In modern American politics, unfortunately, some candidates for office seem to believe that they can gain election by calling upon those who cause disorder.
A recent example was a proposal by Rogelio Martinez, one of five candidates running for mayor of Long Beach, California. In a recent video, Mr. Martinez asked local gang leaders to meet with him to discuss a strategy to resist the activities of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency under the Department of Homeland Security.
In a terse, ninety-seven-word statement, Mr. Martinez invited leaders of “all 55 gangs in my beautiful city” to meet with him. In a method well-known to multiculturalist agitators, he then proceeded to list them, not by name, but by ethnic derivation. “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.” He concluded, “I need you to be here to meet me in person to take back this city.”
A Radical Idea
If the invitation was genuine, gang leaders roundly rebuffed it since the meeting never actually occurred. The day before the proposed meeting, Mr. Martinez stated that this result was deliberate. America’s News Brief quoted the candidate, “I was very strategic in producing the video. No gang members are going to respond, no gang members are going to show up. That’s not the reality of the video.”
Nonetheless, the supposed call to inaction attracted national notoriety, which was perhaps the original intent. Mr. Martinez expressed a kind of confused surprise at the reactions, telling the Daily Caller, “It was kind of like a crazy, radical but fresh approach to gain attention to what’s happening in America specifically in cities that that are predominantly Hispanic and Latino. I actually am surprised that it went viral on a national level. Not surprised that it went viral on a local level — but on a national level I actually am very surprised.”
Legal Considerations
The candidate may also be surprised at the legal implications of his rash action. In her own video, local legal commentator Melba Pearson raised questions about Mr. Martinez’s legal exposure.
“Thinking about it from under California law, criminal solicitation could be an issue here because asking someone to commit a crime like interfering with law enforcement is a felony.” She also raised the possibility that some people might take heed. “So, if gang members actually do block federal agents because of Candidate Martinez’s call to action, he may end up being pulled into this as a co-conspirator, and also you could have a RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations] situation from a federal perspective because, basically, he’s bringing people together for the purposes of a crime.”
Frankly, there is little chance that Mr. Martinez will prevail in the coming nonpartisan election, as one of his opponents is the incumbent mayor. Even if he is elected, he will exercise little actual power. According to Ballotpedia, Long Beach has a council-manager system of government in which the mayor merely presides over the council, and executive power is vested in an appointed city manager.
Indication of Things to Come?
This little tale, nonetheless, begs a question. Is this a single event or a harbinger of increasing disorder as the general elections draw closer?
Even by a cautious reckoning, the danger is quite real. Long Beach’s total population is a bit over 450,000, and it is ethnically diverse. Another consideration is that it is only twenty-four miles from Los Angeles. So, the possibility of the sort of convulsions that were all too evident in Minneapolis over the winter could break out there. Radical leftists are working overtime to make cities into tinderboxes as the Congressional elections approach. The possibility of the summer of 2026 resembling those of 1968 and 2020 is at once repellent and plausible.
In such an atmosphere, leaders and those who aspire to leadership should exercise extreme caution in their pronouncements. However, that prospect is all too improbable.
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