Before you go
A short checklist for any protest, whatever it's about. It's general information, not legal advice: rules differ by state and city, and nothing here guarantees anyone's safety.
Plan
- Check for changes. Look at the event page and the organizer's own announcement on the day. Times and routes change.
- Go with someone. Agree where to meet if you get separated, and tell someone not going where you'll be and when you expect to be back.
- Bring: water, a snack, any medicine you need, a charged phone, some cash, layers and comfortable shoes. Sunscreen and a hat in the heat.
- Write a phone number on your arm in marker: someone who can help if you lose your phone, and the local legal support number if organizers share one.
- Leave at home anything you'd hate to lose, and anything that could be called a weapon.
Your phone
- Lock it with a passcode, and consider turning off face and fingerprint unlock for the day.
- Back it up before you go, and keep it charged.
- Be careful filming. Other people's faces can get them in trouble. If you post here, moderators turn down photos and videos that show people who could be identified.
- Plan sensitive things privately, in an encrypted app like Signal, not in public posts.
Your rights
- Peaceful protest is protected by the First Amendment, especially on public sidewalks, streets and parks. Officials can set some limits on time, place and manner, and marches that block traffic may need a permit.
- You can record police doing their jobs in public. Without a warrant they need your consent to look through your phone, and they may never delete your photos or videos (ACLU).
- If police stop you, stay calm and keep your hands visible. You can ask "Am I free to go?" and, if so, calmly leave. You have the right to stay silent: say out loud that you're using it. You don't have to agree to a search. Don't run or physically resist, even if you think the stop is unfair. Whether you must give your name depends on your state.
- If you're arrested, say you want a lawyer and don't answer questions without one. Don't sign anything you don't understand.
While you're there
- Know your way out. Notice exits and side streets, and stay with your group.
- Look for legal observers. Many protests have them, often in bright green hats from the National Lawyers Guild. If you see something serious, tell them.
- If someone's hurt, call 911 or find a medic. If pepper spray or tear gas is used, move away and upwind, and rinse your eyes with plenty of clean water.
- Counter-protesters: don't engage. Move away and let organizers or marshals handle it.
After
- Check in with the people you came with and the person who knew you were going.
- Share what you saw: add a report, a crowd estimate or a photo on the protest's page. Leave out faces and names, and use "post without my name" if you'd rather.
- If you were arrested or hurt, write down what happened while it's fresh, and contact a lawyer or your local National Lawyers Guild chapter.