Protest Communications Guide: Real-Time Field Coordination
| *Status: Level 2 | Audience: Action Coordinators and Affinity Group Leaders* |
Effective communication during a direct action is the difference between a coordinated, effective event and a chaotic, vulnerable one. This guide covers communication architecture, tool selection, field protocols, and degraded-mode operation when communications are disrupted.
1. Communication Architecture
1.1 The Layered Communications Model
Design your communications system with redundant layers. If the primary channel fails, participants fall back to the secondary channel without confusion.
| Layer | Tool | Purpose | Resilience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary digital | Signal (group) | Coordination, updates, emergency alerts | Internet-dependent |
| Secondary digital | Briar (mesh) | When internet is disrupted or monitored | Bluetooth/Wi-Fi mesh |
| LoRa mesh | Meshtastic | Long-range off-grid mesh | No infrastructure |
| Physical/analog | Prearranged signals | Direct communication without devices | No failure mode |
| Emergency audio | Whistle signals | Simple, unambiguous, no battery | Always works |
1.2 Cell-Based Communication Structure
Mirror your organizational cell structure in your communications channels:
- Action-wide Signal group: Minimal traffic — only action-wide updates (route change, dispersal, medical emergency)
- Affinity group channels: 4–7 people per channel for real-time affinity group coordination
- Leadership/coordinator channel: Action leads, legal liaison, medic lead
- Jail support / off-site: Separate thread with your off-site jail support coordinator
Limit notifications: High-traffic all-hands channels that chime constantly during an action will be muted or ignored. Send to the widest channel only what everyone truly needs to know.
2. Pre-Action Communication Setup
2.1 Signal Group Configuration
Before the action:
- Create action-specific Signal groups (do not use standing organizational groups for operational traffic)
- Add all participants to their appropriate groups
- Set disappearing messages: 1 week for action groups, 1 day or less for most sensitive operational channels
- Confirm all participants have Signal properly configured (registration lock, no biometrics)
- Designate two group admins per channel (so if one person is arrested, the group continues)
2.2 Code Words and Signals
Establish a shared vocabulary before the action:
- All clear: Code word meaning you are safe and accounted for
- Disperse [direction]: Code word for ordered dispersal toward a specific exit
- Medical [location]: Medical emergency at specified location
- Legal: Someone is being detained or arrested
- Go green/go red: Proceed as planned / abort and disperse
Physical signals (for when device use is restricted or impossible):
- Raised right fist: Stop; hold position
- Raised left arm: Move to the left
- Open palms forward: Back up
- Single whistle blast: Attention; stop and look for a coordinator
- Three whistle blasts: Emergency; immediate dispersal
Discuss, agree upon, and practice these signals before the action. Novel signals under stress are unreliable.
2.3 Information Discipline Briefing
Brief all participants before the action on communication protocols:
- What goes in the all-hands Signal group vs. affinity group channels
- No real-time social media during the action (wait until you are safely away)
- No photos of other participants’ faces without consent
- Code words and physical signals review
- Off-site jail support number confirmation (written on body)
3. During the Action
3.1 Digital Communication Protocols
Volume control:
- All-hands Signal: broadcast only critical updates (route change, police movement, medical need)
- Affinity group Signal: real-time local coordination
- Resist the urge to share real-time “color commentary” in the all-hands group — it creates noise that buries critical messages
Message format for critical updates: Use a structured format for time-sensitive messages that can be scanned instantly:
[TYPE]: [BRIEF CONTENT] | [LOCATION/DIRECTION] | [ACTION NEEDED]
Example:
POLICE: Large group moving east on Clark | Approaching from Michigan | Hold position / be ready to disperse west
3.2 Affinity Group Check-In Protocol
Establish a check-in cadence for affinity groups:
- Every 30 minutes or at each phase transition (arrival, beginning, transition, dispersal)
- Designated affinity group lead sends a check-in to the coordination channel: “Group [identifier]: All [N] members accounted for, [location]”
- Missing check-in triggers inquiry to affinity group channel, then to jail support if no response
3.3 When Someone Is Detained or Arrested
The affinity group has immediate responsibilities:
- Note the time, location, and which officer(s) made the detention/arrest (badge number if visible)
- Attempt to stay with the detained person until separated by police
- Note the direction they were taken
- Send immediately to coordination channel: “LEGAL: [name or identifier] detained at [location] by [officer ID] at [time]”
- Coordination channel notifies jail support with the identifying information
The detained person’s responsibilities:
- Repeat the Fifth Amendment assertion; say nothing else
- Comply physically; do not resist
- Note everything they can; reconstruct when released
3.4 Medical Communication
- Designate a specific identifier for medical emergencies: “MEDIC: [type of need] at [location]”
- Medical information is pre-positioned with the designated medics — affinity group leaders do not need to broadcast medical details
- Medics and coordination have a dedicated channel for medical coordination that does not clog the all-hands channel
4. Degraded-Mode Communications
When normal communication channels fail, fall back to prearranged alternatives.
4.1 Internet Disruption
If cellular data and Wi-Fi are unavailable (targeted disruption, Stingray interference, network congestion in high-density crowd):
- Switch to Briar over Bluetooth mesh (pre-install before the action; ensure all participants have it)
- Briar does not require internet — it creates a direct peer-to-peer mesh between nearby phones
- Effective range: ~10m (Bluetooth), more over Wi-Fi mesh
- Limitation: messages propagate across the mesh; people at the edge of the mesh receive messages with delay
4.2 Device Seizure
If key communicators’ devices are seized:
- Pre-designated backup coordinators assume coordination responsibilities
- Communication channels continue (no single person’s arrest should collapse the communication structure)
- Remaining coordinators send a brief notification: “Coordinator [identifier] is detained. [Backup identifier] now coordinating.”
4.3 Full Comms Failure
If all digital communications fail:
- Fall back to prearranged physical signals (Section 2.2)
- Fall back to prearranged assembly points (establish 2–3 before the action)
- Affinity groups operate autonomously using their prearranged dispersal plans
- Critical: Every affinity group must be able to operate independently if all communication fails. Prearrange: where do we go? What are our dispersal routes? When do we reassemble?
5. Post-Action Communications
5.1 Dispersal Check-In
After dispersal:
- Each affinity group does a headcount and reports to the coordination channel: “Group [identifier]: all [N] accounted for, [location]”
- Missing members trigger the jail support protocol
5.2 Post-Action Operational Security
- Continue using action-specific Signal group for coordination about arrested members, legal follow-up, and debrief logistics
- Delete or archive the action Signal group once the legal/operational situation is resolved
- Do not post to public social media until you are safely away and until you have scrubbed all photos of identifiable faces and metadata
5.3 Media and Narrative Coordination
- Designate a specific communications coordinator for media interactions
- Establish who is authorized to speak publicly about the action and who is not
- Ensure any released video or photos have been metadata-scrubbed and faces of non-consenting participants blurred
- The narrative about what happened should go through your communications cell, not be ad-hoc from individual participants
6. Communications Security Summary
| Practice | Why |
|---|---|
| Use Signal (not SMS, WhatsApp, or social media) | End-to-end encryption; no metadata to seize from you |
| Separate action groups from standing org groups | Limits exposure of organizational network if action group is compromised |
| Disappearing messages enabled | Seized phones have no message history to analyze |
| Code words for sensitive situations | Reduces clarity of communications to observers |
| Physical signals pre-planned | Survives any communications failure |
| Jail support on separate channel | Always reachable even if action coordinators are arrested |
| No real-time social media | Real-time info aids adversary situational awareness |
This guide does not constitute legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction.