Digitally Prepping for Your Next Protest

Reading Time: 8 minutes.

 

8 minutes, 46 seconds. That’s how long a police officer kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck until he died of asphyxiation.

Black Lives Matter.

You may have taken to the street, chanting that slogan already. Maybe you just want to, but don’t know how to do it safely. We want radical changes to how we police in this country. What do we want? More transparency, more accountability, improved training, and community policing, that is, requiring officers to live where they work and get to know a community. How do we get it? Peaceful protest. We tell our elected officials that we need drastic legislative change to protect our communities from the very people who are supposed to be doing just that.

But police and counter-protesters meet our nonviolent protests with violence and hate. What can you do to protect yourself if you do want to go out and make your voice heard?

I’m glad you asked.

Prep Your Phone

Your phone will be one of your greatest tools against oppression. In your pocket, a way to find your friends, message people, seek help, and, of course, record what happens. But there are a few things you should do before you set out. You’ll have to protect your recordings, your information, your friends, and more. Your phone can be a lifeline and a piece of evidence, but you have to be sure police can’t use it against you.

Settings

Disable Face ID and Touch ID

The first thing you’ll want to do is disable Face ID, Touch ID, or any other form of biometric security your device may have. While police aren’t allowed to use these against your will to unlock your device, many have reported that they ignore this. On iOS, you can do this in Settings > Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode) and turning the features off. You can always activate them later.

If you do this, be sure you also have your passcode on. Use at least an 8 digit passcode. If it’s numbers-only, your passcode will use a number pad prompt, which you may find is faster than the full keyboard.

Temporarily Disable Face ID and Touch ID

If you don’t want to commit to disabling it, remember you can also disable these features by pressing and holding the lock screen button and volume down button, the buttons on either side of your device, for five seconds. Once the screen asking you to shut down or alert authorities comes up, it’ll lock your phone. You can also achieve this by pressing the lock screen button 5 times, but this will also call emergency services if you don’t deactivate it quickly.

Find My iPhone

You’ll be in a crowd, recording, and potentially running. You could lose track of your device or have it stolen. To ensure you don’t permanently lose you device, be sure “Find my iPhone” is turned on. This is in Settings > Apple ID (at the top) > Find My. Enable it so you can be sure your phone won’t be lost so easily.

Apps

This may be the most important step. First, make sure you have the ACLU Blue app for your region. This uploads your recordings to their servers so even if someone steals your phone and deletes incriminating evidence, you’ll still have a record of it.

You may also find other apps more useful. Facebook Live or Instagram Live can ensure that others can record your video. It’ll also save the video on Facebook or Instagram, so even if the videos are deleted, the companies could provide the video to a court as evidence. It’ll also ensure more people see it, and you can increase the chances that you’ll get justice.

You may also want an app like DoubleTake. DoubleTake is a quick and easy to use app that can record with two of your cameras. That means you can record video with both your front facing and rear facing cameras at the same time. This can ensure you capture more of your surroundings, and can provide greater evidence.

If you have the Dropbox app, you can also automatically upload photos to DropBox. You can also do this with Google Photos and a number of other cloud-based services. In fact, if you search for cloud-based camera apps, you’ll find many that allow you to upload photos and videos directly to cloud based services.

Also, on your iPhone, make sure you have iCloud photo sharing turned on. This will ensure you can access your photos, even if someone snatches your photos and deletes them.

AirDrop

Normally, I’d say keep AirDrop set to “Contacts Only.” But for a protest, you may want to set it to everyone. That way people can quickly send you photos or information over AirDrop. They may have recorded evidence and want to ensure it gets to someone, even if police are going to try to destroy the evidence. Making sure AirDrop can accept from anyone means you’ll be a portable cloud for someone looking to save some information.

Tactics

When it comes to police injustice, you can often only record or hope someone is recording. There’s nothing you can do to stop the violence caused by someone who is armed, armored, and angry. Be ready to record at a moment’s notice. Be sure to mention you’re recording. Sometimes, people act differently when their actions are being documented. It may be the only way to stop someone from doing something violent.

Non-Digital Supplies

I didn’t want to only give you tips for your smartphone. You should also take a number of other precautions to protect yourself and others.

PPE

We’re still in the midst of a pandemic. It’s especially bad in the United States, where many of these protests occur, and where they’re most likely to become violent and overcrowded. Be sure to at the very least wear PPE, personal protective equipment, for those who have been under a rock. Wear a mask. If you can get an N95 mask, that’s great. They’re rare, so also get a cloth mask to cover it. You may need to reuse it. You can use UV-C light to clean them, or a solution of about 70% rubbing alcohol. I use a spray I made. You can wash the cloth mask. Use normal detergent and the hottest water you can. Let it soak for 20 minutes, and rinse it very well. It won’t be as easy to breathe through if you leave any soap residue.

Googles/Glasses

If you’re out in the sun, always wear sunglasses. You need UV protection. Dark sunglasses alone aren’t enough, they must have UV protection. Otherwise you’ll just expose yourself to more UV radiation.

Scientists have theorized that the virus can transmit through contact with eyes. You can get goggles for laboratory work, for prevention of splashes. Some of these are large enough to wear glasses underneath.

You should also make sure they’re impact resistant. You may want to pick up glasses or goggles for paintball or airsoft. This is because police have been firing rubber bullets, paint rounds, pepper bullets, and tear gas canisters without discretion. They’re often intentionally aiming for people’s faces. At least two people, one a photographer, have been permanently blinded in one eye. It’s just like the violent crackdown in Hong Kong. While impact-resistant goggles won’t protect your eyes from a direct hit, they can protect them from ricochets and glancing blows. In the case of impact resistant goggles, they can also protect you from the immediate effects of pepper spray or tear gas, depending on the model.

Hearing Protection

Police may shoot into the crowd. This could be rubber bullets or other deterrents. One thing’s certain: it’s going to be loud. Flash bangs can cause hearing loss, and even gas rounds can leave your ears ringing. You don’t want tinnitus. It’s incredibly annoying. Plus, exposure to loud sounds can cause permanent hearing loss. So, grab some ear plugs. You can find these at music shops as well as any outdoor or sporting goods store. If nothing else, you can use headphones, which will give you at least a small mount of noise reduction, but not enough.

Gloves

You may want gloves just to keep from touching anything and potentially spreading or contracting COVID-19. For that, just about any glove will do. You may need leather gloves to resist any injury during a fall, or even heat resistant gloves if you plan to discard or deactivate smoke or gas grenades (I don’t recommend doing this, but if you’re going to do it, be safe).

Milk

If you or someone gets pepper spray or tear gas in their eyes, flush them out with milk. Milk can counter the effects, and help you breathe. Many people struggle to breathe after being pepper sprayed, and those with asthma may have an attack that, in the excitement, can lead to death. Water doesn’t neutralize the reaction, and can actually spread the affected area. So, before you set out, run down to the corner store and pick up a bottle of milk for your bag.

Water

Hey, you’re not going to drink that milk, so be sure to carry water as well. A refillable water bottle can keep you hydrated throughout the day. If you’re thirsty, drink. It’s hot out, you’ll be sweating, and you’ll be dehydrated. Make sure to take a break and drink often.

Snacks

Be sure to eat before you head out. Also, when you’re in that corner store buying milk, grab some protein bars. Those will keep you going throughout the day.

Rubbing Alcohol

Again, this is a pandemic. Have rubbing alcohol. Use it before you touch your mask or your water bottle, your eyes, mouth, or nose, or your food. Make sure it’s at 70% alcohol, that’s the most effective for not evaporating too quickly, but strong enough to kill the coronavirus.

A Spare Hoodie

Bring a hoodie. Your clothing may be ruined, you may have to change, you may be out so late that you get cold, or you may need to change clothes so police can’t track you as well. They’re arresting people who aren’t breaking the law, so don’t make that easier. Pack a hoodie in your bag. The spare cloth could also help someone who is injured.

Cover Wounds, Tattoos, Etc

Cover your wounds. It’s not certain if COVID-19 can spread through wounds, but it’s likely. Bandage them up. You’ll also want to cover any tattoos that could easily identify you. As I said, even if you’re out protesting peacefully, you may be treated like a criminal and arrested like one. If they’re going to treat you like a criminal, act like a smart one. You can use bandages or long sleeves to cover tattoos.

Guards?

If you do think you’ll be arrested, either because you’re leading a march or because you plan to sacrifice yourself for your group and be arrested on their behalf, you may want to wear knee and elbow guards. This way, if you are pushed down or treated roughly, you won’t sustain as many serious injuries.

Personal Information

Make sure you have your wallet on you with personally identifiable information. This is important if you are injured or arrested. You may also want to include a slip of paper with any phone numbers on it, in case you lose access to your phone. Ensure this has your family members, friends, or a lawyer’s phone number on it. It would be smart to find a lawyer online who takes cases where someone was arrested while peacefully protesting. These lawyers will have many cases in the coming weeks.

Clothes and Shoes

Wear sneakers. You may need to run. You may need to worry about people stepping on your feet. Wear clothing that is comfortable, covers any identifying marks or tattoos, and is plain. Anything too obvious will stand out. If your hair is a crazy color, you may want to wear a hat or even a helmet. The key is to blend into a crowd. Wear clothing that can help you do that.

Just be Safe

Keep your distance from people, if you can. Don’t engage in violent protest. Speak, chant, march. Make your voice heard and discourage violence or looting when you can. If you notice officers trying to box you in or forming a line, get out of there. They could be preparing to arrest a large group of people or fire pepper spray, tear gas, and more into a crowd. You don’t want to be there if that’s happening. Go with friends, and make sure you stick together. Let them know if you see something.

Do not bring weapons. You’re not there to fight, you’re there to make your voice heard. Weapons don’t belong at a protest (on any side). You may want a sign, but, often, simply being present at a well organized protest is enough to make your voice heard.

If you follow this guide, you’re careful, and you’re lucky, you’ll be fine. Just remember that if you’re not safe, your voice could be permanently silenced. No one wins if that happens. Stay safe, stay compassionate, and respect yourself and everyone around you.

Maybe we can finally change things this time.