Plan on Being Arrested

Get musicians. If you have money, pay talented musicians to perform. Otherwise convince them to perform for free. Lots of local bands will perform for free to gain exposure.

Have a literature table.

Send a well-edited five to 15-minute video of your rally to VoteStrike. We'll put it online as an inspiration to other rally organizers.

Hug Power

"Hug Power" is a technique that may be practiced in some of the more tolerant areas. It can be very effective in stopping police arrests, but it is a risky tactic that will only work under the right circumstances.

Hug Power is used when you wish to deter and prevent arrests, sometimes even resulting in an "un-arresting" or "de-arresting" of the protestor out of the hands of the police.

Hug Power is practiced simply by a group of people all hugging the person who is being unfairly arrested. If a large number of people are all holding on tightly to each other, with the intended arrestee in the middle, then the police have to pull off a large number of non-violent protesters to reach their target.

To practice Hug Power, you need the crowd to understand what to do. Make an announcement at the beginning of the rally after the anti-provocateur speech.

Prepare to defend each other using non-violent arrest-resistance tactics. Explain that Hug Power does not mean "hug the police" it means "hug the person getting arrested."

Explain that Hug Power only works when video cameras are around to record the unjustifiable use of force by police. Explain that one is not to touch the police during Hug Power. The point is to obstruct the arrest only. Police should always be spoken to politely, but firmly.

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