There used to be a baseline assumption in American politics. Whatever your party, you at least pretended to support law and order. That assumption is dead.
But what happened in California this week? It crosses a line that should terrify anyone who still believes laws exist for a reason. A mayoral candidate issued a public invitation that would’ve been career suicide five years ago. Democratic leadership? Crickets.
“I am calling all 55 gangs in my beautiful city,” Martinez said. “I’m calling the Latino gangs. I’m calling the Cambodian gangs. I’m calling the Filipino gangs. I’m calling the black gangs. I’m calling the Pacific Islander gangs. I’m calling all gang leaders to meet me right here, Long Beach City Hall, this coming Monday.”
Rogelio Martinez, a candidate for mayor of Long Beach, stood outside City Hall and publicly summoned the leaders of 55 criminal gangs to join forces against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. His stated goal? To “take back this city” from federal law enforcement.
Martinez claimed that local police are “powerless” and that city leadership has failed. So naturally, his solution is recruiting violent criminal organizations. Perhaps most absurdly, he promised this gang coalition would remove ICE “peacefully, but with strong force.” Criminal gangs known for drug trafficking, human smuggling, and murder don’t exactly have a reputation for peaceful conflict resolution.
Robby Starbuck nailed it: “Democrats are basically doing organized crime. Secret signal chats to coordinate plans to stop ICE and attacking them apparently wasn’t enough. Now this candidate wants to unite 55 gangs in Long Beach against ICE agents.”
Martinez didn’t dream this up in a vacuum. The same week, Long Beach saw coordinated student walkouts as part of nationwide protests against immigration enforcement. Thousands of students—children—marched through streets carrying signs reading “F ICE” and “Defund ICE.” The protests turned violent enough that police declared an unlawful assembly after demonstrators hurled objects at officers.
Meanwhile, an ANTIFA leader has openly called for “guerilla war” against ICE agents. This isn’t some fever dream from a conspiracy forum. They’re saying it out loud.
Connect the dots. It’s not hard. Democratic officials coordinate resistance through secret communications. Their allies in activist organizations call for violent confrontation. Their candidates publicly recruit criminal gang networks. And their voters’ children get pulled from class to march in mobs.
Here’s what Americans must understand: Rogelio Martinez isn’t some fringe figure shouting into the void. He’s a candidate seeking elected office in a major American city. The Democratic establishment hasn’t condemned his gang recruitment effort. They haven’t called for him to withdraw from the race. Silence is complicity.
