A liberal Long Beach mayoral candidate is facing backlash after publicly calling on gang leaders across the city to join him in a demonstration aimed at forcing Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of the community.
Rogelio Martinez, a Democrat and one of five candidates running in the November 2026 mayoral election in Long Beach, posted a video on social media urging representatives from what he described as the city’s 55 gangs to gather at City Hall on Monday evening. The coastal city has a population of roughly 450,000.
He truly wants Democrats to become the pro-crime party.
In the video, filmed outside City Hall, Martinez addressed gang leaders directly. “My name is Rogelio Martinez. I am calling all 55 gangs in my beautiful city,” he said. “I expect a gang leader from every gang, all 55 gangs.”
Long Beach mayor hopeful Rogelio Martinez is urging all 55 gang bosses across the city to unite and push ICE out. pic.twitter.com/MRZSxdwt7B
— aka (@akafaceUS) January 31, 2026
He expanded the appeal to multiple communities, stating, “I’m not going to name them by name, but 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.”
Martinez framed the proposed gathering as part of an effort to make Long Beach “ICE FREE,” arguing that current city leadership has failed to act, noted The Daily Caller. “Specifically, 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,” he said. During the video, he repeatedly referred to himself as “Your 2026, Long Beach City mayor.”
While sharply criticizing federal immigration enforcement, Martinez sought to distance himself from anti-police rhetoric. “The police are not doing anything wrong. I’m not here to defund the police. I 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,” he said.
Martinez added that his call to action was intended to remain nonviolent. “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,” he said.
In an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation, Martinez said the video was meant “to show that every member of the city is part of the community” and insisted it was “never to harm anybody, never to incite any type of violence.” He described the message as “kind of like a crazy, radical but fresh approach to gain attention to what’s happening in America specifically in cities that are predominantly Hispanic and Latino.”
Martinez said he was surprised by the video’s national attention, though he expected it to draw notice locally. As of Sunday afternoon, he said no gang leaders had contacted him, which he attributed to his decision not to name specific groups. “I was very strategic in producing the video,” he said. “No gang members are going to respond, no gang members are going to show up. That’s not the reality of the video.”
A political newcomer, Martinez is a licensed steam engineer, a grandfather of two, and is currently enrolled in online coursework at Harvard Law School. He entered the race in late 2025 to challenge incumbent Democratic Mayor Rex Richardson, citing frustration over what he described as “taxation without representation,” particularly a city move to accelerate a voter-approved sales tax increase.
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