Claim: A video shows a protest against US President Donald Trump outside Trump Tower following the recent release of the Epstein Files.
Fact: The viral video combines two clips that predate the recent release of the Epstein Files. The first clip was likely filmed in Chicago during a No Kings protest and was first shared in October 2025. The second clip was uploaded on 16 January 2026 and likely relates to protests against the shooting of Renee Nicole Good by ICE.
On 7 February, a video showing massive protests has been shared online. It contains the following text: “People after Epstein file release in front of the Trump Tower
ٹرمپ کے برے دن شروع هو چکی هے”
[Translation: Trump’s bad days have begun.]
The post implies that the protests took place after the recent release of the Epstein Files.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the viral video to investigate the claim. We were initially led to results that reiterated the viral claim. However, the earliest instance of the first clip that we found was posted on Instagram by Block Club Chicago on 19 October 2025 with the caption: “No Kings protest heading north on Michigan Avenue.” This footage matches the first segment of the viral video, which we confirmed through side-by-side analysis.
Comparison of the viral clip with Block Club Chicago’s footage
We then reviewed the report mentioned in the Instagram post’s caption. According to the report, approximately 250,000 Chicagoans flooded Downtown on 18 October to condemn Donald Trump’s administration as part of the second nationwide “No Kings” protest. The march reportedly stretched from south of Washington Boulevard up Michigan Avenue to Wacker Drive, then back south along Clark Street and Jackson Boulevard to Butler Field in Grant Park, where it had begun hours earlier.
CBS News also reported on the protest on 18 October noting rolling street closures around Grant Park due to the demonstration. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker addressed the crowd in support of Chicago’s immigrant community, condemning what he described as attacks on democracy.
The CBS report included aerial footage showing the same location visible in the viral video, with a similarly massive crowd.
The first clip’s earliest online appearance on 19 October 2025 in connection with the Chicago No Kings protest indicates that the footage does not show a protest against Trump following the recent release of the Epstein Files.
Soch Fact Check then traced the second clip used in the viral video. The earliest instance we found was uploaded on 16 January 2026 by Jammu and Kashmir-based News N Views. It was titled: “INSANE CROWD! Thousands STORM Trump Tower for ‘No ICE No Kings No Wars’ NYC March! 🗽🚫 #trump”. A frame-by-frame comparison confirmed that this is the second clip used in the viral video, with the same individuals visible in both versions.
Comparison of the viral clip with News N Views’ footage
According to the video’s description, thousands of protesters gathered in New York City for the “No War, No Kings, No ICE” march, passing by Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue to voice opposition to the policies of President Donald Trump’s second administration.
We then searched for news reports to verify whether such a protest took place in New York in January 2026 and found reports confirming it. Amid heightened insecurity on 15 January, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of New York City in solidarity with Minneapolis over the shooting of Renee Nicole Good by ICE. They protested the federal agency and what demonstrators described as sanctioned violence, reported Amsterdam News.
A page on Facebook called NewsX World also shared the second clip on 18 January, writing, “Protesters were seen showing the middle finger toward the name of Donald Trump, using the gesture as a sign of anger and political dissent. The act reflected strong opposition sentiments, with demonstrators expressing frustration over Trump’s policies and leadership, fueling heated debate and reactions both on the streets and online.”
Crucially, the most recent release of the Epstein Files took place on 30 January 2026 which predates the earliest instance both clips surfaced online. While the Files have been released in phases since 2024, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) published another tranche of over three million pages under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The latter was signed into law by President Donald Trump on 19 November 2025, bringing the total to nearly 3.5 million.
Among the influential people named in the documents released more recently are X owner Elon Musk, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Trump and his commerce secretary among others. Although news outlets note that inclusion in the documents does not itself prove wrongdoing, Trump’s name appears multiple times in the documents generated by federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and his network. Trump and his allies have responded by denying any improper conduct and asserted that the released materials do not implicate him in criminal activity.
Since both clips used in the viral video were circulating online before 30 January 2026, they cannot depict protests triggered by the latest release of the Epstein Files.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, and here.
On Instagram, it was shared here (archive).
Conclusion: The viral video combines two older clips – one likely from a Chicago “No Kings” protest in October 2025 and another from a New York protest in mid-January 2026 related to ICE and Trump’s policies. Both predate the 30 January 2026 release of the Epstein Files.
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