Singer Dave Matthews paused a concert Friday to publicly condemn Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, referring to them as "a--holes" and dedicating a moment to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was recently killed by ICE in Houston.
"I just wanted to say, I’m sorry if that language offends his family or his friends or his community, but it’s just making me mad anyway, so I want to send this to the memory of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was killed a few days ago in Houston by ICE," Matthews said during the performance, according to a viral video clip.
Matthews also stated that Araujo was not the individual ICE agents were reportedly looking for, adding, "Well, then don’t pull the trigger, you a--holes."
ICE confirmed that Araujo, a Mexican citizen, was shot and killed in Houston after he allegedly attempted to ram officers with his vehicle. The agency stated that officers were conducting a traffic stop when Araujo attempted to evade them and "weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer, resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense."
This is not the first time Matthews has spoken out against ICE. In February, following the death of activist Renee Good in Minneapolis during an encounter with ICE agents, Matthews posted a video on Instagram criticizing the agency. He stated that he did not want his taxes to fund what he described as "masked thugs to roam our streets and terrorize our communities and rip families apart."