Cities keep blaming protests on 'outside agitators.' Arrest records show that's not true.

Protest in Minneapolis.
(Image credit: CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Every U.S. has state has seen protests against police brutality. And in several of them, police have arrested protesters for breaking curfews, failing to disperse, and, in some cases, for violent behavior.

Leaders in those cities, as well as Attorney General William Barr, have often blamed non-peaceful actions on "outside agitators" with an apparent agenda of their own. But as cities start to share arrest data, the numbers don't add up.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.