Rage Against The Machine Calls To 'Abort Supreme Court' In First Concert In Decade

Guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine performs as part of Prophets Of Rage on stage in London in 2019. (Photo: Ollie Millington via Getty Images)

Political rock band Rage Against the Machine was back on stage for the first time in more than a decade Saturday night, railing about the death of Roe V. Wade and calling to “Abort the Supreme Court.”

The band’s reunion tour, which had been timed to begin before the 2020 presidential election, was delayed due to the COVID pandemic. But members came out gangbusters with plenty of their pent-up trademark rage in a summer festival south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Captioned messages scrolled across a screen on their stage — and on others throughout the crowd of 30,000 in the Alpine Valley Music Theater — targeted the Supreme Court’s decision last month to scrap half a century of abortion rights, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

“Forced birth in a country that is the only wealthy country in the world without any guaranteed paid parental leave at the national level,” read one caption.

“Forced birth in a country where Black birth-givers experience maternal mortality two to three times higher than that of white birth-givers,” said another while lead singer Zack de La Rocha screamed “freedom.” “Forced birth in a country where gun violence is the number one cause of death among children and teenagers,” read an additional message.

And then, in all caps: “ABORT THE SUPREME COURT.”

The group last month announced it was donating $475,000 to reproductive rights organizations in the Midwest.

“We are disgusted by the repeal of Roe v. Wade and the devastating impact it will have on tens of millions of people,” the band said in a statement announcing the contribution.

During its 90 minutes on stage, Rage Against the Machine also showcased several video clips attacking the state of America, chillingly touching on topics of immigration, policing and mass shootings.

Images included an El Paso police car on fire, a helicopter descending on refugees in a boat, and a Border Patrol agent standing near a drone and German shepherd. The band’s final number was “Killing in the Name” — their furious response to the Los Angeles police beating of Black motorist Rodney King in 1991.

Band members didn’t talk about the controversies addressed on stage, though guitarist Tom Morello wore an “I Love CRT” — Critical Race Theory — shirt, Rolling Stone reported.

The Rage set wasn’t the only performance to address the death of Roe v. Wade at the music festival.

A week ago, Halsey turned hit “Nightmare” into a battle cry for abortion rights. “The overturning of Roe is a catastrophic attack,” said a message flashed during her performance. “Don’t wait for revolutionaries to change the world. The work is ours and we have to do it now.”

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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