A guide for the America you got, not the one you want
This is a timely resource from Activist Checklist, an online resource for activists and by activists who started developing guides and materials last year when it looked increasingly more likely that the U.S. was on the verge of where it now is: sliding further into authoritarianism, state surveillance of various groups, and repression against social movements. It’s the “Police at the Door” Know Your Rights Poster!
The web page is full of good advice and further links on how to deal with the event of the FBI, ICE, local police or any other cop-coded government agents showing up on your stoop. It comes with a handy PDF to print, add some important phone numbers you’d want to have ready, and stick on the fridge. It’s got some quickly digestible reminders about your rights and how to handle the situation, bearing in mind that some of them (hi ICE) don’t necessarily follow the rules.
This comes as White House rhetoric gets more heated about deploying the military against the “enemy within,” publishing a McCarthyist Presidential memorandum titled “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence,” and threatened to target civilians in U.S. cities with military force. The scolders who said people were exaggerating about what the world would be like with this administration should be donating to the legal funds for anyone it targets.
What’s useful about the “Police At The Door” guide is that it’s aimed at preparation, and is open about how unpredictable the situation can be. The feds may not knock. You might want to record the unfolding incident, but unlocking your mobile with cops in the room waving a warrant around can be a risk amplifier. All useful things to game out before the bad thing happens. Mitigation never happens on the day without homework before.
So there’s that.
