Safety instructions for all No Kings participants

Before every protest, we deliver a short speech with some call-and-response instructions to help thwart agitators and prevent other potential problems by teaching nonviolence. This is a major part of how we keep our events peaceful and safe.

We adapted this tactic from protests at Tufts University following the abduction of Rümeysa Oztürk by Trump’s goons. We’ve written our own original safety instructions, and we do change it to suit the circumstances of each protest, including both No Kings 1 back in June and No Kings 2 in October.

Our safety instructions for the March 28 event, adapted to webpage format, are below.

Let’s talk about how to keep each other safe today.

Sometimes people show up who want to start arguments, or get some juicy video for right-wing YouTube, or both.

They want to rile us up and film confrontations.

What we want is to KEEP CALM and KEEP MARCHING.

So here’s what you should do:

NUMBER ONE. If somebody’s yelling nasty stuff or getting in your face, leave it to our friendly safety monitors in the yellow vests.
We ask that you and your fellow attendees DO NOT ENGAGE.

NUMBER TWO. If you’re getting angry at somebody who’s trying to rile people up, or you see a fellow attendee getting wound up by an agitator, remind yourself or your fellow attendee of rule number one.
By doing this, you can help KEEP EACH OTHER CALM.

NUMBER THREE. If a provocateur has had enough and wants to leave, do not get in their way.
If they want to leave, LET THEM LEAVE.

NUMBER FOUR. We’ll have trained volunteers blocking the intersections so cars can’t get through.
If an impatient driver tries to squeeze through a gap, our volunteers will step in and handle it.
As for you, DO NOT touch any vehicle or engage with drivers. LEAVE CARS ALONE.

NUMBER FIVE. If you see uniformed Feds, or somebody in a MAGA hat, or anybody else you might have a reaction to, do not react. Walk on by.
KEEP CALM, KEEP MARCHING.

Here’s that whole list again:

NUMBER ONE. DO NOT ENGAGE.
NUMBER TWO. KEEP EACH OTHER CALM.
NUMBER THREE. LET THEM LEAVE.
NUMBER FOUR. LEAVE CARS ALONE.
NUMBER FIVE. KEEP CALM, KEEP MARCHING.

If we do these things, we can have a nice, safe, peaceful event.
Thank you very much and enjoy the march and rally!