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Is Ariel Pink a Trump supporter? Indie musician spotted at violent Washington DC rally says 'cancel me now'

After he started receiving criticism for attending the rally, he wrote, 'Welcome to the panoptigan [sic]. They wasted no time...save yourselves friends, cancel me now and turn me in before they come for you'

On Thursday, January 7, Ariel Pink was trending on Twitter. Born Ariel Marcus Rosenberg, Pink is an indie musician whose music veers from the psych-pop sound of the ‘60s and ‘70s to lo-fi to the “chill” sound. Pink’s work has received praise from critics and fans over the years, but right now, he seems to be finding only condemnation. Pink was trending on Twitter because he was seen at the Washington DC Trump rally that later culminated into a violent frenzy as Trump supporters broke into the Capitol building, vandalized the place, and clashed with cops.

As per a CNN report, the incident ended with four people dead -- including one woman who was shot. "One adult female and two adult males appear to have suffered from separate medical emergencies, which resulted in their deaths. Any loss of life in the District is tragic and our thoughts are with anyone impacted by their loss," DC Police Chief Robert Contee said at a news conference Wednesday night.

The mob of Trump-supporters reportedly took over the building at 1 p.m. ET and the building was finally secured roughly around 5:40 p.m. ET. This was, as per Samuel Holliday, director of scholarship and operations with the US Capitol Historical Society, the first time the US Capitol had been overrun since the British attacked and burned the building in August of 1814, during the War of 1812.

Was Ariel Pink at the Trump rally?

Filmmaker Alex Lee Moyer reportedly posted a photograph of Pink and John Maus, another indie musician (of ‘Cop Killer’ fame), together in the city on her Instagram account that has since gone private. Moyer’s 2020 documentary film ‘TFW No GF’, which explores the incel culture, has been highly criticized for the implicit bias it shows towards the culture. 

Moyer had reportedly captioned the photo, "The day we almost died but instead had a great time." The photo has been reshared on Twitter. A Twitter user shared it, writing, “And here's the picture. Sorry, your creepy s***ty white men favs are confirmed creepy s***ty white men!”

The same Twitter user then shared a video, captioning it, “Here's the video taken from the private Instagram account of director Alex Lee Moyer showing John Maus at the Trump ‘protest’ today. Note Maus is wearing the same outfit in the hotel room photo.”

Is Ariel Pink a Trump supporter?

Taking to Twitter, after fans started calling him out for being part of the violent rally, Pink responded. When a fan called him out for being part of the rally while never expressing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, Pink wrote, “it's true- I don't and never have advocated for violent confrontation or rioting. must be my boomer upbringing.”

Following that, he said, “I was in DC to peacefully show my support for the president. I attended the rally on the white house lawn and went back to the hotel and took a nap. case closed.” When a fan said that he was “putting others at risk by being at such a massive gathering in which protestors are not social distancing nor wearing masks,” Pink responded with: “all the people at these events deserve what's coming to them. they took the risk knowing full well what might happen. BLM protests over the past 6 months are not informed about the pandemic?”

Pink has also advocated for Trump in the past on Twitter. On December 31, 2020, he wrote, “Vote for Trump.” But after he started receiving criticism for attending the rally, he wrote, “welcome to the panoptigan [sic]. they wasted no time...save yourselves friends, cancel me now and turn me in before they come for you.” Presumably, he misspelled "panopticon", a prison design presented by philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham to monitor the maximum number of prisoners with the fewest possible guards and other security costs. The idea was later expanded upon by French philosopher Michel Foucault as a symbol of social control.

Pink’s views have been questionable at best. In his past interviews, he has said things like “It’s not illegal to be racist”, “This gay marriage stuff pisses me off”, and “I love necrophiliacs”. A Guardian profile of the musician felt unable to pinpoint if he was “Either a political gargoyle who sits to the right of Mussolini, or a man who’s desperate not to be liked”.