Video of football fans misleadingly linked to Los Angeles demonstrations

Yahoo

a day ago

US President Donald Trump deployed hundreds of US Marines to Los Angeles following a weekend of anti-deportation demonstrations in June 2025 that saw sporadic but violent clashes between police and protesters. One video of a large crowd chanting "We are Los Angeles" circulated widely online in posts claiming it was related to the recent protests, but it was actually filmed weeks earlier as fans of the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) gathered ahead of a match.
"This is definitely an insurrection and threats against democracy," says a June 7, 2025 post on X with thousands of interactions.
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The post shares a video showing a packed crowd of people, dressed mainly in black, marching and chanting slogans including: "We are Los Angeles." Some are carrying black flags and scarves emblazoned with golden writing.
Text overlaid on the video dates the clip to June 7 and asks: "Should we view this as AN INSURRECTION Firing up?"
Screenshot from X taken June 10, 2025
Additional posts linking the clip to the demonstrations against Trump's immigration policies also circulated on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Threads.
The video spread as Trump ordered the deployment of 700 Marines to Los Angeles to quell what he called "professional agitators and insurrectionists," despite the objections of state and local officials. Thousands of members of the National Guard -- a reserve military force usually controlled by the governor of a state -- have also been mobilized to the city.
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The protests began June 6 after residents attempted to confront federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who were conducting workplace raids in the city as part of the Trump administration's efforts to deport undocumented migrants.
The clip shared in the post, however, is unrelated to the demonstrations.
Keyword searches for the words "Empire Boys" -- a phrase seen written on some scarves and flags in the video -- led to Instagram and Facebook pages for an LAFC supporter club by the same name.
Screenshot from a video posted by the LAFC supporter club "Empire Boys," with elements outlined by AFP
The "Empire Boys" Instagram page posted a video of the same scene from a different angle May 18, nearly three weeks before the protests (archived here).
Further research uncovered an exact match to the video circulating online that LAFC's official X account posted May 18 as fans gathered ahead of a game against crosstown rivals Los Angeles Galaxy (archived here). The teams played to a 2-2 tie.
The game took place at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
AFP has fact-checked other misinformation about the demonstrations in Los Angeles here.