By Anonymous
Here are practical ways to resist military occupation of our cities and ICE acting as a federal secret police against kids and grandmothers.
Decentralized diversity of tactics
It takes varying and broad-based activity to avoid government domination, ranging from refusing service, polite marches, dressing up in frog costumes, blockades, strikes and directly confronting troops. Tyrants escalate violence to provoke reactions on their terms that can strengthen their hands and discredit us. Their goal is to divide communities so they can isolate, criminalize, and lock up militants. We don’t have to take the bait. Their over-reactions can be turned against them. However, our numbers, mobility, and flexibility can give us an advantage in some contexts. Our focus should be on what works.
Prepare now & expand networks
Uprisings require support from people and networks who aren’t on the front lines. Now is the time to deepen existing relationships with your family, neighbors, coworkers, and friends. Meet people where they’re at and identify tangible ways they might help. How could existing organizations, social networks, and structures oppose authoritarianism with their resources? Restaurants, warehouses, auto repair shops, stores, construction contractors, etc. can refuse to provide resources to invading troops, or provide necessary goods and services to those resisting occupation. Sports leagues, local media, libraries, museums, schools, bookstores, and hospitals can cancel events, denounce violent repression, distribute calls to action, and provide sanctuary to people fleeing tear gas. Who in your circle may have some of these connections? With security in mind, we can develop protocols for sharing information, needs, and materials in an efficient manner.
Prepare together
Map skills for everything from physical and mental health to housing to growing food. Pool resources to help those who need them. Mutual aid is the foundation for collective strength.
Defend One Another: Community self-defense ranges from deescalation to physical intervention. Build resilient neighborhoods where the army and ICE are not welcome. Spread non-compliance, contempt, and revolt as an act of solidarity with those already facing repression.
Distribute: Share skills and supplies in decentralized, coordinated ways. Build logistical strategies to get people and supplies from one place to another. Diversify roles to build a stronger movement where people can take different levels of risk.
Communicate: Practice digital security. Use Signal and burner phones. If digital networks fail or become unsafe, have a plan for alternative communication, like runners.
Be water
Keep Your Toolbox Full: Don’t rule out tactics that might be new or uncomfortable for you. Debate is healthy, but “violence” versus “non-violence” is a mirage.
Be Wise in Application: Work with the terrain. Address actions you think were a mistake in good faith. Adjust tactics and formations to specific goals. Discuss the pros and cons beforehand. Debrief afterwards.
Learn Together: Treat each act as training for the next. Reflect upon what is working and what is not. Share your insights with others.
Be Creative: When one tactic is hitting a limit, try something new. Our greatest strength lies in our ability to rapidly evolve and act with asymmetric impact.
Uprisings succeed when they remain complex, diverse, and contagious. Refuse the impulse to condemn people fighting tyranny — whether through sit-ins, marches, or direct confrontation. By embracing those who fight beside us, we protect everyone from the repression that will eventually come for us all.
Keep each other safe
Bring Buddies: Don’t arrive or leave a street action alone. If you think you’re being followed, don’t lead them to your home or your comrades’ homes.
Support Arrestees: Bail, jail, and court support are crucial. Fundraise for bail and legal defense.
Create Safe Houses and Support Networks: People may need to hide and be supported materially and emotionally. Plan now.
Don’t Talk to the Police: Nothing good ever comes from talking to them. Do tell your comrades if you are visited by the police.
Don’t Brag or Implicate Others: Sensitive info should not be shared publicly.
Beware Accusations of Infiltration: Don’t speculate on motives. If you don’t trust someone, don’t work with them. Don’t make accusations without definitive proof.
Stay safe to remain dangerous
We can defend against police riot control munitions with preparation and the right gear.
Clothing: Nondescript, without identifying logos or bright colors. Police will review surveillance footage after the fact to identify suspects. Cover identifying tattoos, piercings, and hair.
Helmets: Wearing an inconspicuous helmet (like a baseball bump cap or bike helmet) can protect against head trauma from rubber bullets, grenades, and batons.
Gloves: Gloves make sure you don’t leave fingerprints. Heat-resistant Nomex or leather gloves protect your hands if you throw away police tear gas canisters.
Umbrella : Deflect police munitions, block pepper spray, and provide cover from police and media cameras.
Masks: Cover your face to prevent identification. Full-face respirators or half-face respirators pared with goggles offer protection against chemical weapons and eye injuries from police munitions.
Cash: Get home safely without getting tracked through apps or payment processing systems. Buy your protest gear in cash. Bring a set of different clothes to change into directly after the action, but don’t bring your phone!
Stay together: Don’t let the police separate your crew. Stay tight, regroup, and hold space, never turning your back to the adversary. Attempts to split the march into “good” and “bad” protesters are doing the police’s work for them.
Use barricades: Dragging objects into the street behind the march protects everyone from traffic and police charges.
Keep moving: The police might try to surround the march to “kettle” and mass arrest everyone. Keep it moving, especially in vulnerable terrain like intersections. Avoid bridges.
Get in formation: Practice moving together in a “stack” with your crew. Keep your group together, holding onto each others’ shoulders or backpacks.
Extinguishing tear gas
Wearing heat-proof gloves and a respirator, submerge the tear gas grenade in a wide-mouthed water jug containing 3 tablespoons of baking soda, dish soap, and/or vegetable oil for each liter of water. Cover the top with one hand, just enough to keep the gas from getting out, and shake the jug. Never seal a bottle containing an active tear gas canister — you don’t want it to explode. You can also use heat-proof gloves to throw the gas canisters away from the crowd, or sticks to knock them away. Leaf blowers can disperse the gas quickly, keeping the air fresh and breathable.