Direct Action Cheat Sheet NeverAgainAction
Some considerations for folks planning their first or second direct action…

DISCLAIMER: STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION!  This resource is not a legal document, consult with local activists and movement lawyers for specific questions about specific tactics.

TACTICS
Direct action takes many forms.  There is a spectrum from armed resistance to civil disobedience.  The determination of which strategy you wish to use is a choice made at individual, local and national levels.  A reminder, NeverAgainAction is using the following Action agreements:
* We will at all times act in ways that most strategically express that we as Jews are shutting down ICE, because when we say never again, we mean it. Action should be led by Jews and immigrants and Jews and immigrants should hold all public facing roles; allies are welcome to participate (and even take risk) as long as they agree to follow those directly affected and Jews.
* In all moments, we remember why we are here and we will engage in ways that do not detract from the purpose of this action. This means:
* We will use no violence, verbal or physical, toward any person.
* We will not destroy or damage any property.
* We will carry no weapons.
* We are trying to unite the Jewish community not divide so no flags of any kind please.
* We agree to respect the agreed-upon decision-making systems and roles within our action.
* We acknowledge that risk plays out differently for each of us and so we will honor each others’ choices within the action parameters.
We will take responsibility for ourselves, each other and our collective goals. We will exercise personal and collective responsibility to ensure that all participants adhere to these agreements.

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It is important to note that the choices on this topic are often cultural.  While armed militias in the US are routinely disparaged today, the United States government celebrates armed resistance every year on July 4th.
Note: there is a body of research that suggests non-violent civil disobedience is the most effective strategy in many cases (see the work of Gene Sharp, among others).  There are also compelling cases to be made for the importance of physical resistance.

RISK and CONSEQUENCES
To “Risk” is to “expose someone (or something valuable) to danger, harm or loss.”  Civil Disobedience is a risk because the outcomes of that exposure are uncertain.  If we knew getting arrested would lead to a change in a law or policy, we’d likely flock to it.  But, we’re not sure what will happen, and we’re not sure what will happen to us if we are arrested.  Effective civil disobedience is partly about reducing the uncertainty attached to risk, and partly about acting even in the face of uncertainty. The following suggestions are aimed at reducing the uncertainty and preparing your group to act even when uncertainty remains.

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There are many ways we are exposed when we engage in direct action and/or civil disobedience.  Some of the ways include physical risks, legal risks, financial risks, social risks and emotional risks.

Physical: In theory law enforcement is expected to minimize physical injury to people who are engaged in civil disobedience. In practice they are completely protected by their peers, prosecutors, and the media, and therefore routinely cause physical harm. Your own non-violent struggle or resistance during arrest can escalate violence towards you and your fellow protestors.
* Example: Law enforcement used zipties to handcuff peaceful protesters. Arrested protesters were repeatedly ignored by officers when they asked for the zipties to be loosened while they waiting up to 8 hours before being processed, resulting in bruising, abrasions, and numbness in their extremities.
* Law enforcement predictably targets people of color and they are the most likely to face violence at the hands of the police. If the majority of your group is white (or cis, or abled, or straight), prepare for the way individuals could use their privilege and your bodies to protect the most vulnerable members of our community.
* Physical searches are typically performed during processing at the police station, and can be invasive and intentionally humiliating.
* Trans and gender non-conforming folks are particularly vulnerable to physical, verbal, and psychological harassment.  Additionally, most municipalities separate detainees by presumed gender, and will disregard ID gender markers.
* Law enforcement may confiscate and/or deny you needed medications.  Or they may take you to a local emergency room to administer medications.  Both of these routinely happen. (Best option: bring small amounts in the original bottle, as well as a copy of your prescription. You can request paper prescriptions from your doctors.(

Legal:  This is a substantial risk, and will be specifically dealt with HERE.  Please note, undocumented folks are at much greater risks when arrested.

Financial: Arrests usually require a non-refundable bond fee (varies in amount), and can also lead to legal fees (lawyers) and fines (can be substantial).  Arrests can also lead to loss of work (harder for shift workers and people living paycheck to paycheck).

Social:  People can lose friendships or employment if they are associated with direct action or civil disobedience.  If there are legal proceedings, it can be draining of time, and also lead to loss of employment, if employers are sympathetic to law enforcement or are anti-immigrant.

Emotional: If civil disobedience was comfortable, we would probably engage in it more frequently.  But it takes emotional energy.  Being arrested can be profoundly disempowering, though groups of people also often report it as being an empowering experience.

Before determining the type of action you will engage in, you should determine: What level of risk are participants comfortable with? It is important for individuals to know for themselves.  It is important for organizers to know about action participants.  It can be helpful to separate people into groups based on levels of risk.  Law enforcement violence against civilians varies by jurisdiction and culture.  Some locations aim to avoid arrests entirely, while others arrest quickly.  Remember that the balance of physical power is very uneven.  Law enforcement has all the power.
Examples: Some people may desire to be arrested.  Some people may be willing to fill a role where arrest is unlikely, but they are willing if it happens.  Other people may not want to get arrested. Others may need to avoid arrest (they may have pending court cases or face particular targeting by law enforcement or have historical trauma).

Some other notes:
“Risking arrest” - this is a term that is frequently used, but it is misleading, because it implies a choice.  Law enforcement does not always give people choices.  
Examples: One friend of mine was told either to leave or be arrested during a crackdown on an Occupy site.  She left, and then decided she wanted to be arrested and went back in, and was eventually arrested.  She had a choice.
Another friend who is a nurse and felt unable to risk arrest showed up at a highway blockade to serve as a medic.  He was arrested nonetheless.

Working with the Police - In some locales this may make sense (i.e. when they show up at an action, the police liaison can engage with them.)  Law enforcement tactics continue to evolve along with activist tactics.  Sometimes police want to know who’s in charge and will have meaningful conversations.  Other times they will ignore police liaisons entirely or arrest them.  Because these actions are focused on disruption, letting them know in advance or giving them any details is not a good idea.

AFTERCARE and SUPPORT
While you will do everything you can to minimize people’s exposure to harm, there will inevitably be consequences attached to your action.  Here are some suggestions for strategies for aftercare and support:

Physical and Emotional: Jail Support should be at least one person's role, and if you have capacity, it should be a team.  For more on this, see the Jail Support Team doc.
* Some amount of law enforcement mistreatment is to be expected.  Your group can decide what level is unacceptable, perhaps in communication with local legal support, and whether you want to pursue individual remedies (i.e. sue law enforcement for misconduct).  
* Individuals who are arrested may emerge from confinement 1) exhausted, 2) hungry, 3) thirsty, 4) confused, 5) traumatized or shaken up, 6) angry, 7) in need of critical medication or many other things.  It is important to have someone prepared to receive them when they are released.  Release from prison on bail can be a slow and confusing process.  You are within your rights to ask questions about who is being released when, and especially where (Some jails have unusual release spots - like behind the building, and they won’t tell you unless you ask.)  Most municipalities separate detainees by presumed gender - and in larger cities this can mean different physical locations in the same city.  People under the age of 18 are often held in different locations as well.  If you think someone in your action is under the age of 18, please be vigilant and extra supportive.
* It can be a nice touch to ask people what type of snack they want most when they get out of jail, and have that waiting.  It can also be nice to have a cheering crew supporting them.  See specific notes in the Jail Support document about when and where to have a crew.

Financial: Most locations require a non-refundable bail to be paid in cash before someone can be released.  Know what the amount is in your location, and provide each arrestee with that amount in cash in their pocket ahead of time.  Be thoughtful about participants who may wish to risk arrest but don’t have access to cash.
* Legal outcomes and financial costs vary widely.  Be in touch with local legal support as much as possible to better understand typical law enforcement response.  Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Example: In Boston, the District Attorney declined to prosecute 18 arrestees at the Boston NeverAgainAction in July.  Hooray!  Each of those 18 people still paid $40 in cash to be bailed out.  BUT, in a different county in Massachusetts in June of this year, someone was sentenced to 10 days in jail for blocking an ICE detention facility.  

Social: For many folks who are white, wealthy and US citizens, our social risks may be high but our other risks relatively low.  Support people to develop strategies to mitigate social risks or work through them ahead of time.

SECURITY
It is widely understood that law enforcement has the capability and in many cases the legal mandate to spy on private communications between citizens.  The following information is not intended to dissuade you from planning and conducting direct actions, but rather it is designed to limit your risk should you OR OTHERS be arrested.  Enhancing your security protocols can lead to Greater safety for all involved, Increased effectiveness of your action, and Stronger legal protection for participants.  You don’t have to be perfect, but every bit helps.
Example: We mentioned earlier a medic who had not expected to get arrested at an action.  The folks who had locked themselves together had used a secure text message thread to coordinate, and had all carefully deleted that thread before the action.  He, however, had not, because he did not plan to get arrested.  The thread was used as leverage to threaten the participants to plead guilty to more substantial charges.

Here are some common platforms and their security concerns:
* You should assume that all Google Docs could (and likely are) being read by law enforcement.  Even this one.  Consider Encrypted Notepad or Safe Notes instead.
* Ditto for Email, unless it is specifically encrypted.  ProtonMail is one example of free encrypted email, but there are others.  If only one end of the communication has encryption, assume that it will be read by law enforcement (i.e. an encrypted email from your ProtonMail account to a friends gmail account is NOT secure or private)
* If you are communicating using smartphones, Signal is an effective encrypyed Phone and Text Messaging app.  WhatsApp is also currently effective.  There are others.
* Note that law enforcement in many cities have a variety of military grade equipment that can track cellphones very specifically. Stingrays are one example.  They mimic cell towers, pulling in all the data, and it is believed, routing calls through their vehicle and thereby listening in.
* Stingrays are also believed to cause loss of cell signal in targeted areas, which can cause some problems for digitally coordinated actions!
* If you are concerned about any specific content on your phone, add a password to your phone before the action, and be sure to disable any fingerprint option!  Even with these steps they can still access your data if they really want to, it’s just a little harder.
* When it comes to Social Media, remember that everything you say on any platform, whether public or private, can and will be used against you in a court of law.  Full stop.
* Print or Digital Media: Prosecutors can use both public media reports and social media to make a case against you.  Be careful what you say about your participation in an action/ arrest to reporters or on social media.  Don’t talk to reporters or on social media about other people’s involvement in actions/arrests either!

These simple security steps can reduce some of your legal risks.  You are still preparing to break laws in the service of justice, so legal risk remains.  But that’s the point of acting!