SANTIAGO – Collective Las Tesis, which gained worldwide fame with its chant, “A Rapist In Your Path,” is being sued by Chile’s national police force for allegedly inciting violence against police officers. The reason is a song Las Tesis released in May together with Russian group Pussy Riot. That song, titled 1312, includes phrases that the Chilean police consider to be aimed directly at them.
Carabineros de Chile, Chile’s national police force, has filed a lawsuit against the well-known Chilean feminist collective Las Tesis over a song the collective released with Russian activist group Pussy Riot. The song, titled 1312, after the acronym ACAB – or All Cops Are Bastards – was released in May. In the song, the two groups speak out against police violence and repression from institutions. The police, however, allege that the song incites violence against them.
In the related online video, the collective can be heard singing “fire to the police.” According to the lawsuit filed by the Chilean police, that is “a direct and public incitement to act violently against the members of the Carabineros de Chile.” Although Las Tesis has already removed the part that would incite violence, the police are proceeding with the suit.
Las Tesis gained international fame after their chant “A Rapist In Your Path” went viral. Feminist movements around the world used the chant at public manifestations against abuse. With the chant, the collective managed to give an impulse to the social protests in Chile when they released the dance in December 2019.
For the police, it is not the first time that they have sued a Chilean artist. During the social protests in 2019, a complaint was filed against singer Mon Laferte after she publicly accused the police of burning metro stations in the first days of the social uprising.
Pussy Riot and Las Tesis came together over increasing concerns about state repression during the coronavirus crisis. According to The Guardian, Pussy Riot had approached Las Tesis to work together on this song. More collaborations are in the works, a spokeswoman of the Russian group announced.
Watch the video here:
Editor-In-Chief Boris van der Spek is the founder of Chile Today.