Ramadan makes you a hero. Wow!”
Several commenters criticized the behavior as pointless provocation. “So disrespectful and nothing to proud about unless your parents didn’t raise you with attitude,” one user wrote. Another asked, “And this accomplished what exactly? Being an agitator asset…stirring up division by design.”
Some also pushed back against the logic behind the stunt. “You realise pork isn’t a kryptonite to Muslims? These people are just so brain dead,” a comment read.
Not everyone thought the moment deserved attention, however. “I can promise you that no one besides you idiots care about this,” one person wrote, as the debate continued in the replies.
Free speech is one thing, but going after a community with hateful symbols during their most sacred month is something else. On Saturday, New York didn’t stay quiet; it fought back. People won’t soon forget the sight of a roasted pig paraded through Manhattan, or the homemade explosives going off nearby. Lang took off in a U-Haul, but New York is still here.
