The song “Throw the Brick” appears on the One People’s Project benefit that the band produced Potbelly for us. We appreciate the gesture and we definitely don’t like what just happened!

Whidbey Island in Washington State has a notorious history of being where Robert Jay Mathews, the leader of the neo-Nazi terrorist group The Order, was cornered and fought law enforcement in a firefight. He barricaded himself in his home and the house burned around him, resulting in his death. Ironically this is also the home of Potbelly, an antifascist band that is celebrating its 30 year anniversary this year. Last week, the band caught the attention of the FBI due to a song they released in 2019 (which also appears in the benefit CD they produced for One People’s Project two years ago). This band is on the frontlines pushing back against fascism, and the current political powers-that-be are trying to go after them for it.

The song in question, Throw the Brick, was released six years ago and appears on the benefit CD, “Fighting Fascism One Song At A Time ” that Rodger produced in 2023 for One People’s Project. The CD also features songs by Millions Of Dead Cops (MDC), Hellfish, UR Grls, and spoken word by Daryle Lamont Jenkins.

When the song and music video was originally released, it immediately generated the expected response from neo-Nazis and they attempted to get it banned from YouTube. “In the first week or so, our little independent label PIG received death threats over the video from Neo-Nazi groups,” the band said in a statement. “David Portnow of PIG Records had to fight to put back up.”  While the video is still on YouTube, the platform added a warning and it is age-restricted.

Last week saw new controversy for the song and video after Potbelly lead singer and guitarist Jason Robert Rodger commented on a Facebook post on his friend’s page that featured a meme that shows, drawn in the style of the Simpsons cartoon, Donald Trump in a coffin with the date April 12 written on it. While the controversial meme has been seen often on social media, it was nonetheless a concern for someone who visited the friend’s page. Rodger learned this after making a comment on the post, when someone responded to his comment and tagged the Department of Homeland Security (which is currently being headed up by Kristi Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, where Rodger’s friend resides). Soon an FBI agent was looking for him, to see if he planned to go across the country to engage in any violence in Washington, DC.

“They called my wife at work, fucking work,” Rodger told Idavox. “They called her to see if I had any weapons, if I was violent in any way before they called me.” He called the FBI and found out the call was prompted by the Throw the Brick video, and it seems to Rodger that the agent who contacted him was just checking off boxes with no further action being taken.

“I’m gonna write that I think you are harmless but the investigation is open right now and if I need you again I have to come to the Evergreen [WA] office for a conversation,” Rodger said. It is not known if the FBI ever contacted the friend. The original post was deleted. Rodger also has legal representation.

Fighting Fascism One Song At A Time

4 bands, 9 songs. A CD to satisfy your antifascist punk needs!

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A recent Vanity Fair article quoted an FBI agent as saying that Trump wanted the FBI to target left-leaning groups that they considered terroristic, even though right-groups have shown themselves to be more of a threat. “The key is the Domestic Intelligence Operations Guide. If they change that, you know [then-nominee for FBI director, Kash] Patel will be able to shift domestic terrorism investigations away from the accelerationists and right-wing street fighters, and toward things like BLM and antifa,” the agent said.

Rodger said Throw the Brick has been a staple during their shows since 2019, and this episode has assured it a permanent place on the set list. “It’s not going away now!” Rodger stated.