In the February 24 episode of Freeform’s Good Trouble, titled “Arraignment Day”, white supremacists swarm Mariana Adams Foster’s (Cierra Ramirez) app, ACT-ivism, which enables activists to organize protests. Throughout, a Trump slogan or two is thrown in with the racist hate to create a false equivalence.
As she and her team monitor the situation, Mariana joins in a Black Lives Matter protest at the D.A.’s office on behalf of Malika Williams (Zuri Adele), who was jailed after another BLM protest. On her way into the building, Mariana is harassed by white supremacists who’d used her app.
Man: Hey, look! It’s someone from Brown Lives Matter! Go back to Mexico, wetback! Go back to Mexico.-Yeah. -Go back to Mexico.
Gael: Hey. Hey, you okay? Just keep walking, all right?
Crowd: Go back to Mexico. There’s DA Hansen! It’s DA Hansen! DA Hansen! Four more years. Law and order. All Lives Matter.
Security: Let’s keep it moving. Keep it moving.
Man: Don’t let the libs take over America. All Lives Matter.
Malika’s bail was raised upon request of the D.A. after she encouraged supporters to do a sit-in at the D.A.’s office. But when BLM and others raise the money for her bail, Malika decides to remain in jail and let other incarcerated women use the bail money to get home to their children. She is made out to be a hero over the gesture.
As her family learn the disappointing news, the white supremacists harass Malika’s supporters and the police are made to look like they are defending them. Her brother and Gael film the interaction.
White supremacists: Terrorists! Lock Malika up! Lock her up! Lock her up!
Security: Go on, get outta here! Yo, get outta here! Any more chaos, we start arresting folks.
White supremacist: Lock her up.
Brother: You got that?
Gael: Yeah, and a lot more too.
The video is used to launch a #FreeMalika campaign. Once it goes viral, the D.A. decides to release Malika and drop the charges against her.
Mariana is disappointed that her app was not canceled by her employer after it was taken over by white supremacists. He explains that the app is very successful for the company and he has a responsibility to all his employees to make sound business decisions. She ends up walking out, along with the rest of her all-female team, with the intention of launching her own start-up. We’ll see what happens next with the women.