Protest Safety

For a sustainable resistance and effective nonviolent protest, it’s important to practice some safety guidelines.

Here are our safety tips:

• Go with people you know and trust.

• Turn off face/fingerprint unlock (or bring a burner phone instead of your regular phone)—this goes for everyone in your party. Or turn it off.

• Come together, stick together, leave together.

• Choose a meeting spot ahead of time in case people get separated.

• Leave early if things get too spicy for folks in your party.

• Stay close to the peaceful people who are not drawing attention to themselves or doing anything that could be considered aggressive or illegal.

• Such events should generally have a defined start and end in both space and time. If you hear a call for “now let's march to ______” that wasn’t in the plan, ignore it (or consider leaving).

• Write important phone numbers on your forearm in Sharpie juuuust in case.

• Think twice before taking photos or video, for the sake of people’s privacy.

• Stay hydrated and dress for the expected weather.

• Bring any needed supplies including water, meds, snacks, and cash.

• Fully charge your cell phone and bring a battery extender if possible.

• Maintain “360 situational awareness” – know what is going on all around you at all times. Be alert to anything that seems suspicious, this could be a person’s behavior, unclaimed packages, unusual activity, and vehicles.

  
  
  
  

Indivisible National has a guide on staying safe while protesting the current administration, and Black Lives Matter has additional advice:

• Ask before you livestream the event attendees on your personal social media pages. Videos are often being used to vilify protestors by policing agencies. Only livestream to document the police present at the event. If you livestream, consider doing so from a group account, not your personal account.

• Taking photos of the event? Ask before you post on social media, and make sure to blur identifying features of attendees before posting.

• Protect and support high-risk protestors. Protect BIPOC and high-risk groups by staying aware of police and/or ICE.

  
  

Any protest runs the risk of attracting bad actors, police action, and potential violence. We expect our members to understand nonviolent protest, know their rights, and act in a way that is safe and respectful to others. All of this goes double when you don’t know who’s running the event, because then you don’t know how they’re going to run it. It’s important to do your due diligence about any event you’re considering attending.

The majority of this post was plagiarized from the Indivisible SF website.