Protesters Burn American Flag Outside Jason Aldean’s Chicago Show

About 20 protestors from an organization aligned with communist beliefs held a demonstration outside Jason Aldean's Chicago-area show on Saturday night (Sept. 9).

According to the Chicago Tribune, the protesters identified themselves as members of Revolution Club Chicago, a far-left group that calls for a revolution against capitalism.

"Guess what Jason [Aldean]?" said protester Rafael Kadaris. "We will try that in a small town. We will try that in a big city. And we will try it right in front of your concert."

As part of the demonstration, Leo Pargo — one of the group's leaders — set an American flag on fire.

The protest seemed to be centered around Aldean's polarizing hit song "Try That in a Small Town," which critics have denounced for racist dogwhistling and promotion of gun-based vigilante justice. Backlash to the song and music video got heated earlier this summer, and CMT pulled the music video from circulation.

The Revolution Club Chicago's Facebook page shared some information about why its members chose to protest Aldean's show, which was part of his 2023 Highway Desperado Tour.

In one video, the group announced its intention to protest his show at an outdoor gathering, denouncing Aldean as a "fascist lynch mob instigator" and holding up signs of Black and LGBTQ+ people who have been murdered in possible connection with their minority statuses.

"No More Lynch Mobs In & Out of Uniform! No More Standing By While 'Good Ol' Boys' Prepare for Civil War!" one post on the group's Facebook page reads. "We Need & We Demand a Whole New Way to Live. We Need & We ARE Organizing for a Real Revolution."

According to Kadaris, the protest was peaceful, with no aggression between protestors and concertgoers aside from a few people being "flipped off." Pargo defended the group's right to burn the flag as free speech, adding that while the American people "have been lied to about communism," this protest was open to anyone wishing to voice their opinions against Aldean and "Try That in a Small Town," regardless of whether or not they agree with some of the Revolution Club's other tenets.

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