"Behold… The awful face of treason… Survivor of nothing…"
Eagles Of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes has gone on an Instagram tirade over the past 24 hours, taking aim at the March For Our Lives rally and sibling marches that took place over the weekend in cities across the United States.
March For Our Lives, a student-led demonstration was held in Washington DC on Saturday, with over 800 sibling events taking place across the country, to call for changes to US gun laws following the attack Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida last month, which killed 17 people and injured 17 more.
In posts to his Instagram account, Hughes has shared a number of images and comments condemning the rallies and proposed changes to the US gun laws.
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There were a total of five posts added to the account, including one aimed at Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez, who has become the face of the March For Our Lives movement.
The post depicted Gonzalez tearing a copy of the US Constitution, which Hughes admitted had been a Photoshopped, while writing "Behold… The awful face of treason… Survivor of nothing… Lover of treason… Enjoy your little moment… It's about to end…" while tagging the post with hashtags like #stupidity, #hatersofliberty and #2ndamendment.
Hughes, whose band Eagles Of Death Metal was the target of the Paris Bataclan Theatre terror attacks that killed 89 people in November 2015, has previously declared his pro-gun stance.
In the past hour, Hughes has deleted all but two of the five posts, including a drawing of a pill bottle labelled "Pills That Are Hard To Swallow" and a hand holding three pills, with arrows pointing to them and saying "Our guns aren’t going anywhere", "There are only 2 genders", and "Donald Trump will be your president for 7 more years", as reported by Consequence Of Sound.
The fourth post, which included a photo of a pro-Second Amendment patch, said "I can tell you right now that the actions of these misguided youth and evil communists is making me feel terrified… with every broadcast of a willing and complicit press I feel the wall of security that the Constitution provides being taken down bit by bit….."
Each post gained a large amount of comments, with views both agreeing and condemning Hughes' statements. Hughes also shared that the most threatening responses would be reported to the FBI for investigation.
Hughes has since added a new image of a ceramic Bald Eagle figurine, with the accompanying post saying, "I've made a rule and my musical life that everyone should check their politics at the door...… I've always believed in the motto I may not agree with what you’re saying but I'll die for your right to say it," before declaring that he will be starting a secondary account where he will share comments on his political beliefs.
Editor's note: Hughes has since deleted all posts mentioned in this story. A selection are available to view below.