Fact Check: Don't fall for old footage showing burning police cars in Los Angeles
Claim:
A video authentically showed burning, graffitied police cars during protests in Los Angeles in June 2025.
Rating:
Context:
The footage showed protests in LA following the death of George Floyd in May 2020 — not June 2025 protests over immigration enforcement actions.
In June 2025, as immigration enforcement actions sparked protests in Los Angeles, a claim (archived) circulated that a video authentically showed burning, graffitied police cars during protests in the city in June 2025.
(X user @DramaAlert)
One X user posted the footage on June 8, 2025, captioned "Absolute CHAOS in Los Angeles right now…"
The footage circulated widely on X (archived) but also appeared on Facebook (archived).
However, the footage claiming to show protests in June 2025 was miscaptioned. Though the footage was authentic and showed protests in LA, it originally featured in news reports on protests following the death of George Floyd in May 2020. The police vehicles seen in the footage can be identified by their roof numbers that corresponded to 2020, not 2025 footage.
A snippet of the footage appeared in an NBC News report from May 31, 2020, at time code 0:35. The footage showed cars 504 and 658, which also appeared in the footage circulating in June 2025. Car 504 had its hood open and Car 658 was on fire — identical features to the June 2025 footage.
An NBC picture gallery from the same May 2020 date also featured a screenshot from the footage (Image 42) that again featured cars 504 and 658. The image gallery credited the footage to NBC4 and Telemundo 52.
Though this exact video didn't show protests in 2025, pictures from the reputable photo agency Getty Images showed a similar lineup of police cars near a motorway overpass during protests over immigration enforcement actions in LA in June 2025. According to a report from The Associated Press, protesters threw "chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks" at officers and vehicles parked on the closed U.S. Highway 101 as officers ran for cover.
This isn't the only miscaptioned footage purportedly showing burning cars during the June 2025 LA protests we've fact-checked. We also looked into a different video that allegedly showed demonstrators setting fire to a Jeep.
"Damaged Law Enforcement Vehicles in Los Angeles, California, US, On..." Getty Images, 9 June 2025, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/damaged-law-enforcement-vehicles-in-los-angeles-california-news-photo/2218800570.
"Images: Violence Flares Up on the Streets of Los Angeles." NBC Los Angeles, 30 May 2020, https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/george-floyd-protest-los-angeles-police-lapd/2370927/.
"L.A. Unrest Live Updates: Immigration Protests Continue as Arrests from Clashes Mount." NBC News, 9 June 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/la-unrest-live-updates-crowds-protesting-immigration-raids-rcna211757.
Lloyd, Jonathan. "Dozens of Businesses Damaged at Flashpoint of Violence in the Fairfax District." NBC Los Angeles, 31 May 2020, https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/fairfax-district-melrose-damaged-looting-grove-fire-natioal-guard-lapd/2371497/.
OFFENHARTZ, JAKE, et al. "Protests Intensify in Los Angeles after Trump Deploys Hundreds of National Guard Troops." AP News, 8 June 2025, https://apnews.com/article/immigration-protests-raids-los-angeles-78eaba714dbdd322715bf7650fb543d7.
"Police Stage on the 101 Freeway during Clashes with Protesters On..." Getty Images, 9 June 2025, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/police-stage-on-the-101-freeway-during-clashes-with-news-photo/2218765730.
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