Friends, do not sit down if violence breaks out at a protest. Sitting down will put you in danger of being beaten...

[demmiblue]

Friends, do not sit down if violence breaks out at a protest.

Sitting down will put you in danger of being beaten and make you an easy target. Turn and walk back the way you came.

I wouldn’t have even mentioned this, but “Occupy Democrats” has millions of followers 👇🏻

— Jess Piper (@piperformissouri.bsky.social) 2025-06-12T12:04:41.336Z

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. And in big danger of being trampled in a crowd surge. Death and serious injury. Leave the area.

If there are provocateurs, leave the area and that exposes them even better than sitting down.

Leave the area and make it easy for police to arrest the provocateurs.

If crowds get too dense, leave the area, go to the fringes. Be safe. Maintain situational awareness at all times.

[milestogo]

2. The reason people are being told to sit down is so the police can see what's going on.

If everybody starts running in fear, there is going to be a stampede. And I think its more likely that people will run than walk.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. Be the first to WALK away. Sitting down is worse if people run. Most people won't have heard either message

Most people at the demos will not have heard the advice to walk away or the bad advice to sit down.

People are most likely to run if the police charge. Police are most likely to charge if there are provocateurs.

As you are walking away, shout "Provocateurs here! Leave the area!" The sooner people get a heads up, the less likely there is to be panic or a police charge or people running.

If people leave, the police can see what's going on (provocations) much better than with a crowd of people sitting down.

If people leave, it is easier to arrest the provocateurs and fewer innocent people will be swept up.

If people leave, the provocateurs are more likely to stop, which is after all the goal (besides safety).

[Klarkashton]

3. Sitting down is the worst possible advice

They shoot the rubber bullets low below the waist.
That's just the start of what's wrong with that advice.

[EYESORE 9001]

4. I think it's better to just leave

At the first violence or vandalism, I start moving away. An instance comes to mind, the 2004 Vice Presidential debate. I serendipitously found myself nearby and decided to see what’s up. As I sauntered around, I approached a flatbed trailer with Fox News cameras also seeing what’s up. A crowd of younger men were treating the space in front of the cameras like a mosh pit, and lots of the jostling was intense. I started walking at a 90-degree angle to this buttmonkey brouhaha, which gave me time to observe the situation escalate quickly, and soon police were heading in. At that point, I’d seen enough and went back to my hotel room.

[Fullduplexxx]

6. And that's how they win

[EYESORE 9001]

7. wut

[relayerbob]

8. After all, what would Gandhi have known about successful protests?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. This advice to sit down completely eliminates the fact that sitting down makes it more likely that you are injured

by rubber bullets or you get your head bashed in. It makes the false promise that "police will see who the bad actors are and they will go after them." Gandhi and his followers went into their sit-down actions fully expecting and welcoming injury or death. People who sit down expecting it to protect them are, well, sitting ducks.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

13. They did have courage. And a lot of training; they fully knew what they were getting into. People can sit their asses

down if they want -- but they need to know what they are getting into if they do so. All of their "Know Your Rights" training isn't going to help them in the face of the state brutality they're protesting.

Perhaps you should stay home and sit down there

I think it's funny that when I say "this is a dangerous tactic that will get people hurt or killed, be informed" people hear "stay home." Do you really think the majority of people going on Saturday are trained and ready to take traumatic brain injuries, lose an eye or break a leg? C'mon now.

[homegirl]

16. It would be

very effective to always remain shoulder to shoulder in formation. And periodically join voices in singing "My Country Tis of Thee". With lots of American flags surrounding the group!

[Festivito]

18. Ghandi was fighting a foreign power on his land. We're the opposite here.

They are pretending to protect the public property, and we are the infiltrators as they would see the situation.

Sitting is trying to take land by squatting. Good if you own the land. Looks aggressive if you are not the owner.

[Iggo]

25. Gandhi was completely committed to getting his skull cracked if he had to.

[Mr.Bee]

9. trump Has Threatened Violence

Stay away from MAGA D.C.

[LauraInLA]

19. Yes, I thought the point was no protests in D.C. -- just everywhere else!

[demmiblue]

11. "They WILL beat you senseless for even being in front of them."

Yeah, I agree. I have been seeing this a lot. But after reviewing a lot of the tactics used over the weekend in LA (I did a live tweet of the troop movements/posturing to assist on the ground knowledge of forces).

Just walk away y'all!

They WILL beat you senseless for even being in front of them.

— Gabriel J. Muller (@gabemuller.bsky.social) 2025-06-12T13:19:58.888Z

If you want to see a realtime (at the time of the protest) troop movements / posturing analysis.

bsky.app/profile/gabe...

— Gabriel J. Muller (@gabemuller.bsky.social) 2025-06-12T13:21:37.662Z

You will be able to see, these guys don't give a f*CK a out you sitting down or even tying your shoe.

You will be shot with less-lethal rounds of all calibers, tear gassed, and when they get within 5 feet... They WILL blitz rush you without warning.

Just. Walk. Away.

— Gabriel J. Muller (@gabemuller.bsky.social) 2025-06-12T13:24:17.147Z

[Warpy]

14. I always had several escape routes planned

in case the cops showed up and started shit.

I was peaceful and aimed to stay that way. Melting away down alleys and side streets seemed preferable to nightstick bruises.

[magicarpet]

15. The most effective protest without putting yourself in harms way if to shut this oligarch economy down.

* Boycott (MAGA especially) businesses. Do not put your money in their cash registers.

* On designated days all/every retailer/merchant/service industry gets boycotted to show the power of the consumer to shut the economy down.

* Work stopage - on designated days nobody shows up for work.

* Stop paying taxes to fund and finance the US government.

Little trDUMP and his goon squad can do if we shutdown the economy by using the techniques above.

He needs the DOGE data mined and consolidated info to micro target the organizers of the resistance. DOGE, then PALANTIR, then FOUNDRY will have the government databases consolidated, compiled, and ready to do detailed surveillance on every American citizen, then we are truly fucked. Anonymity will become paramount. Facial recognition programs will find out who you are. Then they trace the agitators back to the day they were born with all the information about you vacuumed up from the myriad of databases out there. Then they can make your life difficult to impossible and a major royal hassle.

[IronLionZion]

17. I would walk away or at least put some distance away from bad actors.

Bad actors like the cover of a crowd. So getting away from them also makes it easier for police to see them.

Kettling is common here in the DC area. So I steer clear of them if I can.

[Festivito]

20. I would think: Lots of photos, videos, of both sides. Signs without sticks on chest and back.

Have a water bottle to clear the eyes... or drink.
A rag to breathe thru... or sneeze thru.
Telling the police: You should join us when you get off work! Did it have to rain today?!
Video and or pics.
Talk with fellow others.
Mind your wits. You're in public.

[Paladin]

21. What if all this is a rightwing plot to diminish the size of the demonstrations?

The whole "sit or don't sit" thing is starting to feel like a possible intimidation tactic by our enemies---an effort to lessen the size of the demonstrations, just when big, coast-to-coast protests are so vital. Hey, it's exactly what we ought to expect from the current regime.

Show up, this weekend!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

23. "Don't sit" and "don't go" are two different things, of course

[Wiz Imp]

22. BDI Advisory: Upcoming "No Kings" protests expected to be mostly peaceful, may see isolated contention

https://bridgingdivides.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf6646/files/documents/BDI_Advisory_No%20Kings%20Protests%20June%202025.pdf

Analysis
Recent anti-administration protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful
Recent anti-administration protests have remained peaceful, with only isolated instances of
conflict and minimal counter-protester activity. During the two most recent nationwide protest
days — May Day and the April 5 “Hands O” actions — 99% of protests (1,029 of 1,031) saw no
reports of violence or destruction, and only 4% involved counter-protests (36 of 1,031), according
to ACLED data supplemented with BDI coding. Both of these figures are below rates observed
during other periods of heightened protest activity, such as the 2022 protests that occurred after
the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which saw more instances of violence or destruction (2%) and
higher counter-protest rates (10%).

Engagement from actors of concern has also been limited. Between January 20 (Inauguration)
and May 30, actors of concern were present at just 0.7% of anti-administration demonstrations
(22 of 3,208), a lower rate than that seen throughout last year (222 of 10,498, or just over 2%).
When such actors have appeared at anti-administration protests, it has largely been at “Tesla
Takedown” protests rather than at the more coordinated, nationwide anti-administration protests

Response to Los Angeles protests may increase contention risk on June 14
While past trends point to a low likelihood of widespread unrest, recent developments in Los
Angeles may increase tensions around the June 14 protests. In response to recent
demonstrations against ICE raids and immigration operations, government agents in Los Angeles
have escalated their use of force against protesters, using less-lethal munitions to disperse
demonstrators outside the Los Angeles Federal Building on June 6. This escalation has led to four
days and counting of continued protests, which have seen clashes between protesters and law
enforcement and targeting of journalists. In response, President Trump has deployed both the
National Guard and a battalion of Marines. This is the first time since 1965 that a President has
deployed a state National Guard without the governor’s support, and the first time since 1992
(during the Rodney King protests, also in Los Angeles) that Marines have been deployed
domestically. While BDI has not yet observed indicators that similar deployments or levels of force
will spread beyond the city or be directed at broader anti-administration protests, the escalation in
Los Angeles may set a precedent that raises the risk of militarized responses elsewhere —
especially in places where both ICE enforcement is likely and recent pro-immigration protest
activity has been high.

Actors of concern discuss “No Kings” protests online; no widespread plans for
mobilization so far

BDI has observed some actors of concern — including several Proud Boys chapters — sharing
maps of planned “No Kings” protests online, alongside claims that these locations will see “riots”
similar to Los Angeles. A subset of these actors have invoked inflammatory rhetoric, including
calls to “bring back Kyle Rittenhouse,” referencing the individual who shot and killed two people
and injured another during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

As of this writing, BDI has not identified any concrete plans by these groups to mobilize at or
target specific protest sites. Such engagement would represent a notable shift from recent low
levels of behavior and reports that active group numbers have been decreasing due to the
mainstreaming of their beliefs.

Recommendations
Although we assess there is a low likelihood of violence at the “No Kings” protests, BDI
recommends that individuals taking part in the protests take basic precautionary measures.
This includes maintaining situational awareness, reviewing and utilizing de-escalation resources
and tactics, and following anti-doxing best practices.

[uncle ray]

24. also, some towns have sit/lie ordinances intended to target homeless.

easy way to arrest you.