How to Attend a Rally Safely in the Bay Area

This story was originally published on June 24, 2022, and has now been republished. Jump straight to tips on what to have ready before going to a protest.

Just days into 2024, the Bay Area has already seen passionate demonstrations in and around Berkeley’s People’s Park, after hundreds of police officers arrived in the middle of the night to clear the site of its occupants in preparation for building UC Berkeley student housing at the park.

And in the last several months, the Bay Area has seen protests, rallies, marches and vigils drawing thousands of people around the region in support of a cease-fire in Gaza — joining direct action taking place nationwide. These protests included a November 2023 demonstration that blocked blocked all traffic on the upper deck of the eastern span  of the Bay Bridge early one morning. (Read more about the decades-long background from NPR in their ‘Middle East crisis — explained’ series.)

The San Francisco Bay Area has a long history of protest. But if you’re planning on attend a rally, how can you stay safe? What are your rights as a protester?

If this is the first time you or your friends will go to a protest, make sure to bookmark this guide, as our team frequently updates it with new information.

And remember: If you’re unable to join a rally or protest in person for whatever reason but want to make your stance on an issue known, you always have the option to contact your elected officials to express your opinions. For more information on what “call your reps” actually means, how to do it, and what to expect as a result, read our explainer, How Can I Call My Representative? A Step-by-Step Guide to the Process.

Have a plan — and then a backup plan

There’s a lot you can do before a protest.

Travel with friends

Choose a meeting place beforehand in the event you get separated. You may also want to designate a friend who is not at the protest as someone you can check in with.

Charge your phone. But some activist groups also recommend taking digital security measures, such as disabling the fingerprint unlock feature to prevent a police officer from forcing you to unlock the phone. Others also recommend turning off text preview on messages and using a more secure messaging app, such as Signal.

Also, make sure that you can function without a phone. Consider writing down important phone numbers and keeping them with you.

Pack a small bag

Bring only essentials such as water, snacks, hand sanitizer and an extra phone charger.

The active component in tear gas adheres to moisture on your face. So it’s also a good idea to pack an extra mask or face covering in case you are exposed to tear gas.

Some people recommend bringing basic medical supplies and a bandana soaked in vinegar or in water in a sealed plastic bag in case there is tear gas. Others recommend a small bottle of water — or even better, a squirt bottle — to pour on your face and eyes.

If you get tear-gassed, it is often recommended to:

• Close your eyes.
• Hold your breath.
• Get out of the area as soon as possible.
• Rinse your eyes when possible (ideally using what you have packed with you).

Research the intended protest route

This may be confusing since there’s not always a clearly stated route (a protest is, or course, not a parade), but some protests have preplanned routes.

By knowing where the protest is headed, you will be able to plan how you might avoid being caught in a “kettle” or other containment method — and be able to leave when you are ready.

Know who is organizing the protest

It’s worth doing some research on the people and groups behind any protest you plan to attend, to make sure it’s in alignment with your values and objectives. During certain Black Lives Matter protests in San Diego in June 2020, for instance, organizers warned demonstrators to avoid specific events they said likely had been surreptitiously coordinated by white nationalist groups.

Know your rights

You are entitled to free speech and freedom of assembly. However, your rights can be unclear during curfews and shelter-in-place orders. The American Civil Liberties Union has a detailed guide to your rights as a protester or a protest organizer. Notably, when police issue an order to disperse, it is meant to be the last resort for law enforcement.

“If officers issue a dispersal order, they must provide a reasonable opportunity to comply, including sufficient time and a clear, unobstructed exit path,” according to the ACLU. Read our guide to your rights as a spectator.

If you are photographing others, it is recommended to respect privacy, as some may not want to have videos or photos taken. This may also depend on context, location and time of day. In some cases journalists, or those documenting events, have been the target of tear gas and rubber bullets.

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The First Amendment gives you the right to film police who are actively performing their duties, and bystander videos can provide important counternarratives to official accounts. Read our guide to filming encounters with the police safely and ethically, and where to share your footage.

Additional information can be found from the ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild — the NLG has pocket-sized know-your-rights guides in multiple languages. Writing the number for the NLG hotline (and other important numbers such as emergency contacts) on your arm in case you lose your phone or have it confiscated is another suggested way to ensure you have it — should you need it.

Be aware of your surroundings

During the first few days of George Floyd protests in the Bay Area in June 2020, there were fireworks, fires, rubber bullets, tear gas, flash-bangs and even some gunshots. Being aware of your surroundings includes having an understanding about what possible actions may occur around you.

Remember there are many ways to protest

As the disability community continues to remind others, there are many ways to show up. We are still in a pandemic, and you may need to weigh the risks and goals. You can participate in many meaningful ways.

This could include educating yourself, voting, talking to your community and supporting grassroots organizations, as outlined in this 2020 guide from KQED’s Nastia Voynovskaya. You can also contact your elected officials to express your opinions. For more information on what “call your reps” actually means, read our explainer, How Can I Call My Representative? A Step-by-Step Guide to the Process.

How to reduce your risk of getting (or spreading) COVID at a protest

The good news: Your risks of getting COVID outdoors are far lower than your risks indoors — about 20 times less, says Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at UCSF.

Also, being vaccinated and boosted will greatly reduce your risks of getting very sick, being hospitalized or dying from COVID. If you’re not yet boosted, find the new COVID vaccine shot near you. If you’re bringing children to a protest with you, remember that kids and babies age 6 months and over can get their primary COVID vaccine series.

But you should still think about your risks of getting (or spreading) COVID at a big event full of people, even when you’re outdoors. As with so many decisions during the pandemic, a lot comes down to your personal risks and circumstances — not just to protect yourself, but others, too. “I think it requires people to be thoughtful about who they are, who they live with, and what happens when they leave the protest and go back home,” says Chin-Hong.

Bring your mask along

It’s not only the number of people you’ll encounter at a protest — it’s what they might be doing. Even outside, screaming, chanting, coughing and singing all expel more of the particles that can spread COVID than regular activity does, and you may decide to keep your mask on during a protest if it’s a super-crowded space.

You might also find that some protest organizers request you wear a mask and maintain social distancing at the event, especially if the event is being attended by groups or communities at higher risk for severe illness from COVID.

There’s also the possibility that you might not stay outside the whole time. “Whenever you have a protest, nobody just stays necessarily outdoors,” says Chin-Hong, giving pre-protest gatherings and meetings or post-protest dinners as examples.

“These may be done in people’s homes. I think it’s the stuff that goes around the actual outdoor protest that I’m more worried about,” says Chin-Hong. He recommends that people “think about carrying a mask with them, like they carry an umbrella. So that they just bring out the ‘umbrella’ when it’s potentially ‘raining with COVID.‘”

Can a protest ever be truly ‘COVID safe’?

Experts say that whether protesting is safe depends on the protest.

“If they are … doing their best to keep a distance from others, it is safe enough that people should make their own choices,” UCSF Department of Medicine Chair Bob Wachter told KQED in 2020. “I completely understand the motivation for protesting, and people should just do it as safely as they can.”

Back in 2021, Chin-Hong told KQED that protests against racist violence and the killing of Black people by police were themselves “a response to a public health threat, if you think about the impact of structural racism and stress on health care.”

Now, when it comes to weighing the desire to protest a cause with the risks of getting or spreading COVID, “I think the benefits of protesting are even more in favor of protesting now,” Chin-Hong told KQED in 2022. That “risk/benefit calculus,” as he puts it, is even more in favor of attending a rally — “because we have so many tools to keep people safer,” from vaccines and boosters to improved COVID treatment if someone is hospitalized.

It’s important to note that the Black Lives Matter protests that swept across the country in May 2020 in response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of now-incarcerated Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin did not turn into the “superspreader” events some had feared. Many of the cities where major demonstrations took place — including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia — did not see any new surge in cases in the days and weeks following those protests.

This story includes reporting from KQED’s Lakshmi Sarah, Lisa Pickoff-White, Carly Severn and Nisa Khan. Beth LaBerge and Peter Arcuni also contributed. A version of this story originally published on April 23, 2021.

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At KQED News, we know that it can sometimes be hard to track down the answers to navigate life in the Bay Area. We’ve published clear, helpful explainers and guides about issues like COVID, how to cope with intense winter weather and how to exercise your right to protest safely.

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