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Fact check: Were there any reports of police brutality during the No Kings Protest on October 18 2025?
Executive Summary
Reports about police conduct during the No Kings protests on October 18, 2025 vary by location: independent press-monitoring groups allege LAPD used violence against journalists in Los Angeles, while local reporting on a separate Potsdam protest documents no police brutality and emphasizes a peaceful event disrupted by a single driver [1] [2] [3]. Coverage from national outlets about the broader No Kings demonstrations mentions disturbing imagery and threats but does not corroborate widespread police violence at the Los Angeles event in the contemporaneous reporting available [4] [5]. The record therefore shows conflicting accounts tied to geography and source type.
1. What advocates say: documented attacks on journalists in Los Angeles
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a statement asserting at least 15 press freedom violations by the LAPD during the No Kings protest, including what RSF characterizes as violent attacks on journalists [1]. That claim was published on October 22, 2025, four days after the protest, and frames the incidents explicitly as disciplinary lapses by law enforcement. RSF is an international media-rights organization focused on press freedom; its report centers on attacks affecting reporters rather than offering a comprehensive accounting of crowd-control actions or arrests. The emphasis on journalist assaults is an important element of the allegation of police brutality specific to Los Angeles [1].
2. What mainstream U.S. outlets reported at the time: no LA brutality mentioned
Contemporaneous reporting by USA TODAY on October 18, 2025 covered the No Kings rallies nationwide and described costumes, signs, and celebratory actions but did not report police brutality during the Los Angeles protest [4]. That absence is notable because the article addresses the same demonstrations across multiple cities, suggesting that mainstream immediate coverage did not corroborate RSF’s later press-focused allegations. Lack of mention in a national roundup does not disprove RSF’s claims, but it highlights a disparity between early on-the-ground reporting and a subsequent press-rights organization assessment [4].
3. What other U.S. outlets highlighted: protest conduct, not police force
Fox News’ coverage emphasized violent symbolism and threats among protest participants, citing incidents such as a man encouraging a child to beat an effigy of a political figure, but it did not report police brutality at the protests in its October 21 article [5]. This reporting frames concerns about the demonstrations around participant behavior and safety rather than law enforcement actions. The focus on violent or threatening musical and symbolic acts by attendees contrasts with RSF’s focus on law enforcement conduct, indicating differing editorial priorities across outlets and potential agenda-driven framing [5].
4. What local Potsdam reporting shows: peaceful event, no brutality reported
News reports focused on the Potsdam No Kings protest, dated October 20–22, 2025, describe a largely peaceful and joyous demonstration disrupted by a 19-year-old who allegedly spun his truck tires to create smoke; local authorities charged him with multiple offenses and the mayor described the event as overall peaceful [2] [6] [3]. None of the Potsdam pieces mention police brutality or excessive force. Those local accounts document law enforcement activity only insofar as they report charges and crowd safety, not alleged misconduct by officers, which suggests no corroborated brutality claims in that locality [2] [3].
5. Reconciling diverging accounts: geography and source missions matter
The record shows geographic divergence: RSF’s allegations concern Los Angeles specifically, while the Potsdam articles concern a different protest in a different jurisdiction and report no police violence [1] [2] [3]. National outlets’ contemporaneous reporting on October 18–21 focused mainly on protester behavior and did not document police brutality in Los Angeles [4] [5]. The variation aligns with the differing missions of sources—RSF investigates press freedom violations, national outlets prioritize broad event coverage, and local Potsdam press emphasizes community impact—so discrepancies may reflect scope and investigative focus [1] [4] [2].
6. Assessing credibility and possible agendas in the sources
RSF’s October 22 statement foregrounds press protections and may prioritize journalist accounts, which explains its focus on alleged LAPD actions [1]. USA TODAY and Fox News pieces do not corroborate those allegations in their contemporaneous reports and instead highlight protest atmosphere and participant conduct, reflecting editorial choices about what aspects of the events to highlight [4] [5]. Potsdam reporting is local and operationally limited to incidents within that community; absence of reported police brutality there is not evidence against claims in Los Angeles but does show the protests were not uniformly characterized by police violence across all locations [2] [3].
7. Conclusion and evidentiary limits: verified allegations vs. gaps
In sum, there are documented allegations of police violence in Los Angeles from RSF dated October 22, 2025, while contemporaneous national coverage and local Potsdam reporting do not report police brutality and instead describe peaceful demonstrations or problematic protester conduct [1] [4] [2] [3]. The evidence therefore supports a qualified answer: reports of alleged police brutality exist for Los Angeles, but they are not corroborated in the contemporaneous mainstream or Potsdam local reporting provided. Further verification would require primary footage, police statements, and independent local reporting from Los Angeles dated October 18–22, 2025.