American musician and activist Tom Morello, lead guitarist of the band Rage Against the Machine, joined protesters on the streets of Los Angeles amid the escalating chaos that ensued after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in California.
Sharing images on Monday from the protesting area, holding a signboard that read ‘Defend LA’, with his fellow activists, the artiste wrote, “Made some friends in Boyle Heights and DTLA yesterday.”
Morello is seen wearing a baseball helmet and a black t-shirt with a message that reads: ‘Destroy American Fascism’.
Earlier this year, Tom Morello discussed American affairs in an interview with Rolling Stone, ahead of his performance at Bluesfest 2025. He said, “You can only imagine what it’s like here with the impending shadow of American fascism… We’re staring down the barrel of it. The almost ethnic cleansing of discourse is a very significant warning sign, where anybody who wants to apply for a grant, or if you use words like ‘inclusion’ or ‘gender’, or ‘African-American’, you’re going to be red flagged. It’s pretty serious and significant.”
Apart from Morello, American singer-songwriter Finneas Baird O’Connell, who is Billie Eilish’s brother, took part in the ICE protests. In Instagram stories shared on Sunday, the musician stated that he was tear-gassed by the National Guard during a protest in downtown Los Angeles.
“Tear gassed almost immediately at the very peaceful protest downtown — they’re inciting this,” Finneas wrote on his Instagram story.