Moby posted a statement to social media on Monday (Jan. 26) offering advice on how people can respond following the killing of Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis.
“The question is not whether we should be outraged and horrified at what’s happening in the United States,” Moby says in the clip, “but rather what are we going to do about it.”
The longtime artist and activist then outlines his advice, telling people to protest, as it’s a “constitutionally established right and it’s a right that Trump and his administration are trying to take away from us.”
He then says to vote, “not just in the upcoming midterms, although that’s very important, but in all of the special elections that happen throughout the year.” He also advises to “stop supporting the scumbag corporations who support Trump and ICE. We all know who they are. Boycott them.”
The final pieces of advice are to support the politicians “who are dedicated to opposing Trump and ICE,” to support other activists and to practice self care, “so you can be a strong and healthy activist tomorrow and every day for the rest of your life. Be outraged, be horrified, but as Joe Strummer said, anger can be power if you know how to use it.” Watch the full video below.
Moby is one of a handful of electronic artists to acknowledge the violence unfolding in Minneapolis following ICE’s arrival into the city, with Seth Troxler also posting a video on Monday urging people to “love each other a bit more, because it’s getting really crazy and we just need to really be better and really have some empathy for everyone in this world.” Musicians including Olivia Rodrigo, Finneas and Billie Eilish have also spoken out, with Eilish on Monday (Jan. 26) asking “my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up?”
The Trump administration has claimed that the officer who killed Pretti was acting in self-defense, alleging that Pretti was threatening violence with his handgun, but multiple videos taken by witnesses on the scene show that Pretti did not appear to be holding his gun during the confrontation, and that a federal agent had already seemingly removed it from Pretti’s holster before the 37-year-old Minneapolis man was shot. Pretti’s family said that the ICU nurse had a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota, according to the Associated Press.
