Contra-ICE
Bonus Post | A Nudge of a Starter Kit #LFG
Do take this member's poll. The Gorgons want to shape Year 2 with your needs well centered. Responses so far = Inspiring!
Poll closes 31 Jan 26.
A reader asked for some guidance on practical intervention when she answered the poll in our Jan 13 post. It was an excellent request. In addition to this quick research (2 hour), we have asked the “hivemind” for suggestions. We’ll report back when we have some!!
If you know of resources, chats, connections that you cannot share publically but want to share, email us. We can build a private database.
Read this 👆 Then this 👇 Some resources for dealing with the regime’s repression troops: ICEshtapo, MAGApo? Whatever. Goons.
How Many To Expect Civilians are mostly encountering FOTs, patrol squads, they tend to have 5-10 men per team, and up to 30 for larger coordinations. SRTs are ICE’s SWAT teams and tend to have 12-20 men, including entry teams, snipers, and medics. These usually focus on “high risk” targets in their homes.
Cautions
The regime has already labeled us “domestic terrorists.” Even this post (among others) can get me arrested. Fuck them. These guys are their creatures so we cannot presume the (relative) degree of safety we may have (I’m looking at us, white folks) once assumed. The PATRIOT Act (that old chestnut) gave that label some interesting meanings. These agents are not trained in law enforcement. They are ideology enforcement. They are disappearing people as once was done in El Salvador in the 1980s, for example, and their civil war lasted 12 years (thanks CIA). This is an old technique, and some old methods will work to counter it. Remember this? Times have changed.
As we have witnessed, observers, family, protestors, allies cannot expect the (relative) decorum of police trained for such events. De-escalation is not their jam. As we have witnessed they are harming, killing, and arresting first and asking questions later. They are NOT “unhinged.” (Medusa's snakes! I hate the tabloidization of YouTube.) They are disordered, poorly trained, bullies on the loose, but they are not “out of control.” They are being deliberate. They are OK with this. Like all abusers.
Unarrest the disappeared
unarresting political dissappearance victims will be a crucial component of saving ourselves from the thousand year reich
— Gallifreyan Jedi (@jediofgallifrey.bsky.social) March 10, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Read This Thread
RESISTERS: Follow this thread for the full manual on de-arresting your friends and neighbors. Filming only needs to be done by a couple people. Make assigned jobs. Practice.
— Lilith Goddess of Rebellion (@elo-cin.bsky.social) January 14, 2026 at 8:01 AM
[image or embed]
Good protest, good anti-oppression troop actions are PRACTICED 👆 ahead of time so that everyone is as able as possible to stay cool in chaotic situations. Concerned neighbors can form “neighborhood watch” teams of folks prepared and practiced for unarresting those targeted for kidnapping. As @Salty_old_sailor put it, “Tactical protest involves roles, tasks, training and practice.” This is how anti-war and civil rights activists did it. This is how, eventually, people who fight for their liberty always do it. Be realistic about your skill and temperament and your level of risk tolerance in the context of your health and larger life. Don’t promise more than you can really give or do. Develop teams that really play to each member’s strengths. And PRACTICE. The day when we need to risk it all may come soon. So that assessment is about ICE encounters, but also also about the future of the Republic.
Women, remember, these men hate us to begin with. “Fucking bitch” didn’t come out because that murderer was trying to calm down — he was calm. Follow methods for confrontation with men that you already know. Maybe let the men with you do most of the face-to-face confrontation. (I know, but let's be real.) Numbers are safety for most of us, but not all. Even crowds of 100 that are not organized and trained put people in harm's way and result in arrest and injury:
Nicolas Scibelli
They’re tracking us online, on the street, by our license plates (remember the woman tracked by FLOCK cameras from Texas to Colorado who was accused of having an abortion by Texas police? It was her ex who has taken her to court). Revenge porn. Revenge arrests. We don't need all of the men.
Pre-Cautions
Digital:
Andy Greenberg
Have an analog plan, too: how to get there, how to get home, phone number in sharpie on your arm for a loved one or attorney:
- Choose the Right Number: Select a trusted contact (friend, family, lawyer) or a legal support hotline (like the National Lawyers Guild).
- Secure It (Optional): Apply a layer of hairspray or a liquid bandage over the number to prevent smudging from sweat or water.
- Consider Alternatives: If you prefer not to write on your skin, write the number on a piece of paper and keep it in a secure, hidden spot like your bra or inside a pocket, or even on the inside of your sock.
Other Safety Tips
- Disable Biometrics: Set your phone to require a PIN, not fingerprint or face ID, as officers might compel you to unlock it.
- Have a Plan: Work with your emergency contact beforehand on what they should do if you're arrested.
Training Groups Exist Some will be local to you, or regional depending. Search and find. Turns out there's a directory:
You will not be alone. The future of you community will thank you.
In Red States Too
britney
There are groups working to support immigrants and othered-people on several levels of need. Taking up collections for and distributing food, etc. They are all over the country. Join them. Red States towns are saying no, and backing it up. Y'all may not have to look too far afield. 👇
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) might have some guidance for where to hook up and do good.
Their rapid response toolkit is useful. https://www.cliniclegal.org/toolkits/rapid-response-toolkit (PDF)
Take care. Take smart risks. Be good to each other.
Look to the Longer Horizon
holly hammond
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