Surviving a Raid or Arrest: What to Expect, How to Respond, and Why It’s Changing

As political repression and surveillance continue to rise, it's crucial to understand your rights and how law enforcement raids and arrests typically occur.

This guide outlines the process of a modern arrest, explains your rights in practice, and highlights the expectation of more aggressive tactics, longer detentions, and increased digital scrutiny, even for minor political or organizing activities.

What Happens When You’re Arrested?

In most arrests (planned or spontaneous), you’ll be:

1. Physically restrained
   • Handcuffed, patted down, or zip-tied.
2. Transported
   • Usually in a patrol vehicle or van to a precinct, county jail, or field processing site.
3. Booked
   • Your name, fingerprints, and photo are entered into state and federal databases.
4. Searched
   • All your belongings, including your phone, wallet, bags, or external drives, may be examined.
5. Interrogated or Held
   • Even if you ask for a lawyer, you may be questioned, isolated, or denied outside contact.
6. Released or Transferred
   • You may be released on bond, cited and released, or handed to federal agencies like ICE or Homeland Security if flagged.

What About Your Phone and Data?

Your phone is not safe. Law enforcement can and does:

• Use mobile forensics tools (e.g., Cellebrite) to bypass locks and extract data
• Mirror your text messages, location history, photos, and app contents
• Link contacts, conversations, and location data to group activity or “conspiracy” claims
• Use deleted data if recoverable, especially in high-priority cases

Best practice: Don’t bring your main phone to actions or risk areas. Use a burner. Turn it off completely if stopped.

Myths About Arrest That No Longer Hold

• “I’ll be released within hours.”
  → Many jurisdictions now hold individuals longer, especially during large-scale protests or “domestic extremism” investigations.
• “If I stay silent, they won’t charge me.”
  → Staying silent helps—but agents often gather evidence from your devices, co-defendants, or surveillance footage, not just your words.
• “I’m not the target, I’m just an observer.”
  → Wrong. Observers, medics, press, and legal support are increasingly detained or charged under vague pretexts.

What You Should Do

• Memorize a lawyer’s number or write it on your body.
• State clearly: “I’m invoking my right to remain silent. I want to speak to a lawyer.”
• Don’t explain, argue, or joke — anything you say may be misquoted or misused.
• Don’t unlock your phone. If forced, verbally state: “I do not consent to any search or access to this device.”

New Norms: Prepare for Escalation

Older legal resources often describe arrest as a short, catch-and-release process. That is no longer reliable. Today, political targets are frequently:

• Held longer
• Have their devices cloned
• Flagged for federal tracking
• Labeled “extremist” based on affiliation, not actions

Assume escalation. If you’re engaging in direct action, immigration defense, antifascist organizing, or mutual aid under surveillance—prepare as if you won’t be released quickly.

Final Reminders

• Bring only what you need. Leave ID, keys, and your primary phone behind when possible.
• Use secure comms tools (Signal, ProtonMail) before and after any action.
• Keep your emergency contacts informed before taking a risk.
• Silence and prep will protect you far more than quick explanations or trust in the system.