Tactics

Unarresting

Traditional activism that involves civil disobedience has developed a highly choreographed routine when it comes to getting arrested by the police. Lately, we even seen examples of where civil disobedience has degenerated into civil OBEDIENCE, with activists negotiating with the police or even asking them how to get arrested. Needless to say, not everybody at a demonstration wants to get arrested. Given the propensity of the police to arrest activists for arbitrary reasons--jaywalking, marching in the street without a permit, wearing masks--a technique is required to keep activists out of jail. Unarresting an activist(s) is quite simple: when an activist is arrested, the bloc of anarchists acts swiftly to pull that person free from the cops. Sometimes a tugging match is required to free the activist, but if you have the element of surprise, you can usually be successful because the cops are so shocked that activists aren't playing the game correctly (i.e. negotiating their own imprisonment). Unarresting work in two situations: 1) where you have a few cops and several activists involved; or 2) when the unarresting bloc outnumbers the officers by a ratio of 3:1 or better.

An important point to bear in mind: unarresting is an illegal activity. Don't get arrested trying to free somebody or you could face some serious charges. It's important to weigh the benefits of unarresting a person (this is hard to do in the heat of the moment). Obviously, unarresting a person is more important if the arrested person has done something that would lead to felony charges. Play to win!

Locking Arms

During some demonstrations, members of a black bloc may link arms as they march. This action promotes cohesion and solidarity within the block and makes it difficult for the police to deploy some of their anti-crowd tactics.

Wearing Masks

Wearing masks is such an effective tactic that more and more police departments are implementing anti-mask laws. The practice of "masking-up" is controversial within activist circles. Some activists criticize mask-wearing because it contradicts the image of activism being open an accessible, in other words, "we have nothing to hide." There are several reasons for wearing masks at an action: 1) to protect ourselves from illegal police surveillance (see red squads); 2) to promote anonymity among the ranks, which helps protect against the rise of charismatic leaders; 3) to provide cover for activists engaged in illegal actions during the demo, and 4) to promote solidarity within the bloc.