Doechii took a moment to address the ongoing protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles, after winning Best Female Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards.
"I do want to address what’s happening right now outside of the building,” the Florida rapper said. "There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order. Trump is using military forces to stop a protest. And I want y’all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us."
Doechii, a relative newcomer in the music industry, was the only artist to mention the unrest happening in the BET Awards' host city.
"People are being swept up and torn from their families,” she said. "We all deserve to live in hope and not in fear. And I hope we stand together, my brothers and my sisters, against hate – and we protest against it.”
A series of ICE raids in the city last week kicked off a wave of protests that is ongoing. Demonstrators, activists and local politicians have not been cowed by threats from President Donald Trump, who has deployed members of the Marines and National Guard to the city.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass have pushed back on what they see as federal overreach, while the Los Angeles Unified School District has instructed its police officers to protect students from the incursion of ICE agents.
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