Know Your Rights
Our right to peacefully assemble to protest the government is protected both by the First Amendment and by the Massachusetts Constitution. But, the police and other government officials are permitted to place restrictions on how we exercise these rights.
It's a good idea to learn about your rights before organizing a protest or attending one. Fortunately, the ACLU has provided protest guides for:
- Organizing a protest;
- Attending a protest;
- Taking Photos &/or Video at a Protest
- What to do if you are stopped by police
For more in-depth guidance, the National Lawyers Guild has created a detailed booklet on protester rights that was created in collaboration with the National Police Accountability Project, National Immigration Project of the NLG, and the Know Your Rights Camp, with material from the NLG Disability Justice Committee, NLG Mass Defense Committee, and NLG law student members. In other words, it is well-researched and written by experts.
In addition, the ACLU of MA has prepared general guidance for protesting in Massachusetts.
And above all, remember to shut the f*ck up.
General Safety Guides
- How to Stay Safer at a Protest, American Friends Service Committee
- How to Protest Safely: What to Bring, What to Do, & What to Avoid, Wired
- Disabled Protesters Guide, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
- Staying Safe: Protective Strategies for Activists, The Commons Social Change Library
- Safety and Security Resources, Indivisible
Digital Safety Guides
- Digital Security Guidelines for Protests, American Friends Service Committee
- Guide to Preparing for a Protest, Activist Checklist
- Surveillance Self-Defense Guide to Attending a Protest, Electronic Frontier Foundation
- How Do I Prepare My Phone for a Protest?, The Markup
- How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance, Wired
Bystander Intervention and De-escalation
- De-escalation Tactics at Protests, The Activist Handbook
- Bystander Intervention Toolkit, American Friends Service Committee
- Eileen Flanagan, "Timely lessons for keeping people safe in the streets", Waging Nonviolence, June 10, 2025
- Daniel Hunter and Eileen Flanagan, Streetwise & Steady: A Workbook for Action Peacekeepers or Event Marshals, Choose Democracy, 2025
- BREATHE: De-escalation Skills, The Rebel Toolkit
- De-escalation in Large Crowd Situations, The Rebel Toolkit
- The 5Ds of Bystander Intervention, Right to Be
We also highly recommend this training produced by Move On prior to the No Kings protests in June. This training includes this short video on calming and de-escalation strategies by the Dartmouth Trauma Interventions Center.
