Rights & Freedoms · Report · File No. 261027-872
El Paso police and NAACP condemn viral video of people in KKK-style robes
El Paso police are checking whether a group seen in Ku Klux Klan-style robes, possibly including young people, broke any laws. The local NAACP says the display is hurtful and wants schools to respond.
Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work
Police and the El Paso, Texas, branch of the NAACP are condemning a group of people shown wearing Ku Klux Klan-style white robes and hoods in videos that spread on social media. The group may include young people, according to NBC News. The videos show them walking on a neighborhood street that police indicated is in El Paso 1.
In one video, the person recording can be heard laughing and telling the group to yell something 1. No one in the robes has been publicly identified in the coverage we reviewed.
What police are doing
El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas said in a statement that the department is looking into whether the group, "reportedly including young people," broke any laws. He named disorderly conduct as one possibility, along with "or other applicable offenses" 1. The department also said it is monitoring the situation and will act consistent with the law and department policy 2.
Symbols and language associated with the Ku Klux Klan represent a history of terror, violence, and racial hatred
Pacillas also said "Free expression has limits when it crosses into conduct that threatens public order or the safety of others" 1. He asked anyone with information to come forward. KTSM, a local El Paso TV station, lists the police non-emergency number as (915) 832-4400 12.
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The NAACP's response
Carl B. Dwyer Jr., president of the El Paso branch of the NAACP, spoke at a news conference Monday morning. The NAACP is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights group. Dwyer called the display deeply hurtful to Black Americans, for whom the Klan has been a real-life terror since the Civil War 1.
Dwyer said many believe it is just a joke, speaking after supporters sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the hymn often called the Black national anthem 1. Artie C. Maxwell Jr., pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church, also spoke. He said that for those who died at the hands of people in such costumes, it is not a joke 1.
We’re calling on all of the superintendents, all of the school districts, please, speak up. Please, do something about this
What happens next
No charges have been reported. Police have not said whether they have identified anyone in the videos. Whether any law was broken is still under review 12.
Dwyer asked school superintendents and districts to speak up and urged educators to remind students of history and its influence on the present 1. Pacillas, for his part, said treating Klan history as a costume or a joke is unacceptable 1.
Why it matters
That matters because the Klan's history is one of terror and violence, as the police chief himself said 1. Even if the people in the videos meant it as a prank, the NAACP and police say the symbols carry real weight for the community 1. The coverage we reviewed does not link the videos to any campaign or to the Nov. 3 election.
Free speech protections are broad, and whether anyone broke a law has not been decided. Allegations of wrongdoing remain just that until police or prosecutors act 12.
The Record
Sources
- NBC News, “NAACP decries viral videos of group wearing KKK robes in El Paso, Texas” (2026-10-27). nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kkk-robes-videos-el-paso-texas-rcna
- KTSM 9 News (via Yahoo News), “El Paso Police review potential crimes involving KKK imagery” (2026-10-26). yahoo.com/news/us/articles/el-paso-police-review-potential-1
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
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