I'm planning on taking a bus to a pro-Palestine protest in DC. What should I bring?

Bring some water bottles with flip caps for drinking and maybe for washing out your eyes (the kind you can spray water out of in a jet). Sunglasses and some n95 or KN95 masks. Cash for food. And lots of snacks like cliff bars, etc.

Also don't get kettled.

• Use only cash.
• Touch base with organizers early and use a buddy system. Find someone that will be your check-in buddy. Have a plan for where to meet if you get separated and no dispersal point is available or has been announced.
• Put your phone in airplane mode and then turn it off (hope is that if you do turn it on, it will boot in airplane mode). Your phone is a tracking device uniquely identifiable to you. It will reveal your location just sitting in your pocket doing nothing. ISPs routinely provide data to cops without a warrant.
• Wear a mask any time related to an action.
• Bring nondescript clothes so you can blend in during actions. Make those clothes something you can wear comfortably for long periods and can run in if necessary.
• Bring bottles of water in a backpack just in case. Good for drinking, good for teargas.
• If there's a decent chance of conflict with riot cops, consider bringing a helmet and ballistic eye protection.
• If you have the option, have a plan for bail. Memorize the number of someone that can pay your bail. Talk to organizers about their bail plan.
• If there are confrontation, either deescalate or remove yourself from the area. If you don't have any deescalation training, try to get some, it's very helpful.
• Share this info with others.
• Don't get too worried if you can't do some of the things I mentioned perfectly. The goal is to decrease your tracking footprint, you won't be able to eliminate it. The phone, mask, and clothing recs are the most important.

Do not expect anyone else to be this serious about infosec. Western leftists aren't ready for the violence, they still haven't learned the lessons that will be taught by the state over the next few decades. As such, you'll need to be proactive around certain things, especially not using your phone. Folks will try to do all of their coordination using their smartphones day-of and on-site and think that using Signal without disappearing messages and with a FaceID phone is enough (lol). You'll want to work around this by having solid location and time info for all actions. A backup option if you need to use your phone for the internet is to use WiFi in airplane mode. You can actually still be location-tracked this way but it's harder.

Eventually you may want to get a dedicated no-SIM security phone that's only good for WiFi, like with Calyx and some alternative way to use Signal. But that takes a lot of work and is more of a "next time" kind of thing.

Most likely you'll be in a pretty uneventful set of protests where the most action comes from Zionist fascist (but I repeat myself) agitators trying to get social media of angry people and to goad people into throwing a punch and getting arrested. If the organizers run good security you won't have to worry about this.

Solidarity!

• Water. Water. Water. You must bring water. I would recommend at leats 2liters. If someone gets pepper sprayed use clean water to flush their eyes. Don't use milk or any other liquids, just clean water. Remember to drink small amounts of water throughout the day instead of waiting until you're thirsty

• bring some snacks. candy without peanuts, meal bars, whatever. You need salts and sugar to maintain electrolyte balance.

• First aid stuff. Gauze pads and medical tape are good because they scale with injuries. It's probably too late for a tourniquet but add one to your kit when you can. Get some hard candy in case someone has blood sugar issues. Get some sharpies so you can write important information on someone's body if they're injured. Get blue medical gloves, preferably nitrile because people have latex allergies. Get a pair of medical safety shears for removing clothing so injuries can be assessed. get a small role of duct tape. It doesn't matter if you don't know how to use these things; Someone nearby might have first aid training but not have the equipment they need. If that happens you can give them your kit. I actually had this happen, once; I was the first person on the scene, and the second person was a registered nurse, but she didn't have first aid supplies. I was able to hand her my kit so she could do her job better. Worst case scenario, you can always apply pressure to a wound and wait for someone who knows more.

• Watch a Stop the Bleed class online, then take a real one when you can. Any first aid training or certs you can pick up are valuable

• good socks and sturdy close toed shoes

• Toilet paper. You don't necessarily need a whole roll, but it's a good idea to have if you get kettled. Likewise, bring some wet-wipes

• A hat is a good idea both to protect your identity and protect you from the sun. Try to get one without a logo or distinguishing features

• safety glasses are a good thing to have if you expect to face chuds, as they like to use pepper spray and it might provide some protection.

• Having some emergency ponchos and emergency mylar blankets can be helpful. You can use them for all kinds of things in a pinch, and they weigh almost nothing

• DO NOT CARRY ANYTHING THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED A WEAPON. It almost certainly will not be helpful to have, and if you're arrested it will make your life harder.

• In addition to that, The cops may try to use any supplies you carry to pin you with bs charges. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but it's a risk and you should be aware of it.

Some extra notes

• Look for and learn to recognize street medics. They're people who usually have some kind of first aid training, ranging from boy scouts to surgeons. If someone gets hurt you need to find a street medic and help them get to the scene ASAP. Police will often refuse to let EMTs and ambulances in to the area. You can recognize street medics by looking for people with backpacks that are either bright red, or have red crosses made from tape on them. A lot of them will be wearing bike helmets with red tape on them.

• You can't spot undercover cops. Lots of people think they can, and they're wrong. There's no reliable way to spot undercovers. You might spot a really obvious one but never recognize a guy who is blending right next to him. It's just part of the game that you have to accept

• Avoid doing crimes unless it's important

• If someone gets knocked over help get them on their feet ASAP. Being knocked over in a crowd is extremely dangerous. Either grab them and help people haul them on to their feet, or try to protect them from the crowd while other people get them up. If you go down you've got two options - Either curl in to a ball and protect your head with your arms, or reach your hands up so people can grab you and haul you on to your feet. Basically - Obey mosh pit rules.

• Avoid taking pictures with anyone's face in them

• If you see something really sketchy try to find an organizer or security person and tell them. People carrying guns, people taking pictures of people's faces, shit like that. If you're not sure ask your comrades for advice.

• If things get dicey stay with your comrades as much as possible. If someone looks like they know what they're doing, and you feel good about them, stick with them and try to help them when possible. Likewise, if you've got a bad feeling about someone, assess whether you need to move away.

• Be kind and look after your comrades. You got this!

Permanently Deleted

A camera that's not built in to a phone, and a faraday bag for your phone.

A full water bottle.