When told the speaking roster was full, Engel begged TWICE, saying: "If I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care."

Caught on hot mic. Eliot Engel begs for speaking slot at Black Lives Matter rally: "If I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care."

Donate $10 or what you can to Jamaal Bowman's campaign to defeat Engel right now.

Eliot Engel said about speaking at an event about the unrest in the Bronx: If I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care. Eliot Engel said about speaking at an event about the unrest in the Bronx: If I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care.

Today's New York Times headline captured a Congressman's plea to speak at a Black Lives Matter rally:

Eliot Engel’s Hot Mic Moment: ‘If I Didn’t Have a Primary, I Wouldn’t Care’

Engel's primary opponent, Bronx principal Jamaal Bowman, says "We need leaders who understand what we are going through. Jamaal shared that while driving to pick up his 3-year-old son, he was pulled over for supposedly not using a blinker. He wound up in jail as his son waited. He reflected, "When you are locked in a cage, you suddenly are no longer human."

This election's in 3 weeks! The nation's watching this race. We can replace a 30-year incumbent with a bold progressive!

People everywhere donated over $100,000 to Jamaal's insurgent campaign yesterday! Click here to see a video about his values and CHIP IN TODAY!

More from the New York Times report:

Representative Eliot L. Engel, a New York Democrat who is facing a serious primary challenge this month and questions about his lack of presence in his district, arrived on Tuesday at a Bronx news conference about local vandalism with a determination to speak.

But shortly before the news conference began, Ruben Diaz Jr., the Bronx borough president and organizer of the event, ran through the list of planned speakers to the assembled politicians. The microphone was already broadcasting.

"I cannot have all the electeds talk because we will never get out of here," Mr. Diaz said.

Mr. Engel pressed his case for a turn. "If I didn’t have a primary, I wouldn’t care,” he said, repeating, “If I didn’t have a primary, I wouldn’t care."

His opposition began to consolidate this week as one of his leading rivals, Andom Ghebreghiorgis, dropped out and endorsed Jamaal Bowman, a Bronx school principal.

The same day, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee announced its endorsement of Mr. Bowman, who has the support of several local progressive leaders, as well as the Working Families Party and Justice Democrats, a group that supports insurgent progressives.

Chip in $10 or what you can to Jamaal Bowman's campaign right now.

Jamaal founded the highest-ranked middle school in New York for improving students’ test scores. He grew up with a single mother in public housing and gives voice to America’s families who struggle with an emergency of high rent, high debt, and high healthcare costs. Unlike Engel, he supports Medicare For All and a Green New Deal.

In addition to not living in the community, Eliot Engel has taken more money from weapons manufacturers than 144 House Republicans -- the same manufacturers that benefit from militarizing local police. Engel's funded by corporate interests and is a hawk who opposed President Obama's Iran Deal, like Donald Trump.

Because Engel is so bad, a second progressive was also running against him in New York's 16th Congressional District. Today, Andom Ghebreghiorgis dropped out and endorsed Jamaal! He’s also endorsed by the Working Families Party, Justice Democrats, Zephyr Teachout, and Diane Ravitch.

We need people who have the real, lived experience of working people to be the ones making our laws and holding the powerful accountable.

Jamaal is rising in the polls, and a victory on June 23 would be seen nationally as a victory for justice! AOC made history in a district next door.

Chip in today to help Jamaal win!

Thanks for being a bold progressive.

-- The PCCC Elections Team

Jamaal Bowman: A few years ago, I was driving home from my teaching job at an elementary school in the Bronx, on my way to pick up my 3-year-old son and wind down for the evening.   I saw sirens flashing in my rearview mirror.

This was not the first time I’d been pulled over by the cops, nor would it be my last. It is something one never gets used to, and every time it happens your heart skips a beat. You feel guilty even though you didn’t do anything wrong.

Jamaal Bowman: I remember the officers approaching the vehicle and telling me I hadn’t properly used a turn signal, and I remember them taking my license and insurance. I waited for what seemed like forever with increasing anxiety in every moment.

Jamaal Bowman: When the cops returned, they asked me to step out of the car, turn around and put my hands behind my back. I don’t remember asking why or if they just told me that my insurance was suspended. I knew this wasn’t true, but I didn’t dare open my mouth.

Jamaal Bowman: I was taken to the local police precinct and put in a cage not much bigger than a bathroom, with two other people, one bench and one toilet. While one person gets to occupy the bench, the other two are forced onto the filthy floor.

Jamaal Bowman: When you are locked in a cage, you are suddenly no longer human. You’re an animal. Your spirit shifts into survival mode.

Jamaal Bowman: I spent what must have been a few hours in one cell before being transferred via paddy wagon to another cell. I was handcuffed and placed in the back of a dark van behind a cage. You lose your bearing because you don’t quite know where you are or where you’re going.

Jamaal Bowman: After spending another few hours in the second cell, I was released without seeing a judge. No explanation. No apology. No car either, as it was impounded. I had to borrow money just to get it back the next day.

Jamaal Bowman: I was grateful to be free and get home to my son and my mother, who was watching him. We didn’t speak much about the incident because I was just happy to be home.

Jamaal Bowman: The year before, I was arrested and accused of stealing my own car because I parked somewhere illegally. My son got to see his daddy arrested by the police. Once again, I recall being detained for hours before being released without charge.

Jamaal Bowman: The only way police departments are going to change is by shrinking their function. Don’t give them funding to harass people like me. Don’t give them funding to drive through protest crowds like madmen. Invest in services that actually keep people safe. Then things will change.

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