Police Group Plans To Boycott Philadelphia Arena Which Hosted Rage Against The Machine

The Philadelphia branch of the Fraternal Order of Police is calling for its members to boycott the First Union Complex and its sponsor First Union Bank because the Complex's Spectrum arena hosted a Rage Against the Machine concert on Dec. 2. The police group opposes Rage because the band supports a retrial for Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is currently on death row for murdering Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981.

Philadelphia Lodge #5 of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) passed a unanimous motion on Tuesday (12/7), declaring that Rage "advocates violence and supports the killer of a Philadelphia police officer." The lodge believes that Rage is "a hate group" and claims that the group's "message of violence" is being "marketed" for profit.

It is calling on its 14,000 members and the residents of Delaware Valley to boycott not only First Union Complex and First Union Bank, but also concert promoter Electric Factory Concerts. The bank does not own the Complex but has a contract to have its name on the Complex's two arenas, First Union Spectrum and First Union Center. The Complex is owned and operated by Comcast-Spectacor Facilities.

Peter Luukko, president of Comcast-Spectacor, said in a statement issued yesterday (12/9) that the Complex is an apolitical venue and is "disappointed" in the FOP boycott.

"The Philadelphia performance of Rage Against The Machine was not a political event, but rather part of a national tour of arenas throughout the United States, in which the band is promoting their newest release, 'Battle of Los Angeles,'" said Luukko.

The venue refused to comment on whether it would steer clear of acts with a political message in the future. However, in his statement, Luukko said that "as a public assembly facility our organization does not find it appropriate to cancel an entertainment event based on the political views of the performing artist."

The band has stood behind its First Amendment right to express its political views freely. Those views include support of Abu-Jamal, who, group members say, did not receive a fair trial. Before playing a benefit for Abu-Jamal last January in New Jersey, band frontman Zack de la Rocha outlined on the group's website what he perceives to be the injustices in the trial: Abu-Jamal was not allowed to represent himself; in retaliation for Abu-Jamal's filing brutality charges against them, police said he confessed to the killing; prosecutors induced witnesses to change their testimonies.

The FOP maintains that Abu-Jamal was convicted twice, justice was served, and his case is being used as a springboard by opponents of the death penalty.

Other parties besides the band and the venue are now caught in the controversy. First Union Corporation issued a statement Tuesday (12/9) that said it does not manage "the booking of artists that play these [First Union Complex] venues" and "does not share directly in any of the revenue generated by events at the Complex." A spokesperson for First Union refused to comment on whether the statement was an attempt to prevent account holders from withdrawing deposits, which total $134 billion. The bank has 16 million customers in 12 states in the East and Southeast, including Pennsylvania.

Despite First Union's statement of non-involvement, the FOP claims that First Union ''has great influence as a result of its corporate dollars," said Robert Eddis, recording secretary of FOP Lodge 5. Eddis also charged that the First Union Complex should not have allowed political action groups to pass out pro-Mumia literature at the show, even though the groups had the approval of Rage and the Complex and are protected under the First Amendment.

Although the Philadelphia FOP chose not to demonstrate outside the Philadelphia Rage show on Dec. 2, the group is now attempting to bring its boycott against the Complex to the national political stage.

The police group said it will seek the help of the National Fraternal Order of Police in asking the Republican National Committee to relocate the political party's election-year convention, either to a venue other than the Complex or to a different city. The president, vice president and secretary of the Grand Lodge of the FOP were unavailable as of late Friday (12/10) to confirm the request for assistance.

As one special-interest group attempting to convince the Republican National Committee to change its convention site at such a late date, the FOP could be in for a difficult fight.

Last summer the National FOP unanimously voted in favor of a boycott of artists who support Abu-Jamal, but in recent weeks, the rhetoric of local lodges has been more vehement in comparison.

Last week, Eddis told SoundSpike that Rage that should not be allowed to play in a public facility such as the First Union Spectrum. He said that because the band supposedly espouses violence toward the community and police, it is no different than the Ku Klux Klan or neo-Nazi-groups that the Spectrum would not allow in its facility, he claimed.

During the tour, De la Rocha has repeatedly expressed his disgust for the FOP from the stage, according to concertgoers. With the police characterization of his group as "violent" looming in the background, he has maintained that his pro-Mumia band is opposed to violence, especially when perpetrated by police and governments.

"We don't support any kind of killers, especially killer cops," he said in Philadelphia during an encore. "But we do support innocent brothers and sister framed and put on death row, including Mumia Abu-Jamal."

De la Rocha made nearly the same statement at a Nashville show on Dec. 8, where approximately 100 police officers and 40 counter-demonstrators peacefully gathered in separate areas outside the Memorial Auditorium before the concert.