00:00You know, we're all here together because we share in the frustration and heartache
00:09that comes from watching those in power actively tear down or refuse to fight for everyday working Americans like us.
00:21And we are here together because an extreme concentration of power, greed, and corruption is taking over this country like never before.
00:36Oligarchy in America.
00:40And we must acknowledge the terrifying moment that we are in right now.
00:48And that what we are hearing and seeing with our own eyes is in fact happening.
00:55We are watching our neighbors, students, and friends being fired, targeted, and disappeared.
01:04It is real.
01:06People we love are being targeted and harassed for being trans or queer.
01:13Our co-workers, U.S. citizens and immigrants alike are being disappeared off the street by men in vans with no uniform.
01:25Educators are being fired for teaching American history accurately.
01:32And activists are being detained with no charge or evidence for using their First Amendment rights, especially when they use them for Palestinians.
01:44In fact, the Trump administration admits that it has jailed Mahmoud Khalil, a young husband and father from New York, without any evidence or charge of a crime.
02:00The Trump administration admits that they have thrown Mahmoud in a cell thousands of miles away because he attended a protest and are detaining him for the content of his speech and nothing more.
02:16In fact, Donald Trump's detention of someone like Mahmoud Khalil for his speech is anti-American.
02:29And we demand his release along with the release of Rumeisa Ozturk, who he is also jailing for writing an op-ed in her school paper.
02:39And we demand their release because we, Los Angeles, we do have power in this moment.
02:50All of us do and everyday people do.
02:53In fact, you all showed that this week, L.A.
02:57A few days ago, ICE officials attempted to enter two LAUSD schools to target kids.
03:09They lied to school officials and claimed that they had parents' permission to get to these children when they didn't.
03:19But it wasn't just a lawyer or a judge that said no.
03:23It started with everyday people, school staff and employees who spoke up when they felt something was off.
03:32And it was the teachers and principals that stood strong and said no to protect their kids when it could have been easier to say yes out of fear.
03:42You defended them, L.A.
03:48Because it will never be just institutions and officials alone that uphold our democracy.
03:55It will always be the people, the masses, who refuse to comply with authoritarian regimes, who are the last and strongest defense of our country and our freedoms.
04:09Because we know, Los Angeles, that a better world is possible and we are willing to do something about it.
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