A Texas Judge Just Told This Guy To Get Out Of The State

I've lived in Texas since 1984. That's long enough to know Texans have rules about everything from barbecue to property lines, and they're notoriously particular about who gets to tell us what to do.

But in all my years hear as a naturalized Texan I'd never encountered what amounts to: Here's your ankle monitor. There's the door. Please locate another state.

Then I heard about pardoned Jake Lang and what allegedly brought him the unwanted attention of Texas authorities.

Lang walked out of the Collin County Jail in June after posting a $250,000 bond.

But with one rather significant catch. He had 24 hours to get out of Texas.

How Do You Get Yourself Kicked Out Of Texas?

Edward Jacob "Jake" Lang is a far-right activist and influencer who was charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and later received a presidential pardon.

More recently, he became a highly visible presence around Collin County, Texas.

And when I say visible, I mean visible.

Lang appeared at demonstrations, local government meetings and protests surrounding the highly publicized murder trial of Karmelo Anthony, who was convicted of murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf after a confrontation at a Frisco track meet.

Then things allegedly went considerably beyond protesting.

According to court records reported by CBS Texas, authorities say Lang made statements during a livestream outside Anthony's trial that they interpreted as a threat to kill Anthony.

At one point, authorities allege Lang said he would be waiting outside the courthouse and referred to a "headshot."

When another person reportedly asked whether he intended to kill Anthony, Lang allegedly answered yes.

That's not exactly the kind of sentence prosecutors tend to scroll past.

Investigators with the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Fusion Center were monitoring threats surrounding the trial, according to CBS Texas. Authorities identified Lang from the video, and he was subsequently charged with making a terroristic threat, a third-degree felony.

Lang has denied that he actually intended to hurt Anthony. After his release, he characterized his remarks as hyperbole and exaggeration and said he would be more careful about his rhetoric in the future.

That's an important distinction for a court to resolve. Because Lang has been charged, not convicted, of the offense.

This Wasn't His First Collin County Adventure

By the time authorities arrested Lang on the terroristic-threat charge, he was already familiar to local law enforcement.

Earlier in June, Frisco police arrested him on a criminal-trespass warrant stemming from an alleged incident at David Kuykendall Stadium, the same stadium where Metcalf was fatally stabbed.

According to an affidavit described by FOX 4, investigators received a tip about a video that appeared to show Lang inside the stadium.

The affidavit alleges that Lang acknowledged breaking into the stadium and climbing a fence to get inside.

He had also participated in demonstrations involving local Muslim communities and appeared at a contentious Frisco City Council meeting.

In other words, Lang hadn't exactly been quietly touring North Texas looking for the best brisket. Nope, not by a long shot.

Then The Judge Got Involved

After his latest arrest, Lang's bond was initially set at $1 million.

His attorney asked for it to be reduced to $15,000. Prosecutors wanted it left at $1 million.

Collin County District Judge John Roach Jr. landed considerably closer to the prosecution and reduced the bond to $250,000.

But the money wasn't the most interesting part. The judge imposed conditions.

Lang would have to wear a GPS monitor.

And, except for court appearances and permitted legal matters, he couldn't remain in Texas.

According to FOX 4, Lang had 24 hours after his release to vacate the state.

Now I've read a lot of strange court stories. "Congratulations on making bond. Now leave Texas" is a new one.

Even CBS Texas reported that people it contacted within the local judicial system couldn't recall another instance of a judge imposing this particular condition.

The Prisoner Had A Slightly Different Interpretation

Lang emerged from jail wearing his GPS monitor and was, unsurprisingly, not all that thrilled with the arrangement.

He celebrated being free, announced plans to get some barbecue before catching a flight, and claimed he had become the first man in American history to be kicked out of Texas because of his political ideology.

That's Lang's characterization.

The court order itself followed his arrest on a felony terroristic-threat charge and came after prosecutors raised concerns about his conduct and previous arrests.

Those aren't quite the same explanation.And that's where this story becomes more interesting than the spectacle surrounding it.

Free Speech Doesn't Mean Freedom From Every Consequence

Americans have extraordinarily broad freedom to say ugly, offensive, inflammatory and downright stupid things. That's intentional.

Political speech in particular receives substantial constitutional protection, and it should.

But criminal threats present a different legal question. Courts have spent decades wrestling with where protected speech ends and what lawyers call a "true threat" begins.

Lang maintains that what he said was exaggerated political rhetoric rather than an actual declaration of intent.

Prosecutors obviously see things differently. Now a Texas court will have to sort that out. Until then, Lang remains presumed innocent of the pending charge.

But he does have to comply with the conditions of his bond. Which means the native New Yorker who came to Texas to make himself heard left wearing a GPS monitor with a judge effectively saying:

You can come back for court. Otherwise? Not so much.

And somewhere, I suspect, Texas just tipped its cowboy hat and went back to its barbecue.

Oh, and one last thing. Texas didn't throw a Texan out of Texas. It sent a New Yorker home.