Minneapolis 'Spider-Man' pleads not guilty to assault after truck confrontation

William Nicholas Love, dressed as Spider-Man, faced assault charges after jumping onto a pickup truck driven toward protesters. His attorney says it was self-defense.

Minneapolis man in Spider-Man costume enters not-guilty plea after viral protest brawl

William Nicholas Love, 33, of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, pleaded not guilty Friday to a misdemeanor assault charge, Courthouse News Service reports. Love — widely known online as the "Minneapolis Spider-Man" — entered his plea at the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility while wearing a full Spider-Man costume.

Outside the building, roughly 100 supporters chanted "drop the charges." Many wore Spider-Man suits themselves or held signs reading "We need more superheroes" and "Spider-Man protects people." Two attendees arrived dressed as Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen, other characters from the same fictional universe.

"Black, white, Mexican, whatever you are, we are in this together," Love told the crowd.

What happened on Aug. 22

The charge against Love stems from a confrontation on Aug. 22 outside Minneapolis City Hall. Multiple vehicles associated with far-right activist Jake Lang drove onto a sidewalk toward a crowd of people who were protesting him. Love climbed onto the back of one of the pickup trucks, threw punches, and attempted to take a sign, according to video footage of the incident. Both sides deployed mace during the brawl.

Lang had traveled to Minneapolis to hold a rally in support of Shiloh Hendrix, a Rochester woman who gained widespread attention following a racist viral incident and was subsequently charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Minneapolis police arrested 11 people on riot charges that day, including Lang and others from his group. Love faces a fifth-degree misdemeanor assault charge for his role.

Defense: trucks on the sidewalk were the assault

Love's attorney, Jack Rice, told Courthouse News that his client acted in self-defense and in defense of others in the crowd.

"When you have two trucks driving onto a curb toward a crowd of people, that is a threat in itself. That's an assault in itself," Rice said. "Frankly, anyone who's rolling a truck towards people is guilty of a fifth-degree assault."

Rice argues that responsibility for the incident lies entirely with Lang's group. "Those were the people who should've been charged in this case, and yet we are not seeing any charges at this point," Rice said. "So, we have a lot of questions."

Lang released; felony charges dropped

Lang — who served four years for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot before receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump — was released from custody last week after the Hennepin County Attorney's Office announced it would not pursue felony charges against him.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty described Lang's conduct as "despicable and disgusting," but said prosecutors could not meet the legal standard for felony charges. "This is a legal decision based on applicable law," Moriarty said in a statement. "We simply cannot prove the requisite intent in light of the evidence." She noted the city attorney's office may still pursue misdemeanor charges against him.

Community support and crowdfunding

Love has drawn broad support from the Minneapolis community. On Reddit and Facebook, residents have called him a "hero of the city," though some critics have condemned the use of physical violence.

Following his arrest and public identification, several GoFundMe campaigns were launched to cover his legal costs. Together, those pages have raised more than $160,000. One fundraising page, reportedly run by Love's fiancée, includes a statement from Love.

"I jumped onto the moving truck because I felt I had to do whatever I could to protect the people around me," he wrote, adding that he was also raising funds to help cover medical bills. "I was pushed off, punched in the face and trampled by police who, in that moment, protected the real threat instead of the community."

Rice said he was gratified by the turnout at the courthouse. "We had people come out to this city, not for the first time, with the intent to do what they did. We saw them rolling on a public sidewalk," he said, referring to Lang's group. "To have community members come out and say, 'No, we will not accept this in Minnesota' — it's gratifying."

Love's next court appearance is a pretrial conference scheduled for Nov. 19.

Source: Courthouse News Service