Last Minute Survival

Before the Inauguration of President Trump fades into memory, I wanted to capture some the important lessons learned.  Please feel free to post on chat boards and begin discussions because this list is by no means all encompassing.  Instead, it is short run down of salient lessons learned to date that were under reported or appreciated.  I would love to see a fully consolidated after action list and would be happy to post it should someone want to submit one.

• The key takeaway from the Trump Inauguration is that the Left failed. The inauguration was the single best chance Trump’s opposition had to unite and take decisive action against the new president.  The propaganda, anger, and vitriol in the run up to President Trump’s inauguration were unprecedented in our lifetimes.  Nonetheless, the Left utterly failed to stop anything.  The protestors looked like nothing more than a motley band of moronic, spoiled brats with a penchant for destructive behavior.  It was a truly embarrassing show of “force.”
• The Left is far weaker than they try to present. Their numbers they mustered on the streets amounted to small bands of Soros hired anarchists and was far below even the lowest estimates presented by the media.  Any large scale national resistance movement by the Left is currently impossible with their current numbers and capabilities irrespective of Soros funding.
• Anarchists are still targeting downtown business districts close to mass transportation hubs. This is important for future planning and preparation purposes.  In the case of DC, the majority of protests materialized in the vicinity of the main train station (Union Station) and Metro Station, which is the second largest metro hub in DC outside of Union Station.
• Violent protestors are cowards and fear strong opposition. When confronted by individuals prepared and capable of self-defense, the Leftists resigned themselves to shouting obscenities, but avoided further escalation.  In the few examples where they miscalculated and tried to attack a competent solo individual, they uniformly had their butts kicked.  The pro-Trump biker groups were a strong testament to this effect.  It is clear the Left is in fear of groups willing and capable of proportionally responding with like violence should they try to attack anyone.
• Violent protestors prey on the weak. A review of the attacks and destruction that occurred during the DC protests/riots shows that victims were not chosen at random.  Solo individuals and unguarded/unprotected property were the primary targets of the mob.  In many cases, women attempting to simply go to work were attacked.  One of the most egregious cases involved a violent mob attack and beating of a lady walking with a cane, which left her hospitalized.
• Attendees wearing Trump attire were targeted if they appeared weak or in small numbers.
• A screening of dozens of videos of attacks committed by rioters and protestors overwhelming demonstrated none had professional martial arts training. The individuals uniformly attacked people they thought they could bully and easily overpower, but never displayed any degree of competence in hand-to-hand combat.
• The mob was easiest to penetrate by simply donning black attire. Our operatives wore black hoodies with black cargo pants and were able to easily infiltrate the mobs of anarchists.
• By dressing like the anarchists (all black, face obscured, adorned with communist symbols), it was easy to target, approach, and “remove” anyone that appeared to be a major agitator in any said group. This tactic proved very effective at dispersing mobs and disrupting the protestors/rioters.  Critical to this tactic were speed and surprise.  Once action was necessary, infiltrators needed to neutralize the threat rapidly and then make an escape through the crowd to a secure area before anyone realized what was going on.
• Preparing for a confrontation in high-pro kit was suitable for group shows of force for property defense, but was of limited utility in disrupting the mobs. Anyone wearing kit was too high profile to penetrate the mob of rioters and immediately drew the focus of hostilities.
• Do not park any vehicles along streets. Roving mobs of anarchists blocks from the center of hostilities were seen randomly vandalizing property.
• Keep plenty of fire extinguishers available. Fire is still the most dangerous threat widely faced.  Extinguishers also make a great (and perfectly legal) area dispersal or screening agent.  In fact, we found that simply discharging an extinguisher provided far better obscuration than typical smoke generating devices.
• The police didn’t intervene except in the most egregious cases. They must maintain their lines for safety and security and have to preserve their limited manpower.  Riot trained police know that they must maintain a tight cohort.  Getting separated is extremely dangerous for an officer.  In DC, when they did make an arrest, they did it in a big group.
• The police in DC used good discretion. If anything, most people wanted them to act more aggressively against the rioters.  In every case we witnessed, which included fights between pro and anti-Trump attendees, the true agitator(s) were arrested.
• Don’t expect the police to be able to help you during major protests and riots. Their manpower is dedicated to protecting key infrastructure and persons…not you and your property.
• Don’t expect the police to leave their lines immediately and come to your aid to break up a confrontation with violent anarchists. Police stood by and did not intervene in most of the minor assaults we witnessed.  That said, we witnessed a woman assaulted by a weaselly, male (barely) protestor trying to block her access to a venue and she decked the protestor.  The protestors screamed for her arrest, but the police took no action.  The lady then proceeded unmolested on to her destination.

This is a short list of some of the highlights of our observation teams last week.  Again, we ask that you post this to discussion boards.  We want to capture all of the lessons learned.  Each of these bullets provides plenty of fodder for further discussion and value to planning and preparation for future events involving mass civil unrest.

By Guiles Hendrik

January 27, 2017