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US-ECONOMY-TRANSPORT \u00a9Photo by Patrick T. Fallon \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Democratic Long Beach, Calif. mayoral candidate Rogelio Martinez invited 55 gang leaders to join him Monday peacefully protesting against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a video posted to social media Friday.<\/p>\n
Martinez is one of five declared candidates for the November 2026 election to lead the city of about 450,000, having completed his Candidate Intention Statement in late 2025, according<\/a> to the Long Beach City Clerk\u2019s website. He originally posted<\/a> the more than two-minute-long video message to Instagram declaring, \u201cLong Beach needs to be ICE FREE.\u201d He also expects to \u201csee 55 gang leaders in front of City Hall this Monday at 5pm [sic].\u201d (RELATED: Antifa Influencer Declares \u2018Guerrilla War\u2019 Against ICE After Minnesota Shooting)<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMy name is Rogelio Martinez. I am calling all 55 gangs in my beautiful city,\u201d the candidate says in the video recorded in front of Long Beach City Hall. \u201cI expect a gang leader from every gang, all 55 gangs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to name them by name, but I\u2019m calling the Latino gangs. I\u2019m calling the Cambodian gangs. I\u2019m calling the Filipino gangs. I\u2019m calling the black gangs. I\u2019m calling the Pacific Islander gangs,\u201d Martinez added. \u201cI\u2019m calling all gang leaders to meet me right here, Long Beach City Hall this coming Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n WATCH:<\/p>\n \u201cSpecifically, I need you to be here to meet me in person, to take back this city, because our leadership is not doing anything about it, and our police are powerless,\u201d the mayoral hopeful continued, again stating his name and calling himself \u201cYour 2026, Long Beach City mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n Martinez told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview his intentions in making the video were \u201cto show that every member of the city is part of the community\u201d and were \u201cnever to harm anybody, never to incite any type of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was kind of like a crazy, radical but fresh approach to gain attention to what\u2019s happening in America specifically in cities that that are predominantly Hispanic and Latino,\u201d he told the DCNF. \u201cI actually am surprised that it went viral on a national level. Not surprised that it went viral on a on a local level \u2014 but on a national level I actually am very surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n The candidate said that, as of Sunday afternoon, none of the 55 gang leaders he invited to the Monday protest<\/a> contacted him.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I knew they wouldn\u2019t. And the reason why is because I didn\u2019t name any gangs by name,\u201d he explained. \u201cI was very strategic in producing the video. So, no. No gang members are going to respond, no gang members are going to show up. That\u2019s not the reality of the video.\u201d<\/p>\n About 44% of Long Beach residents are Hispanic or Latino, 13% are Asian, and 12% are black, according<\/a> to 2024 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.<\/p>\n Demonstrators holding signs protest outside Long Beach Convention Center to urge the release of immigrant children from ICE detention centers outside Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California, on May 8, 2021. (Photo by RINGO CHIU\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n \u201cEnough 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,\u201d Martinez also states in the video, adding \u201cthe police are not at fault.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe police are not doing anything wrong. I\u2019m not here to defund the police,\u201d he clarifies in the video. \u201cI stand with my Long Beach police officers, my men and women that serve the Long Beach Police Department, but they are powerless. They are powerless against ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been 100% supportive of our local police department,\u201d Martinez told the DCNF. \u201cAnd why? Because if I\u2019m going to be mayor, the police department works for the mayor. How in the heck am I going to contradict my employees? That makes no sense. I\u2019m pro police.\u201d<\/p>\n Martinez \u2014 a political outsider \u2014 is a grandfather of two, a licensed steam engineer by trade, and is enrolled in online classes at Harvard Law School, he told the DCNF.<\/p>\n He also said he entered the race to unseat incumbent Democratic Mayor Rex Richardson in November 2025. His decision was made shortly after Richardson\u2019s city government tried to increase<\/a> its local sales tax rate two years before the date voters had approved it to go up. Martinez said the move was an example of \u201ctaxation without representation.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Martinez and Richardson are both Democrats, Long Beach\u2019s mayoral election is officially nonpartisan.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just a normal person. I\u2019m not a politician. I\u2019ve never run for any public office, and I just so I need to do things completely different, unorthodox, and the reason why is because I need to bring attention to my cause,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cI know that because I\u2019m not a career politician, I have to do things out of the box, just like that video.\u201d<\/p>\n All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter\u2019s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0404a73780dcfa49d07f168ea8a7e661.jpeg\"\/)
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