As left-leaning activists prepare for a new round of protests this weekend, Republicans are warning that some participants may use the First Amendment as cover for violent behavior.
According to CNN, organizers have planned more than 2,500 protests of varying sizes, following the model of the initial “No Kings” demonstrations held in June.
Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin told Newsmax, in an interview shared on social media platform X, that the left’s history suggests these gatherings often escalate beyond peaceful expression.
“Free speech is free speech, but when it turns to violence, which a lot of times these rallies go to, then the very people that are going to have to protect the property, they’re mostly going to be federal officers, especially inside Washington, D.C.,” Mullin said.
“It could be costing us, because of the Democrats, could be costing taxpayers close to $1 billion a day to be shut down.”
— Oklahoma @SenMullin@SharlaMcBride @Marc_Lotter pic.twitter.com/lYAxQk5dJ8
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) October 17, 2025
“We know their rallies get very violent. Ours do not. The Republican side’s do not,” Senator Markwayne Mullin said. “They’ll burn down buildings, they will riot offices, they will riot stores, they turn over cars, they vandalize police cars, and so that’s not protected in the Constitution. So when someone throws out the Constitution, I want them to understand what it is that they’re actually describing.”
Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas warned that “professional protesters” and “agitators” are expected to lead the gatherings, which he said will bring together “pro-Hamas” and “Antifa people,” according to CNN. “We’ll have to get the National Guard out,” Marshall said. “Hopefully it’ll be peaceful. I doubt it.”
A Department of Homeland Security intelligence report expressed concern about potential violence over the weekend, citing prior events in the United States in 2025. “Throughout these events, we observed behavioral indicators associated with violence and geopolitical developments that have historically driven violence at similar events,” the memo to local police agencies stated. The report warned of protesters “with a history of exploiting lawful protests to engage in violence” and highlighted risks from participants “engaging in harassing or intimidating behavior, which may escalate to physical violence.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also raised alarms about radical groups’ involvement in the protests, according to WBFF-TV. “I am all about free speech. I’m all about protest. It’s the great American way,” Duffy said. “I am concerned about who is funding this. Who is paying for it? Who is organizing it?”
Citing the September 10 assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, Duffy noted the broader rise in political violence. “He was shot because of the words that he was using. In America, we don’t do that. In a democracy, you debate, you argue, but you don’t pick up sticks and rocks and guns and kill each other,” he said.
Duffy criticized the “No Kings” protests as a “mischaracterization of the country and how Donald Trump actually came to power.”