Rockers Respond to California's ICE Raid Protests + National Guard Deployment

The current protests in California over ICE deportations and President Donald Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard against the wishes of the state's governor and Los Angeles' mayor have got the world talking, including members of the rock and metal community.

Since Trump took office earlier this year, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) has been employing raids in various cities across the United States. Over the past week, ICE has focused their efforts toward Los Angeles county, where local protests have grown throughout the weekend. In response to the protests, Trump decided to deploy the National Guard in order to disrupt the unrest.

“We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California," stated Trump on Truth Social. "If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated.”

"I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command," California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on social media in response. "We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed."

What Musicians Are Saying About the ICE Raids + National Guard Deployment

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong had one of the more widely circulated posts on Instagram while commenting on the ICE Raid and protests. The singer shared footage of one of the protests that included a burning vehicle in the streets.

Soundtracking the video with the Green Day song "Fuck Off," Armstrong simply used a two emoji comment on the situation — a middle finger emoji and an ice cube — as his comment on the situation.

Testament's Alex Skolnick used his social media to point out the hypocrisy in relation to another riotous action.

"So let me get this straight: Walking the streets in L.A in protest of violent bullsh-t ICE RAIDS is lawlessness requiring deployment of the National Guard? Meanwhile, breaking into the US Capitol building, bludgeoning DC cops and threatening to murder elected officials is considered perfectly legitimate protest as long as you support the autocracy," questioned Skolnick.

He then added, "In honor of this, the upcoming military parade and so much more, I now pronounce thee 'Kim Jong Don,'" referencing North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

READ MORE: 13 Musicians Who Ran for Political Office

Tom Morello was among those taking part in protests in Los Angeles over the weekend. He shared a number of photos and some video from events happening on the streets. In one of the videos, Morello noted that local police retreated from their position at one point recognizing the crowd that was moving through the area.

In a separate post, Morello shared an illustration that read, "In the shadow of fear, Los Angeles rises - protecting its people when the system won't."

God Forbid and Snot guitarist Doc Coyle responded to a couple of comments made by others about the protests.

In response to author Ian Bremmer's comment, "Last time a U.S. President deployed the National Guard without the consent of the governor was 60 years ago. 1965: When Lyndon Johnson used them to protect civil rights demonstrators in Selma, Alabama over the objections of governor George Wallace," the guitarist sarcastically offered, "We’re homaging the 60s. A totally chill decade."

Meanwhile, Coyle also weighed in on an exchange between White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver in which Miller called out Oliver when he shared a confrontation between ICE officials and protestors and suggested, "This should be the national mood, keep it up."

In response to Miller, Coyle shared, "Yeah, I thought libertarians are supposed to be against big govt, a police state, and for states rights. Stuff a lot of conservative used to pretend to care about."

Elsewhere, Attila's Chris Fronzak shared a question about those taking part in the protest. "Genuine question- If you're at a protest waving a flag of a different country, and then that country sends you to the country of the flag you're waving, then why are you mad? Isn't that where you want to be to begin with," questioned Fronzak. "No shade, just legitimately curious."