Be smart at protests. No need to get arrested!

Some thoughts on the protests. I was a hippie protester in the late 1960s, helped organize anti-Iraq War protests in L.A, have been teargassed and kettled.

1) Yes, they are watching and monitoring you. Don't say dumb things on social media or phones. Be smart. Satire is a great weapon.

2) If you are protesting at a federal building, be careful. The sidewalk is safe. Everything is federal land and governed by federal law. It's the Hammer of Thor compared to state law. Sentences can be severe, are mandated, and the lawyers are expensive.

3) Make sure friends have your contact info so they can track where you are being held and bail you out, if needed. This is especially true if you do a staged sit-down protest in a street. Some jurisdictions require full birth name and DOB to look up someone in custody.

4) If they declare unlawful assembly, you can be arrested if you don't leave. If you interfere with a police officer (or he says you did) that might get you a felony arrest, instead of a minor misdemeanor.

This is how the game is played, I don't make the rules.

5) To avoid all this, just go, have fun, yell and scream and protest, then post it all on social media. The point is to rally people to the cause, and to make friends and allies. No need to get yourself arrested!