ICE have had a social media post removed over their use of an MGMT song.
- READ MORE: MGMT – ‘Little Dark Age’ review
A post from the Department of Homeland Security has been removed following a DMCA takedown request.
The post, which was shared on X/Twitter on October 23 showed footage of federal agents arresting ICE protestors set to a slowed remix of MGMT’s 2017 song ‘Little Dark Age’, alongside the caption: “End of the Dark Age, beginning of the Golden Age.”
Though it has been removed from X, the post remains up on Instagram and Bluesky.
‘Little Dark Age’, which was the lead single from MGMT’s 2018 album of the same name, went viral on TikTok in 2021.
Since then, it’s been linked to far-right and neo-Nazi creators, with a 2021 report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue finding that it was “by far the most popular Sound among extremist creators on TikTok”. This is despite the track’s clear criticism of racist police violence and Trump’s America.
Last year, MGMT hit back at the UK Conservative Party’s use of the track in a General Election advert.
The band exclusively told NME at the time: “How many times do we have to remind you jokers that this song is NOT fair game for your utter garbage? Let’s all laugh at this dingus. Clock’s ticking, mate. Happy Independence Day”.
ICE, the US government agency responsible for the widespread detention and deportation of immigrants, is no stranger to public conflicts with big names in the music industry. Earlier this month, an official from Homeland Security told Chappell Roan to “get a grip” after she criticised ICE during a show in California.
They also faced a similar take-down request over a post featuring The Cure’s ‘Friday I’m In Love’, also this month.
A White House spokesperson also recently hit out at Zach Bryan after he criticised ICE in a clip of an unreleased song that he shared on social media. “While Zach Bryan wants to Open The Gates to criminal illegal aliens and has Condemned heroic ICE officers, Something in the Orange tells me a majority of Americans disagree with him and support President Trump’s great American Revival,” the spokesperson said.
Earlier this summer, a huge wave of ICE raids saw several workplaces hit, with countless people deported for alleged immigration violations. The raids prompted huge protests in LA, where President Donald Trump later authorised the deployment of the National Guard in response.
It is not the first time a right-wing politician has waded into cultural affairs, particularly if musicians have used their platform to hit out at the President’s immigration policies.
Among the other numerous artists who have spoken out against the ICE raids – which include Olivia Rodrigo, Addison Rae and Shakira – is Bad Bunny, who previously witnessed an ICE raid in Puerto Rico in June. Following the raid, he declared that his world tour would not hit the United States, as he was afraid of ICE agents raiding his shows and affecting the audience and their lives.
He has since been announced to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show next year, and Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski and US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem have already confirmed that ICE agents will be present at the Super Bowl and that illegal immigrants will not be safe.
Turning Point USA – the right-wing org founded by the late Charlie Kirk – have since announced that they will be hosting a Super Bowl halftime show to counter-protest Bad Bunny‘s headline slot.