No Kings Wins: How Some Police Departments Engaged in Pro-Democracy Messaging - Inspiring

[Amaryllis]

https://lucid.substack.com/p/no-kings-wins-how-some-police-departments?

Multiple police departments described the protests as an exercise of First Amendment rights
Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Oct 21, 2025

The invasion of our cities by “unleashed” militarized elements means that local police have to contend with new levels of disruption and chaos. Think of the destruction ICE is causing on a daily basis as agents blow off doors of apartments, break car windows, block traffic, and pursue people in crowded urban areas. Local police departments in cities that have been targeted by this administration may have some feelings about all of that.

This is why I decided to look at the messages about No Kings sent out by some police departments on X. My sample is very small (these findings are intended as a prompt for future research by others) but the results are interesting from a pro-democracy point of view.

While many police departments chose not to mention anything about No Kings, others used their social media feeds to depart significantly from or ignore Trump administration framings of the No Kings protests as “Hate America” demonstrations or subversive actions by “Antifa.”

Instead, they described No Kings events as moments of the exercise of First Amendment rights, some not even mentioning the word protest. The repetition of language across police departments is striking.

“Thanks to the more than 25,000 people who came out and exercised their first amendment right peacefully and responsibly. Once again, no one was arrested,” the San Diego Police Department stated.

“Thank you to everyone who peacefully gathered in Santa Monica today to exercise your First Amendment rights. We appreciate the care, respect, and responsibility shown for our city and one another.” So reads the announcement issued by the Santa Monica Police Department.

“We had more than 100,000 people across all five boroughs peacefully exercising their first amendment rights,” the NYPD noted at 3:37pm, noting that no protest-related arrests were made. Later that day, the NYPD arrested a man who had boasted of plans to attend the protests to firebomb ICE agents, but he was not among the demonstrators.

Chicago is under siege by ICE, which has been terrorizing inhabitants and engaging in brutal acts. Here is how the Chicago Police Department described their mandate that day. “The Chicago Police Department was present across the city today protecting community members as they exercised their first amendment rights.”

This statement, which makes no reference to any specific event, could be read as the Chicago PD protecting protesters from people who might wish to interfere with said rights. In this communication, the nature of the gathering does not matter; it is the exercise of rights by community members that must be protected.

As a Red State comparison, the Austin Police Department did not mention First Amendment rights, and called it a “rally” and a “march.” These words carry less of a confrontational edge than protest. “Thank you to everyone who participated in the No Kings March today. The rally remained peaceful, with no arrests reported. We’re grateful to our community and event organizers for coming together to make sure voices were heard safely and respectfully. Great job ATX!”

Here, too, the police department chose to send a positive communication about collaborating to make sure voices were heard. Allowing people to speak, even if you disagree with them, without being beaten up (safely) or ridiculed (respectfully) is a foundation of democracy.

In this sense, No Kings was a democratic exercise not just for first-time protest attendees, but for police departments as well. They are navigating a new world in which a government that claims it is the keeper of law and order has pardoned individuals who assaulted police officers on January 6. In July, the Trump administration appointed a participant in the January 6 rally as the new head of the National Sheriff’s Organization.

I know from studying authoritarian regimes that people find spaces to maneuver within government institutions and communicate their independence from government propaganda and policy. Whatever happens with these police departments in the future, on a day of major protest at a dramatic time in national history, they chose to depict protesters as exercising basic democratic rights rather than demonize them.

[usonian]

1. Heavily UNARMED "radical leftie terrorists" pose no threat to police, whereas crazed cosplay militia do.

When you have to wear a bodycam to catch the fun instead of a flak vest ... well ...

[get the red out]

2. I said "Thank you"

To a huge, buff police officer (I couldn't help but notice, my boomer ass ain't dead) and he gave me a nice smile. The police were cool in my blue town in a red state. Something I found out at the protest that I was just too stupid to know already, is that ice is working like crazy, but quietly, to remove immigrants in cities not big enough to be outright attacked for propaganda purposes. It seems to me like a bait and switch, just look at the shiny object over there while the less interesting places have an accumulation of thousands of people improperly taken.

[mwmisses4289]

3. The few arrests that I heard of were made

of trump maga supporters doing what they do best- being absolute idgits.

[Clouds Passing]

4. Thank you to all LE who worked together with the No Kings First Amendment supporters to keep these events safe.