The federal government's case against Narrowsburg native Edward Jacob Lang, who has been incarcerated since January 2021 , will go to trial two years after the riots at the U.S. Capitol in which he posted photos and videos of himself online confronting law enforcement.
In a scheduling order issued Monday, Judge Carl J. Nichols of the District Court for the District of Columbia, wrote that Lang's trial will begin on January 9, 2023.
Lang was photographed on January 6. 2021 by a photojournalist holding a bat in one hand and a shield in the other and wearing a gas mask. File photo via Getty Images.
Lang, the son of former Town of Tusten councilman and local businessman Ned Lang, was arrested at his Newburgh home on January 16. 2021 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The 26-year-old, who is being held at a federal prison in Pennsylvania, is expected to appear in Nichols' court at 2 pm today for a status conference.
In September, the government obtained a superseding indictment that added multiple counts against Lang. Three months earlier, Lang rejected a plea deal on the original indictment.
Ned Lang told The River Reporter soon after his son's arrest that his son's behavior was based on a drug problem. Two sources who knew Lang when he lived in New York City confirmed to The SullivanTimes that he had a drug problem.
Aside from his actions on January 6. the government is alleging that Lang was using Telegram, an online messaging app, to actively recruit other supporters of then-President Donald J. Trump to commit more violence.
Throughout the legal process thus far, Lang's attorneys have attempted to portray Lang as a hero on January 6, alleging that he saved two other participants at the Capitol from being seriously harmed or killed by Capitol police officers. The statements were made in one court appearance in which the attorneys sought for Lang to be released into the custody of his father.
But Nichols has been unpersuaded and ordered that Lang continue to be detained.
(This is a developing story)
Below is a a Joint Status Report filed last seek by the U.S. Attorney's Office and Lang's attorneys.
