Tom Morello attends ICE protests: “Defend L.A.”

Tom Morello has attended the ICE protests in Los Angeles, calling on people to “defend L.A.”.

• READ MORE: Tom Morello: “In the past, I’ve wanted to use music as a battering ram for social justice”

The former Rage Against The Machine guitarist took to Instagram to post about his day attending the protests against the ICE raids currently sweeping Los Angeles. Trump’s deployment of the National Guard against these ongoing protests in LA has garnered significant criticism from detractors, with Governor of California Gavin Newsom slamming it as a “deluded fantasy”.

Morello’s post includes photos of himself with fellow protestors holding signs saying “Defend LA” and “Fuck ICE”, with Morello wearing a shirt reading “Destroy American Fascism”. He was also seen with signs saying “Rise Up” and “Organise, Unite, Defend”, and he posted a photo of a shirt reading: “Nazi Lives Don’t Matter”.

The musician also shared a clip of him walking in a cheering crowd, explaining: “We got the cops to turn around, head back… coz they saw what’s coming”. He then pointed the camera to a huge crowd waving Mexican flags.

Finally, Morello posted a graphic with the words: “In the shadow of fear, Los Angeles rises – protecting its people when the system won’t”.

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A post shared by Tom Morello (@tommorello)

Morello joins a range of celebrities who have either participated in protests or called out Trump’s deployment of the National Guard.

Doechii used her acceptance speech at the BET Awards last night (June 8) to speak out against Trump’s immigration raids.

“There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order,” she said. “Trump is using military forces to stop a protest.

“I want you all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us,” she added. “What type of government is that?”

Green Day‘s Billie Joe Armstrong also took to social media to show solidarity with the Los Angeles residents protesting the ongoing ICE operations in the city.

Soundtracking the footage to Green Day’s ‘Fuck Off’, his caption included two emojis – a middle finger next to an ice cube.

Meanwhile, Finneas said he was tear-gassed at a “peaceful” LA protest, adding: “Fuck ICE”.

Earlier this year, Morello joined over 100 names in signing a letter defending Kneecap’s “freedom of expression”.

Tom Morello’s support for Kneecap is notable, seeing as he’s the musical director for Black Sabbath’s upcoming final gig in July. That show is being overseen by Sharon Osbourne, who recently called for Kneecap’s working visas to be revoked after the trio voiced their support for a free Palestine at Coachella.

Kneecap responded to Osbourne’s bid for their visas to be revoked by saying: “Her rant has so many holes in it that it hardly warrants a reply, but she should listen to ‘War Pigs’ that was written by Black Sabbath.”

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