As conditions change on the ground, this page will be updated. Last updated April 2026.
CONTENTS:
➢ Introduction
➢ Protest Strategy and Risks
➢ Basic Tips for Protests
➢ Final Words
➢ Additional Resources
INTRODUCTION:
Organized Protests typically serve one or two purposes:
- “These are our people and this is our message!” (think No Kings)
- “You are doing something we oppose and we’re going to make you pay and impact your business/reputation/daily life because of it.” (think of people blocking the entrance to an ICE facility with their bodies, or a boycott)
An effective protest often includes both aspects, and they both are useful in the fight against authoritarianism.
Most of the protest tips below are effective for both types of protest, but note that protests which impact authoritarians finances or reputations (i.e., they exact a cost on their target(s) may carry additional risks. Do your best to know what the main focus of the protest is before you go.
PROTEST STRATEGY AND RISKS:
The national strategy to slow authoritarian consolidation involves impacting the financial and/or reputational material of authoritarians (exacting costs!). Protests and actions aimed at having these impacts (rather than just getting out their own messaging), are much more likely to encounter local, state and federal law enforcement.
ALL protests and actions carry risks, ranging from minor injury or loss of personal dignity to arrest and (in extremely rare cases) serious injury or death.
Organized and well-planned public protests tend to be lower risk (marching, leafletting, picketing, boycotting), while spontaneous protests (neighborhood rapid response networks, intervening when witnessing ICE targeting a neighbor) or small-group direct actions (blocking an ICE facility or a highway, any action aimed at slowing the physical movement of federal officials) carry uncertain and occasionally much higher risk.
Assessing risks
As this regime increases its commitment to authoritarianism, the legal and physical risks are increasing.
But, if we all stay home, then authoritarians will fully consolidate their power in a short period of time.
The levels of risk are impacted by a variety of factors. Here are some things to consider when attending a protest or action (or when designing your own):
- Who is sponsoring this protest? Do they have a track record of sponsoring past protests?
- Has this protest (location, target, action, etc) happened in the recent past, and if so, what were the results? If this is a first-time action or target, what local groups have run recent similar protests that you could consult with?
- Is the protest on land “owned” by the City, State, or Federal government? If so, get clear on which entity the land “belongs” to and consult with local legal support on specific considerations.
- What is local law enforcement's relationship with Federal law enforcement? Do they cooperate with ICE, has city leadership spoken forcefully about the relationship in either direction?
- Consider inviting or confirming attendance of legal observers
Current Risk Assessment (Updated January 8, 2026)
On January 6th and January 23rd ICE agents shot and killed US citizens in Minnesota. Many are feeling increased resolve as well as increased fear.
It is our assessment at this time that in most situations in most parts of the country, the conditions on the ground are no different than they were last month or the month before. Local police departments already have similar training and the exact same equipment as the US military. State and local laws continue to hold predominance over most interactions at protests. We are encouraging our chapters and those on the ground to continue to pay attention to local conditions.
If the federal government activates the national guard or other military resources in your area, that should be readily known before you attend a protest (double check local media outlets before you go!) If the direct target of your protest is a federally owned facility, or you encounter ICE agents or anyone who says they are working for the federal government, there might be different legal risks, and you might choose to de-escalate (see section 2a. of this guide, page 16, as well as lots of other tips and tools in there!), or depart from that interaction. If state or local law enforcement declare an event “unlawful” while you are gathered, we encourage you to depart at that time as safely as you can, and, ideally, with the group you arrived there with.
Spontaneous protests
Additionally, in places where this is active federal action happening, spontaneous protests are emerging. These involve the most risk and unpredictability, and you should decide BEFORE you leave your house whether you want to engage directly if you encounter such a protest or depart.
Additional considerations for targeted communities
If you're a member of a community being targeted by this administration, now is a time to give serious consideration to your vulnerabilities in interactions with police or federal agents. Contexts to consider include that the Federal Bureau of Prisons has adopted a policy of forced detransition for all trans inmates, and many local law enforcement agencies are engaging in aggressive racial profiling and having citizens and legal residents detained by ICE. We ask that you weigh all of this when making your protest decisions.
BASIC TIPS FOR PROTESTS:
Reminder: Most of the time when you’re attending a protest and are committed to principled non-violence (in accordance with Bend the Arc’s values), you will not interact with law enforcement at all, and you will therefore not need most of these tips. However, it’s good to be in the habit of using them, especially if and as protest itself becomes more criminalized.
- Go in a group. Go in a group of 2-5 people, more if you got ‘em!
- Stay together! Leave together! Leave the action at or before the planned ending time. We are hearing that arrests and confrontations with federal agents are most often occurring after a rally, march, or action is over.
- Plan what you’re going to bring. Here’s a great starter list
- Know your rights! Here’s a great write-up from the ACLU and a cool phone background you can use to reference your rights without unlocking your phone!
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Your phone can and does track your every move. If you’re concerned about how state or federal officials will use cellphone location tracking against you or others, you can consider the following (in order of effectiveness):
- Leave your phone at home! Pretend it’s 1996. You are printing out MapQuest directions and meeting up with friends at a specific time. (Of course some people will be late!). Pick an agreed upon place to meet up if you get separated too!
- Pay cash for a pay-as-you-go phone that you bring with you to protests.
- Take your phone, but keep it powered off or in airplane mode. Need to make an urgent call? Turn it back on, use it, then turn it off again
- Leave your phone on, but turn off your location. This works differently for different phones, but all Apple and Android devices should have this option.
- Finally, ALWAYS use the app Signal as your messaging app, with the “disappearing message” function turned on.
- One more phone tip: switch to a pin or pattern passcode before going to the action. If for any reason you are detained, law enforcement will take your cellphone and can access everything on your phone if they so choose. They can also force you to unlock a phone using biometrics (i.e. if you have Face ID or fingerprint recognition for unlocking). If you use either of those, switch to a pin number or pattern code before going to the action. You can always change it back after.
- Share your photos after you get home. It can feel good to share photos and videos as you’re moving through a protest. That sign is so clever! Look how many people are here!! But photos and videos often have geolocation data embedded, which can be a tool for law enforcement to track people or movements (especially if you’re attached to an organized group, like Bend the Arc). Law enforcement even has dedicated people who might have multiple Facebook groups open during protests to track what’s happening. Share your photos after you get home, and limit your pics to signs! Consider limiting taking video as well, which can be used to monitor background activities.
- Using your phone camera as an informed witness/observer. If you witness or get involved in situations where recording seems important to protect yourself or others, read through the ACLU’s excellent guidance here.
- And know your rights when filming ICE video. This is an increasingly critical batch of knowledge to have!
- Put critical contacts on your body. Write a phone number for a friend or lawyer on your body somewhere with a sharpie. This way If you are detained (see note below), you can make your one phone call to the right person without having a cellphone. (And If you do plan to get detained, here is a basic jail support doc for your friends!)
- If you come across any counter-protestors, just leave ‘em alone. If they’re rabid enough to come to YOUR protest, they’re not going to engage in productive ways, and they’re probably just looking for a fight anyway. Don’t give it to them!
- Get consent before you help. Occasionally you’ll encounter a situation where people seem to need your genuine support. Try to always get consent, for your own safety. “Can I help you to your feet?” The safest strategy is to not touch anyone you didn’t come with!
FINAL WORDS:
Authoritarian regimes around the world gain and maintain power and control by threatening its citizenry into silence and compliance. Public peaceful protest is a clear reminder that we will not be silent. And for those of you for whom public protest is not an option, please join our many other actions. Our regular actions usually appear here.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Digital Security and Safety
- Signal Basics:
- What is “doxxing"? Are you worried about being doxxed, or have you been doxxed? Here’s a big guide with checklists
- More about visual and cellphone surveillance (don’t read this article before bed!)
Legal
- Have you been called to be on a grand jury? Simple explainer here.
- Have you been called to a regular jury and want to know more about the process and your rights, up to and including jury nullification?
How to use Signal!
The Signal app helps securely coordinate meetups at rallies, protests, and other events. Think of Signal like a more secure group text message. Messages are encrypted, meaning that messages themselves have more technical privacy and are not accessible to Signal itself. If you already use a phone app like WhatsApp or GroupMe, you know what it’s like to have a group chat through an app.
If you don’t have Signal, you can download it on your phone here: signal.org/install
Once you’ve downloaded it, you might want to read this short document for some tips in getting it set up. Specifically read the section “Getting Started with Signal”!
You’ll want to choose a unique identifier so the app can find you. MOST people use their cellphone number, but you can instead choose a username as your identifier. If you are tech-curious, here’s a longer video (9 minutes) that has some helpful recommendations on why to choose a username instead of a cellphone number, but a cellphone number is likely simpler for most people.
Why use Signal (with an example)
You may be asking yourself why to download another app on your phone, and whether you really want to go through all this just for this one event. Well, we think Signal will be a helpful tool in the years to come, and we will be continuing to use it! We think you should too! Here is one small, mildly frightening example to encourage you to invest the up-front energy now.
Example: You are part of a group marching at an event opposing a president acting like a king. You’re marching with your close partner group, largely made up of undocumented immigrants. If you coordinate by text message, text messages are easily hackable by the government and even local police — they could figure out where you’re meeting up and share that information with ICE. If you used normal text messages, it’s possible you might see your comrades apprehended by fascists. If you useSignal, on the other hand, messages are NOT easily hackable, and your meetup location will be secure (as long as you vet all the people receiving your Signal message, as Pete Hegseth’s recent SignalGate debacle showed!)
We’re not trying to scare you, we’re just encouraging you to enhance your security practices in this one simple way! And we look forward to seeing you (securely) in the streets!
Signal security checklist:
Overview of a grand jury:
