First let me premise this article with a few points you need to consider: Firstly you must research local laws for yourself as some items or actions discussed may be illegal in your location. Additionally, while carrying some items may be generally legal there may be places that prohibit these items from their building, etc., such as airports or government buildings, again know your local laws. Discussion of specific items does not constitute an endorsement; I may mention them because I have them, may have used them or know people who have. Again, do your own research before buying or carrying anything.
If you have been paying attention, you can’t have failed to notice that there is increasing unrest, protests are becoming more violent, more frequent, and it will continue. Read the article Operation HYPO After Action Report: Infiltrating Violent Protest Organizations, and you will understand some of the thoughts and planning of these groups. People are calling for the assassination of POTUS or hostile overthrow, including some who are high profile. Assassination of LEO’s and attacks on anyone who appears to support POTUS are commonplace. If you search out video that is being posted of the disorder and riots, some posted by the protesters themselves, you may notice some things. They are getting more violent and they are more organized. They are wearing the same type of clothing, all black with no insignia, and scarfs over their faces to make it much harder to identify them. They are carrying items to use for assaults and for causing damage; road flares so it is easier to light a fire, they burn hotter and longer than matches.
“A general who attacks with fire is demonstrating his intelligence” Sun Tzu.
They are carrying crowbars to smash windows and sticks or baseball bats or flags, usually red, on a pole about 4-5ft long, that can be used as a signal but also as a baton to attack people. They are carrying mace to spray counter protesters and police, as seen in a recent video when they spray mace directly in the eyes of a female Trump supporter who was speaking to the media. They are prepared with shields, and not just improvised ones from trash can lids. They are using smoke grenades improvised from smoke distress flares, as well as fireworks. They are throwing liquids, to include urine and there is reason to think that they will escalate to gasoline, caustic chemicals such as acids, etc. I have seen a peaceful protest outside a newspaper plant change to a brick-throwing mob in a matter of seconds, the end result of which was over 150 police officers injured and over 3 tons of rubble pickup afterwards. They have improved their methods for communicating and coordinating their activities at each successive event and their levels of violence have increased with each successive event. Their activities are right out of the playbooks for guerrilla warfare and insurgency and The Rules of Radicals (Alinsky). Someone is funding them, if you track the various groups back many lead back to George Soros[1], and someone is training them. In addition to these activities there are large groups of government employees who are so outraged, scared, or for whatever other reason, anti POTUS, who are conducting activities to counter the agenda or instructions of the government, some overtly and some covertly. Add to all this that the main-stream media is either misreporting or underreporting what is really occurring. All this we are seeing in the first couple of weeks of a POTUS who is against the globalists and who completely upset their plans by winning the election.
“A protracted campaign depletes the state’s resources,” Sun Tzu.
What is their end game? It is to create a divide, a very large divide. The continued attacks on LEO’s may cause some to question if they want to continue in that line of work. Attacks may escalate to other responders; we have seen firefighters being attacked when they respond to put fires out during riots, we have also see firefighters attacked presumably because their uniforms resemble police. They are trying to push a conflict, trying to get law enforcement to become more heavy-handed in dealing with them, to draw the National Guard in, to create a martial law so they can create a ‘bad government versus we the people’, trying to get the citizens enraged enough to draw them into direct conflicts. I hope I’m wrong, but with snowflakes looking at 4 years of “a new Sherriff in town” how far are they going to go[2]? In discussing these events with people far more knowledgeable than myself, these are the same tactics and sequence of events that led up to the civil war in the Bosnian war as well as a number of other civil “Dirty War[3]” conflicts in various parts of the world. Their tactics with protests will continue but they will also start to identify targets, LEO’s and other first responders as well as any others who come on their radar as being ‘on the wrong side.’ They will do their intelligence and identify everything about you, your family, your associates etc. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Go after people not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions (Alinsky). They will use guerilla tactics, such as drive-by shootings, sabotaging your car by slashing tires, making you a sitting target while you change a tire, etc. Who wins in these wars? The people banking them, the people who own the companies who manufacture weapons and the international banks behind them. Add this to the number of these groups who support Islamic migration and what their end goal is; look what is happening in Europe, they are doing all they can to grind countries to a halt so they give in to their demands of Sharia law, including trying to stop commerce by blocking the movement of goods along highways. It’s only going to get worse.
“A general who recklessly underestimates the enemy is sure to be captured.” Sun Tzu.
So what should you be doing? Many people thought that once Trump was President they could relax a bit on the preparedness and training activities. Wrong!! If anything, your activities need to increase. The purpose of this article isn’t to go into what you should be doing for those activities, although that could be another article at a later date. This article is about what you need to be doing so you can go about your everyday activities with confidence that you are prepared in case you find yourself caught up in a protest.
“Foreknowledge cannot be found by consulting the spirits,” Sun Tzu.
Firstly, you should be doing your intelligence work. You should know what is going on in your community that could impact you. To get advanced notice monitor such things as who is applying for permits to hold protest. Most towns/cities require some kind of permitting process, whether you agree or disagree with paying to exercise your First Amendment right. For our purposes right now it helps, because many agencies post these applications on web sites. Search their web pages and social media sites, they usually post/advertise their rallies etc. Know exactly what the First Amendment rights are and the actions these groups are going to deny you your rights (https://www.oathkeepers.org/navyjack-defending-freedom-of-speech/). These activities will give you some advanced warning and you can plan your activities to avoid those areas. However, there is now a new twist as a group in Denver are filing a lawsuit against the City because the permit notice requires a 7-day advance application[4]; they want the ability to protest without any advance notice, so police and others are not prepared. “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As soon as the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new (Alinsky). Know who these groups are, and those that are in your area. For example, in Colorado we have Rocky Mountain Antifa, Four Corners Antifa, Denver Anarchist Black Cross, Denver Autonomous, 5280 BLM, Denver Justice League, La Raza, Occupy Denver Anarchists, and others, all these groups are active in our universities, and probably yours. In addition, you have the Anti-Antifa group, which are neo-Nazi, Sovereign Citizen, and hard-core biker gangs such as the Outlaws. Of course not forgetting the Mexican Mafia and cartels who have influence in most major cities, especially those close to our southern border, and all the other gangs who may align or make allegiances with some more radials groups. MS13 is known to use other gangs to do most of their ‘front line’ activities. If you have a group of like-minded folks formed into a group someone should be your intel person, someone who knows how to find, track, and keep intel on the groups in your area.
“The ultimate achievement is to defeat the enemy without even coming to battle.” Sun Tzu.
The highest form of warfare is to out-think the enemy; next is to break his alliances. They are conducting a psychological war right now, as well as small battles each time they “win” by blocking access to places where people are speaking, blocking people from exercising their First Amendment rights. We need to be conducting our own psychological warfare (Rigden). The Secret Art of War, The Thirty-Six Strategies, is a collection of ancient Chinese proverbs (from around AD 489-537) that describe some of the most cunning strategies devised. There isn’t a definite text, as it appears they were handed down verbally, the earliest book that lists them was found in a stall in 1941. There are a couple of source books listed in the references and I did find this listing of them all on the web[5]. They are utilizing some of these strategies; “When the enemy is too strong to attack directly, then attack something he holds dear. Know that in all things he cannot be superior. Somewhere there is a gap in the armor, a weakness that can be attacked instead.” In other words; “You may try to attack the relatives or dear ones of the enemy to weaken him psychologically” (Alinsky). Threats have been made to the children of reporters and others who are outspoken and reporting the truth of what these activists and doing and planning to do, and who is behind them.
In addition to knowing who is out there, there are other things you can do. Listen to local law enforcement with a scanner. I would not rely on the various scanner apps and feeds on certain sites that also list frequencies for a lot of agencies and organizations, such as radioreference.com. The feeds you hear are provided by someone in the area with a scanner that is feeding into the internet. The problem is you are reliant on what they are feeding, which is usually their primary dispatch channels. If you have your own scanner, such as the Home Patrol 2, which comes highly recommended as the easiest to use for a non-technical geek, you control what you listen to. Sometimes there is more information on some of the other channels, such as gang or drug unit channels. Sometimes these are encrypted, so the gangs can’t get the same intel you are trying to get. Having a hand held scanner with you provides you information while you are out and about, there is a hand held Home Patrol series and Whistler also makes some good scanners. You want to make sure it will ‘hear’ the radio systems in your community, many are, or will soon be, P25 Phase 2. Any with this capability should be backwards compatible to any existing older systems. When things go bad listen to FRS, GMRS, MURS and other frequencies that are readily available in off the shelf radios, the bad guys might be using them to coordinate their activities. Of course they also might be using any number of smart phone apps which are much more difficult to intercept, but tend to eat up battery life.
Sign up for news alerts from your local news agencies. They are usually faster at reporting events in your area than national news outlets. Include traffic alerts too, because if demonstrators block roads, or roads are blocked off for protests, hopefully you will get this information before you run into it. Know different routes to get out of an area, having a GPS navigation device can help, but personal knowledge is even better. Make sure you know different ways out of your work building and any other building you go into, this is especially important for active shooter scenarios but also if demonstrators block entrances. You don’t want to try and get through a crowd and find yourself getting sprayed in the face with mace, being struck or having urine or other substances thrown at you. At the very least you will have your picture taken by the agitators (look how many of them are taking pictures, you don’t think it’s just for a memento do you?). You can also subscribe to Sam Culper’s weekly intelligence brief’s at https://readfomag.com/subscribe/. Sam is focusing on domestic instability, including mapping the social networks of violent extremist groups, on both sides of the political spectrum. If you get the chance to take one of his courses I highly recommend them.
“Ultimate victory is in avoiding the fight,” Sun Tzu.
Be the Gray Man (Rigden). Don’t wear anything that identifies who you support, not only the obvious red Trump baseball hat but NRA, III%, Oath Keepers or other Pro 2A groups, don’t wear insignia of who you work for or anything else, especially if that organization supports the POTUS or appears to resemble law enforcement. If it is part of your work uniform then have a change of clothes before you travel home. I am surprised every day by the number of security and TSA personnel I see travelling on public transport to and from their jobs. It is now believed the recent shooting of a transit security officer in Denver was because he was mistaken for a police officer[6]. When I was in law enforcement (many years ago) we were taught not to do this for a number of reasons, but mostly for the safety of ourselves and our families. Always play the “what if…” and constantly mentally map ways out. Avoid getting in a crowd, stay on the outer edges of any group so you have several options in which way to go. Don’t run, as you will attract attention, walk with purpose. Know the laws in your area for unlawful assembly, rioting, etc.; in D.C. the law is written in such a way that being caught in the crowd constitutes the offense of riot. That is why, once they maneuvered the riots and trapped them in a 4-way intersection and blocked anyone from escaping everyone, including reporters, were arrested.
Social media is a new issue we have to deal with. While it can be a source of a lot of intel, that works both ways. If you want to maintain a social presence create a fake profile. This takes time as anyone should be suspicious of a profile that has been created recently, with few pictures and friends. Even if you don’t have listed where you live etc., it is easy to start looking at your friends and see where they live to narrow down where you live. Turn off geotracking in your smart phone, don’t post where you are having dinner or events you are at or, even worse, planning to go to.
Have a gray vehicle. What I mean is don’t have stickers or window decals that can provide bad guys with intel, such as the groups you belong to and thus your political persuasion. I always laugh at the ‘family’ decals as that tells me how many are in your family, possibly if you have a dog, then of course add ‘my daughter is an honor student at…’ and now I know where your kids go to school. If you have a ham license don’t put ham tags on your vehicle, you might as well put your address in big letters on the bumper. Also get a PO Box for most of your mail, at least you’ve added a layer of obscurity. If you can park in a garage even better, because then it is less obvious if you are home or not. Develop counter-surveillance skills; learn to tell if someone is following you, take different routes home (I love roundabouts, I go around them a couple of times, easiest way to see if someone if following), vary your times you go into or leave work, vary the times and routes you take your dog for walks. Make it difficult for them. Any time you are out in public you should always be in at least awareness condition yellow (Cooper), when there are protests anywhere in your area you have better be in condition orange and ready to move to condition red. There are a number of books listed in the references at the end that talk to surveillance and counter-surveillance techniques.
“Being prepared for all circumstances is what ensures certain victory.” Sun Tzu.
If you have done all the above but suddenly find yourself caught in a protest that starts to get ugly, then there are options that you need to consider. Many of those options may depend on what you are carrying. In the winter I keep a bag in my car with extreme cold weather clothing in addition to an extreme cold weather sleeping bag system and other supplies. Being prepared for civil disturbances is no different, keep a bag of supplies handy.
If you are in your vehicle you will no doubt have a fairly large quantity of resources to defend yourself. First and foremost try to get out of the area, this is where navigation devices can come in handy. However if you find yourself surrounded by protesters, make sure your doors are locked, but if you feel that your life, or those with you, is in danger you may be able to drive through any human road block. Having been a paramedic for over 25 years, I’ve seen many accidents, steel always wins over ‘bags of mostly water.’ If you carry, I suggest that you do not show your firearm unless there is no way out. If you are forced to abandon your vehicle, such as a city being at complete gridlock, a hand held GPS, such as the Garmin 64ST with street view will be useful. I know people who “load heavy” meaning their vehicle is ready for any ‘zombie’ outbreak and abandoning it is the last thing they want to do; at the least it’s going to get vandalized or burnt, even worse you could be giving the protesters firearms, ammunition, body armor, etc.
Eye protection is a must: I have sunglasses, clear glasses as well as a mirrored/in between glasses for cloudy days that are all safety glasses made by Nemises. Not only do they protect you from the sun, but also dust, wind and will prevent pepper spray or other fluids getting directly into your eyes. You may still experience some of the effects of pepper spray, but you will give yourself some vital time before your vision is impacted. I never go outside without protecting my eyes. Blind fold yourself one time and try and navigate around your house quickly. After you’ve smashed your toes a few time you will understand how important your vision is. A N95 mask will reduce pepper spray, and again other liquids, from directly entering your mouth, again buying you vital seconds. A bandana can be used, and is less obvious, but beware then you could look very much like the protesters; this could be good for blending in, bad because police could think you are one. Carrying water will help wash the spray or liquid out of your eyes and off your skin. Milk is best for pepper spray but a little more difficult to carry 24/7, liquid antacid (such as Maalox) is also said to work; carrying some diluted antacid is easier, drink it if sprayed in the mouth and wash your face and eyes with it. Clothing that covers most of your body is highly recommended; keep pants, long sleeve shirt, walking boots, etc. in your ‘protest bag.’ The less mace you get on your skin the better you will be.
I mentioned eye protection above but one of the most vulnerable areas is your head. Bike helmets will provide a level of protection against impacts and won’t look too out of place. Have you noticed the way police are using bike officers in civil unrest? Helmet protects the head, safety eyewear (to protect from wind while riding, wink-wink) and a bike that forms a barrier wider that two or three officers, and not as conspicuous as a riot shield and baton. Protect your hands as well; mechanic type gloves will help with grip but make sure you can handle weapons and other items. Make sure you practice with your weapons etc. with gloves on.
A walking stick makes a great defensive weapon. Get a good wood one, not an aluminum one. While aluminum walking sticks usually collapse and could be stored in a pack they are not going to stand up to blocking a baseball bat. Get in the habit now of using it all the time so it doesn’t look out of place. Learn how to use it to block blows and disable attackers; even the largest attacker will go down when their knee is struck hard and at the right angle.
A young person might look out of place with a walking stick. Smaller defensive weapons such as kubotans are very effective, come in a variety of types and there are plenty of videos on how to use them on Youtube. However, depending on where you work, you may not be able to carry one as they are easily recognized, even the ones ‘disguised’ as key chains. Alternatives are small flashlights, like the 511 ATAC A1, which takes a AA battery, or the ATAC L2 which is slightly longer and uses two CR123A lithium batteries, is brighter and has a switch to prevent it being turned on accidentally. Both these flashlights fit into a closed hand and have ends that have notches that increase pain upon impact as well as grab some DNA from an attacker. They both also have low intensity and high intensity as well as a strobe effect, great for disorienting an attacker. I also carry a Streamlight ProTac HL, which is brighter and a wider beam, also with the three settings and a knurled end, however it is larger and not easy to put in a pocket. You can wear it in the pouch on a belt, I carry mine on the outside of my backpack, as I have the ATAC L2 in my pocket all the time. If it is night you could also carry a larger flashlight, made of metal. I prefer the “C” cell battery size as it is just the right size to use as a kubotan, and easy to carry on a belt with the belt ring. I’ve never been through any security screening where my flashlights have been questioned.
Another easily concealed, and non-obvious, ‘weapon’ is a pen. There are a number of ‘tactical pens’ usually made from aircraft grade aluminum or steel and are thus stronger than your average pen. Their designs vary, but they usually have an ‘impact point’ design to break glass, but will easily create a very nasty and disabling puncture wound, especially in the chest. Some have a notched end to grab DNA and some also have a flash light. These are used just like a kubotan, but you can also write with them and they will pass through security checkpoints. You can of course improvise a similar weapon from rolling up a magazine.
A stun gun might also be an option depending on your local laws. These I would put into the category of a defensive weapon as you would deploy when in close contact to disable an attacker and give yourself time to get away. Deploying a police type taser is not an option; you only get one or two shots without ejecting and deploying another taser cartridge. If you carry one, make sure you have a rotation to keep it charged. Stun guns come in a variety of shape, sizes and colors, some are a flashlight/stun gun. I would suggest a dark color so it is not so obvious. Sabre has one that is incorporated into a flashlight, it is not obvious that it is also a stun gun and has a ‘safety’ switch to inhibit the stun unless needed. I would not utilize this as my only flashlight; they have rechargeable batteries so it is not easy to carry spare batteries as you can with the flashlights mentioned above. This is something that you will not be able to carry past most security checkpoints.
Most of the items I’ve mentioned are close quarters weapons, they do not keep your attackers at a distance from you and in nearly all these ‘demonstrations’ there will be more than one going after you. A length of paracord attached to a carabiner can be swung and might deter some. It can also be used to climb down a short distance or help people up a steep slope etc. An expanding baton, or ASP, may be on option. They come in a variety of lengths and can be used to block blows (it really hurts an attacker when their arm impacts a metal object) and can deal out some serious pain to an attacker. Again this is something that you will not be able to carry past security checkpoints.
While I carry a folding knife I would not consider it a defensive weapon. If you deploy any kind of knife you are going to be viewed as the attacker, especially keep in mind that there will be people videoing everything and it will be edited to suit their agenda. In some places certain folding and/or fixed blade knives are illegal, again know your laws. Obviously you will not be able to take most knives past a security checkpoints.
Talking about cameras, DO NOT get your cell phone out to video any of the activities. If you are watching your cell phone you are not paying attention to everything that is going on around you. You also risk the bad guys getting your phone, and thus knowing everything about you, all your contacts and possibly access to your social media accounts. If you have a GoPro or similar type camera you could use this with the chest harness to record events, this might be useful if you have to defend your actions or are called as a witness against your attackers. Always carry a power pack or external battery and the appropriate cables so you can keep your phone charged. I have a small one that is in my backpack but I also have a larger one, about 5”x3”x1” that is designed to jump start a battery that also has 2 USB ports and a light. Also, get a Bluetooth headset of some kind for your cell phone. That way you can be on the phone without exposing your phone. You should only be on the phone is absolutely essential, again if you are talking on the phone you are not paying 100% attention to what is going on around you. You could also get one of the apps that allows you to track your family members phones. However, if it is a planned protest be aware that law enforcement could be using a StingRay[7] cell phone interceptor so it might be a good idea, as part of your plan, to ‘go dark.’ StingRay devices intercept your phones signal and ‘trick’ it into revealing all the information in it, including your contacts. You could also utilize and ‘emergency phone’ and have a note book with other ‘emergency numbers’, rather than putting them in the memory of the phone.
A lit road flare will keep people at arms length, no one wants to be burnt, but beware you might be thought of as one of the bad guys by police. Smoke ‘grenades,’ such as a marine distress signal smoke, may provide enough of a distraction to gain you time to escape.
Pepper spray, mace or similar is going to have the desired effect on anyone you spray. However, get the large cans, like bear spray, that are designed to spray a distance out, a small hand spray will not, and will not give you more than a couple of sprays. Use with caution, if the wind is blowing in your face you may not want to deploy the spray. Some types are a thicker foam, and these are less susceptible to wind. In most cases mace or similar will not be allowed through a security checkpoint. If you are in your vehicle you should have a fire extinguisher which will usually be the dry chemical type. It can be used in the same manner as mace. If you have to abandon your vehicle try and take it with you. If you don’t yet have a fire extinguisher in your car spend the extra money and get one in a metal cylinder; they can be refilled but also make a great “impact” weapon. Most people keep an extinguisher in the trunk of their car. Keep one inside your car. If you can a good place is on the floor in front of the passenger seat. This way you can reach down and get it, especially useful if a crowd surrounds your car, crack the window just enough to stick the nozzle out. Do not place an extinguisher in front of any air bag. I see some fixed to the ‘B’ post just behind the driver or passenger; be careful that they are not in a position that someone could hit their head on. If you are caught in your office in an active shooter situation and you get to the fight part of “Run, Hide, Fight” use it. If you have never discharged a dry chemical extinguisher spend the money and ‘test fire’ one so you are familiar with how they operate and how far they will be effective, both in disabling attackers and creating a ‘smoke screen’ to help you escape.
If civil unrest escalates to the use of edged weapons, cross bows or firearms then body armor may be an option. Concealed armor is usually level 3A and would protect from most handgun rounds and some knives, particularly with slashing motions, it is also easy to wear without being detected. However, it will not protect from sharp projectiles, but might reduce their impact. If you are hit with a baseball bat soft armor does diffuse the impact and may give you a chance (I’ve been hit across the back with pool cue’s – hardly felt it, much to the surprise of the person swinging it). Plates and carriers protect from much more, however they are not easy to conceal, especially in the summer, when wearing a large coat is not an option. Of course you have to also consider the extra weight you would be carrying.
While cell phones were previously mentioned you should have another communication plan. Develop a communications plan[8] and get radios for every member of your family. Plan that the cell phone system will go down, be overloaded or deliberately blocked. Have a portable/hand held radio. Have a plan with your family and other members of your community group. Use frequencies that are less used, such as the 220mhz ham band (get a ham license[9]). The BTECH UV-5×3 works on the GMRS and FRS frequencies as well as the VHF and UHF ham bands, including the 220mhz band. The common FRS and GMRS frequencies should not be part of your plan. Depending on where you live you might consider setting up your own GMRS repeater, there frequencies are not in the ‘off the shelf’ radios. GMRS repeaters can be found fairly cheaply as commercial users were required to go to narrow banding and there is a lot of surplus equipment that can be re-tuned to GMRS frequencies. This will provide you communications over a longer distance. While codes cannot be used on ham or GMRS/FRS frequencies there are ways to phrase something that only those in your group know. “Get a loaf of bread and a jar of pickles on the way home,” can mean whatever you want it to mean, such as “time to get out of Dodge.” If you are with a group, your family, do everything to try and stay together. Plan a meeting place, or several, in case you are separated and keep in contact via radio (use the ear piece with the radio and keep the radio protected in a pocket). Refer to the meeting locations as a persons name, so you can say “meet at John’s,” rather than a physical location.
Carrying a first aid kit, or individual first aid kit (IFAK) should already be part of your daily carry. IFAK’s are designed to carry items to treat immediate threats to life. I also carry a tourniquet in the pocket of my cargo pants, others I know carry them on their belt. In addition to an IFAK attached to my back pack I also have a small kit to take care of minor wounds, it contains adhesive bandages, some hemostatic sponges (4”x4”) which are great for scalp wounds that tend to bleed a lot, and a few other items. Rescue-Essentials.com is a great source for kits and they will make kits to suit your needs. A great starter IFAK is the one they put together for Oath Keepers (http://www.rescue-essentials.com/oath-keepers-cpt-ifak/), use discount code OCKMED-8. Get medical training; I don’t mean a basic first aid class, I mean a class that will teach you in-depth skills for the severe life threats. The Oath Keepers CPT Medical 1 class is a focused class on dealing with traumatic injuries; contact your state Oath Keepers training coordinator to locate a class.
“The ultimate achievement is to defeat the enemy without even coming to battle.” Sun Tzu.
If all your attempts to avoid, evade and escape the conflict have failed you may be forced to use lethal force. Before doing so make sure you have no other options. To deploy lethal force in your home is one thing, doing so in the street is entirely different. Make sure you know the rules for lethal force for your area. I suggest conceal carry, so that you do not give the enemy any advantage of knowing you are armed. I also suggest a holster with a retention system. Should you be knocked unconscious and they discover your firearm you want to make it as difficult as possible for them to get a hold of it. If you carry you had better be carrying at least one, if not two, additional magazines. You must be familiar with your weapon and how to operate it under stress and without looking. Search for instructors that can provide you this training. Practice blindfolded with an empty weapon, that includes make sure there are no loaded magazines in the same room. If it comes to a severe life threatening situation make sure you give a loud and clear warning, if the situation allows. You do not want to shoot into a crowd, you need to neutralize the imminent threat to you and only that threat. If at all possible take a knee so you are shooting upwards, so if a bullet goes through your target it is less likely to hit someone else behind them, remember the rules of firearms; “be aware of your target and what is behind it,” (this is the most forgotten rule). Be aware of your surroundings, this is not the range, this is a street and a 360 degree awareness must be maintained. Don’t forget to watch above you too; urban terrain is the most dangerous terrain to fight in due to the fact that it is perfect for ambushes and snipers. If the crowd disperses wait for law enforcement and follow their directions, make sure your weapon is holstered before they arrive or if it is in your hand place it on the ground. Be aware of where your muzzle is at all times and NEVER point it towards any law enforcement. I strongly suggest you have some kind of insurance that provides coverage in the case of a shooting; make sure it covers lawyers and other fees, such as bail, up front. Most of us cannot afford the legal costs to defend ourselves, even if we are completely justified and innocent.
The purpose of this article was to make you more aware, to help you consider options that you may not have before. As I mentioned at the beginning, check your local laws, be aware of the places you have to go and any security considerations. These techniques work for an active shooter or protests that you might unexpectedly get caught up in.
While this article was aimed at individual preparedness it should be pointed out that the intelligence work necessary to be fully aware of the numerous groups, gangs and other threats in your community can be a daunting, and a full time, task. Having a Community Preparedness Team (CPT) is essential. Not only can you have someone doing intel for the group but you also have, if trained correctly, a team that can help protect team and family members and others in your community and, if necessary, an extraction team. You can have communications specialists that can help develop your communications plans and medical specialists that can conduct training. You need to very carefully vet the people you bring in of course (Hogwood).
Remember, your life, and your families, could be in danger. Keep your head on a swivel, watch your six and don’t forget to look up in urban areas.
ACM IV Security Services. Surveillance Countermeasures: A Serious Guide to Detecting, Evading, and Elluding Threats to Personal Security. Palidin Press, 1994.
Algaier, Laura and William E. Clark. Surveillance Detection: The Art of Prevention. Cradle Press, 2005.
Alinsky, Saul D. Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals. Vintage, 1989.
Cooper, Jeff. Principles of Personal Defense. Paladin Press, n.d.
Culper, Samuel. 03 FEB 17 – Executive Intelligence Summary. n.d.
—. Security; A Primer for Freedom Fighters. Forward Observer Press, 2013.
—. SHTF Intelligence: An Intellegience Analyst’s Guide To Community Security. Forward Observer Press, 2015.
Heuer, Richard J. and Randolph H. Pherson. Structured Analytics Techniques for Intelligence Analysis. 2nd. CQ Press, 2015.
Hogwood, Charley. The Survival Group Handbook: How to Plan, Organize and Lead People For a Short or Long Term Survival Situation. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014.
http://www.easy-strategy.com/thirty-six-strategies.html. n.d. 2017.
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[1] https://www.oathkeepers.org/former-nazi-george-soros-now-connected-every-major-protest-since-november-election/
[2] https://itsgoingdown.org/first-shot-anarchists-trump-new-normal/
[3] https://mountainguerrilla.wordpress.com/2017/02/07/skull-stomping-sacred-cows-reality-isnt-nice-its-a-2×4-to-the-teeth/
[4] http://kdvr.com/2017/02/06/trump-protesters-file-civil-rights-lawsuit-against-denver-2-police-officers/
[5] http://chinesewarstrategies.blogspot.com/2008/11/36-strategies-of-ancient-china-overview.html
[6] http://www.9news.com/news/crime/dpd-man-shot-in-downtown-denver/395259048
[7] http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/stingray-records-show-secret-cellphone-surveillance-calif-cops-n52181
[8] https://survivalblog.com/developing-a-communications-plan-for-your-group-by-n-m/
[9] https://survivalblog.com/how-to-obtain-your-amateur-radio-license-by-n-m/
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