Dave Matthews Pauses Concert to Curse Out ICE After Agents Fatally Shot an Innocent Father in Texas

Dave Matthews, lead singer of the Dave Matthews Band, paused a live show to condemn ICE agents following the shooting death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston.

"I don’t know why we let people make excuses for why we should kill each other, you know? There’s always reasons that we should kill each other," Matthews, 59, began in a viral clip of the July 10 show shared via X. "They tell our children and use their words when they — when they grow up. I wonder what’s wrong with us."

The "Crash Into Me" singer made the impassioned speech during a show in Camden, N.J.

Matthews told the audience he "wanted to say" the name of Araujo, an undocumented man from Mexico who was in the United States for 30 years before he was shot and killed by ICE agents during a traffic stop in Houston's Magnolia Park neighborhood last week.

The federal organization claimed the father-of-three tried to ram agents with his van, though eyewitnesses and security footage have reportedly raised questions about that alleged version of events.

"I wrote it down so I didn’t forget it, this young man who was — well, old man, but we’re all young — this father and grandfather who was murdered by ICE in Houston, Texas," Matthews said on stage. "And then they say he’s not even the guy — he’s not even the guy they were looking for. Well, then don’t pull the trigger, you a--holes."

He then mentioned the Texas dad by name, adding, "So I just wanted to say, I’m sorry if that language offends his family or his friends or his community, but it’s just making me mad anyway, so I want to send this to the memory of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was killed a few days ago in Houston by ICE."

Matthews is no stranger to blasting ICE agents. Following the death of activist Renee Good in Minneapolis in January, he spoke out in a heated social media video.

"I don’t want my taxes to pay for ICE, to masked thugs to roam our streets and terrorize our communities and rip families apart. We should be taking care of each other," he told his followers. "We should be minding each other. We should be housing the homeless. We shouldn’t be, you know, throwing people to the ground."

Good was fatally shot on January 7 by an ICE agent after dropping off her son at a nearby school. Footage of the incident spread rapidly on social media, igniting nationwide backlash.

"Which brings me to Renee Nicole Good," he continued. "Murdered in front of her fellow citizens in Minneapolis, murdered in the streets, and no matter what narrative this administration is trying to sell us, we can see the videos."