A small group of communists protested outside a country concert in Chicago on Saturday, setting fire to several American flags while c...
A small group of communists protested outside a country concert in Chicago on Saturday, setting fire to several American flags while chanting anti-U.S. phrases.
Approximately 20 members of the communist group Revolution Club Chicago gathered in protest outside Jason Aldean's concert in Tinley Park.
The country singer received pushback earlier this year after he released the music video to his patriotic song "Try That in a Small Town." The video featured several news clips from Black Lives Matter riots and the destruction caused by unruly demonstrators in the summer of 2020.
The lyrics from the song state, "Cuss out a cop, spit in his face, stomp on the flag and light it up. Yeah, ya think you're tough? Well, try that in a small town, see how far you make it down the road. Around here, we take care of our own, you cross that line, it won't take long for you to find out — I recommend you don't."
Over the weekend, self-proclaimed communists gathered outside Aldean's show, in view of concert-goers, to protest the singer and his song. The group referred to Aldean as "a piece of fascist s***."
One of the club's leaders, Leo Pargo, told the Chicago Tribune that Americans "have been lied to about communism."
A video from the protest captured by News2Share showed demonstrators setting fire to multiple American flags while chanting anti-America phrases, including "F*** the U.S. and all its might."
Members of the Revolutionary Communists also shouted, "We did it in a small town!" presumedly referring to protesting in Tinley Park, a suburb of Chicago, the third-largest U.S. city.
"Guess what, Jason," Rafael Kadaris, an activist and California resident, told the Chicago Tribune, "We will try that in a small town. We will try that in a big city. And we will try it right in front of your concert."
Police officers soon arrived on the scene to escort the communist group off the property for "unlawful assembly." Law enforcement stated that concert attendees were "alarmed and disturbed" by the group's presence, according to News2Share's video.
"You are disturbing the public peace without the authority of law," police told the protesters. "We are ordering you to immediately disperse. Failure to comply can result in chemical or less legal conditions being deployed."
After burning another American flag, the protesters slowly began to leave. Police escorted the group away from the concert as they continued to chant in protest.
No arrests were reported.
The communist group called the demonstration "an awesome night standing up to the fascist lynch mob and their Klansman instigator, Jason Aldean."
"[Jason Aldean] said people who burn the American flag should 'Try That In A Small Town' & 'see how far you make it down the road,'" the communist group posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Hey Jason we burned that rag right outside your concert in #TinleyPark & you didn't do s*** AND we'll do it again!"
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