A communist revolutionary group was captured burning American flags during a staged protest outside a Jason Aldean concert in Chicago on Saturday night while mocking the country artist’s hit controversial song.
Around 20 communist members belonging to Revolution Club Chicago assembled outside Credit Union 1 Amphitheater in Tinley Park with cries of revolution against capitalism — chanting phrases like “F–k the US and all its might,” according to the video shared by News2Share.
The group was filmed taking jabs at Aldean’s song “Try That In A Small Town” while burning American flags and calling the Georgia-born artist’s song “a piece of fascist sh-t.”
“Guess what, Jason? We will try that in a small town,” activist Rafael Kadaris, a California resident who flew out to the Windy City to take part in the protest, told the Chicago Tribune.
“We will try that in a big city. And we will try it right in front of your concert.”
As members of the Revolution Club burned Old Glory, law enforcement quickly descended on the protest, announcing by megaphone the group was an “unlawful assembly” and concert-goers were “alarmed and disturbed” by their presence, the video shows.
“You are disturbing the public peace without the authority of law,” a Tinley Park Police Officer told the group through a bullhorn over their chants.
“We are ordering you to immediately disperse. Failure to comply can result in chemical or less legal conditions being deployed,” the officer warned the group, who cheered at the officer’s ultimatum.
The group continued to burn another flag but soon after migrated away from their protest area after repeated commands and warnings by the police.
The protesters trickled out of view of the theater — but continued their anti-American and anti-capitalist chants as they kept shouting down the street while being escorted by police.
Aside from being flipped off a few times, the group did not run into any altercations with Aldean’s fans during the protest and flag burnings, Kadaris told the outlet.
The concert went on as scheduled and no arrests were reported.
The protesters were also out to show their support for RevCom (Revolutionary Communist Party) — an organization that believes in creating a Marxist revolution in America and calls the US “the belly of the imperialist beast,” RevCom’s website said.
Leo Pargo, a leader of the Revolution Club Chicago who was captured setting one of the many flags ablaze, declared to the outlet burning the Stars and Stripes was protected by his right to free speech while he defended communism.
“The people in the United States have been lied to about communism,” Pargo told the Chicago Tribune.
Aldean’s hit song — which still sits in the Billboard Top 100 after being released in May — was the subject of swift reticule and rage after the music video debuted in July and showcased authentic news footage of rioters, looters, and violence in 2020 after the death of George Floyd.
Those opposed to the artist’s song believed Aldean was being critical of Black Lives Matter protests and riots.
Days following the release of his music video, the “She’s Country” singer took to social media to clear the air.
“In the past 24 hours, I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, to his 3.8 million followers.
“These references are not only meritless but dangerous.”
