Preparing for Mass Civil Disobedience

1. Preparing for Mass
Civil Disobedience
Stay Healthy, Stay Safe
Comprehensive
Checklist
Handout

2. Why do we need “training” for a civil
disobedience action?
What is different now,
from say The Women’s March in 2016?

3. What is different now?
A. Pandemic
B. State Response - Police Brutality (Plus ça change
…)
C. Fascist violence

4. Stay healthy during pandemic - compiled
● Situation: crowd, large/dense, outdoors, moving
● Hygiene: mask, 6’ distance, bubble or no physical contact,
no sharing
● Protect your bubble: sanitize, wash, test yourself
● Immune compromised? Other ways to contribute!

5. Stay safe! Prepare for State response to
civil disobedience
1. Know before you go (~ 1 week)
2. Plan (1-2 days)
3. Prepare (2-3 hours)
4. During
5. In case of
6. Post-action: post or share on social media
7. Other ways of contributing

6. 1. Know before you go - compiled
● The issues
● Who the organizers are
● Their values and end goals, and whether you agree
● Why you are going and your role
● Do not expect your privacy to be respected
● +

7. 1. KBYG - National Lawyers’ Guild
● Provide Activist support
● Needn’t contact them beforehand
● Jail Hotline: 415-285-1011
○ What they do: Jail visit, jail release, court dates, cases
○ What they don’t: provide bail funds
● Public Hotline: 415-909-4654 (4NLG) for Outside Support
Person, community, witness etc

8. 2. Plan ahead - Compiled
● Outside Support Person (OSP)
● Share your info with OSP
● Form a pod and establish lowest risk level
● Secure communication platform (e.g Signal)
● Start, route and end of the actual event
● Promote the action, but do NOT name any attendees
● +

9. 2. Plan ahead - OSP
● Extraction, transportation
● Contact NLG 415-909-4654 (4NLG)
● Your legal name, birthdate
● Preferred gender binary (CA)
● A short call-list (partner, a family or household member, friend … with contact
info)
● Support you will need in case of arrest or serious injury (parked car, bills,
taking care of pets/kids, calling your work ...).
● Sources of bail, or transportation on release
● Your health insurance info and medical conditions

10. 3. Prepare for the action - Compiled
● How will you connect with your pod
● Emergency contact info - OSP or NLGSF 415-285-1011
● Eat and Drink, and be merry (calm your state of mind)
● Clothing - fitted, dark, non-descriptive clothing
● Do: ID, cash, wet bandana, squirt bottle with plain water,
Snacks! Water, medication, battery pack, hat or
water-based sunscreen, Flashlight, First Aid, writing matl.
● Don’t: contacts, swim goggles, oil-based, jewelry
● +

11. 4. During Civil Disobedience - Compiled
● Stick with pod
● Look for street medics
● Assess surroundings
● DO NOT RUN
● Watch for obstacles
● Step-up to protect BIPOC and other targeted
demographics (if you are lighter-skinned)
● Evaluate escape routes
● Document police actions

12. 5. In case of: Compiled
● Police interaction: “Am I under arrest?”
○ “I am exercising my right to remain silent.”
● Arrest: “I wish to speak to a/my lawyer.” NLG, OSP
● Injury: pepper spray, gas, contusions, broken bones, head
injury, wounds, burns, vehicular injury …TLDR:
○ Wash/flush with plain water, dry, antibiotic, bandage
○ Anything more: Call for a MEDIC, rescue by your OSP

13. 6. Post Action - compiled
● Check-in with your OSP and your pod
● If exposed to gas,
○ Bag your clothes and wash immediately or dry them
outside.
○ Shower in cold water
● Share your experience on social media
● +

14. 7. Ways to Support the Cause - Compiled
● Join DSA
● DSA Mutual Aid
● Donate bail funds
● Join other community org.s
● National org.s doing the work
● Be an OSP
● Volunteer with community org.s
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