""I need to see 55 gang leaders here this coming Monday, we need to take back our city, enough is enough, ICE needs to get out of Long Beach and this is the only way that I know how to get them out; peacefully, but with strong force, but peacefully. The video quickly went viral and landed Martinez, who is among the field of candidates challenging Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson in his bid for reelection, in hot water.""
""I had so many death threats, predominantly from MAGA white supremacists because I didn't call on the white gangs, so I guess they were kind of hurt by that," Martinez said in an interview on Thursday. Martinez said he shot the video while standing outside City Hall on Jan. 30, a day of solidarity in which people were asked not to shop or work and to protest the Trump administration's mass deportations."
"He said he uploaded the video on Facebook and Instagram to bring attention to the immigration raids taking place in his city and was not advocating for violence against federal immigration agents. "There was not going to be any war between gang leaders and ICE," he said. "I don't know how many gangs there are in Long Beach. I picked 55 purely because I'm 55 years old. No one bothered to just ask"
Rogelio Martinez posted a short social media video calling for '55 gang leaders' to gather peacefully to force ICE out of Long Beach. He filmed outside City Hall on Jan. 30 during a day of solidarity protesting mass deportations and uploaded the clip to Facebook and Instagram to draw attention to immigration raids. The video went viral, drew FBI scrutiny, and prompted widespread backlash and numerous death threats, which Martinez said largely came from conservatives and MAGA white supremacists. Martinez said he did not advocate violence, chose 55 because of his age, and insisted there would be no war between gang leaders and ICE.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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