Thread by @ACLU

📢 KNOW YOUR RIGHTS WHILE PROTESTING: A THREAD 📢

The right to protest is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the First Amendment.

If you are attending a protest and get stopped by police, ask if you're free to go. If they say yes, calmly walk away.

If you get arrested, DON'T say anything.

Ask for a lawyer immediately.

Don't sign anything.

Don't agree to anything without a lawyer present.

If you get arrested, demand your right to a local phone call.

If you call a lawyer, the police are not allowed to listen. If you call anyone else, they are likely to listen.

You never have to consent to a search of yourself or your belongings. Say that you don't consent to the search.

If you do explicitly consent, it can affect you later in court.

When you are lawfully present in any public space, you have the right to photograph anything in plain view, including federal buildings and the police.

Police may not confiscate or demand to view your photographs or video without a warrant, nor may they delete data under any circumstances.

Visual records are fully protected, but some states have tried to regulate the audio portion of videos under wiretapping laws.

If a protest is shut down through a dispersal order, you must have received clear and detailed notice of the order — including how much time you have to disperse, consequences of failing to disperse, and a clear exit route — BEFORE you can be arrested or charged with any crime.

If you believe your rights have been violated, write down everything you remember.

Write down the officers' badge and patrol car numbers, and the agency they work for.

Get contact information for witnesses and take photographs of any injuries.

Know your rights. aclu.org/know-your-righ…