Ice-T takes to Twitter to acknowledge Boise’s massive turnout for Tuesday’s vigil

“IDAHO! Stand up!”

That’s the rallying cry on Twitter from Ice-T.

The celebrity rapper and actor, who wrote the lyrics to the controversial 1992 song “Cop Killer,” tweeted those three words to his 1.6 million followers Wednesday. It was part of a retweet of crowd video from the Black Lives Matter vigil attended by thousands Tuesday outside the Idaho Capitol in downtown Boise.

Ice-T’s message was retweeted more than 2,000 times — and liked more than 11,000. However, the original tweet, from @JoshuaPotash, has since been mysteriously removed. The video — panning across the huge crowd — originally was posted by KTVB reporter @gretchenKTVB.

Born Tracy Marrow, Ice-T probably is best known for portraying New York Police Department detective Odafin Tutuola on the NBC series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” The police drama has aired for a whopping two decades. But the 62-year-old also is an outspoken rapper and rabble-rouser. Back when his heavy metal band Body Count released “Cop Killer” — a first-person, fictional account of murdering police officers as a response to police brutality — it created gigantic controversy. Then-President George H. W. Bush even condemned it. Ice-T went on to describe “Cop Killer” as a protest song.

It’s worth noting that Ice-T and Body Count performed “Cop Killer” in downtown Boise in late 1992 at the Mardi Gras for 450 fans. Doors opened two two hours late, but the mosh pit was gleefully violent. (Yeah, I was there.)

Ice-T has been highly active on Twitter since the killing of George Floyd. Even then, his Idaho tweet comes as somewhat of a surprise. As many residents sadly know, the Gem State has fought a racist reputation for decades, partly because of history in the northern part of the state. The white supremacist group Aryan Nations originally was based near Hayden Lake.

Consequently, Twitter reaction to Ice-T’s tweet was interesting, if not flat-out entertaining.

“Wow! All white people!” wrote one person. (Come on, that isn’t exactly fair.)

“That’s the entire population of Idaho,” wrote one person. (Ditto.)

“This is amazing for a place like Idaho!!!” wrote another.

Most of the responses were positive. If you live here, it’s definitely worth taking the time to scan the conversation.

This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 11:05 AM.