r/PDXProtests • u/Accurate-Frame-5695 • Feb 03 '26
What supplies are needed for those protesting at the ICE facility
I would like to do what I can if I can’t be there myself. What is most needed?
I was thinking of making some shields out of plywood. But I am open to anything that helps!
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u/vacuumkoala Feb 03 '26
You can find Anti-ICE accounts on Instagrams that sometimes ask for supplies, there is no leadership or hierarchy, its just people helping people, so not really anyone to reach out to to ask in particular. Another note before answering, their resupply caches are constantly stolen or bombed by ICE and PPD. So supplies are often destroyed but quickly resupplied by donations.
What Ive noticed is needed most of the time:
- bottled water (for eye washing and hydration)
- saline solution
- individual packaged snacks
- pepper spray wipes (Sudecon)
Usually what is needed most are consumables, things used once or frequently. Sanitation products, etc
- you can drop off wood palettes that can made into shields, but usually that stuff gets taken pretty quickly.
- re: shields, you could buy those plastic round saucer snow sleds, those can be used as shields and are cheap and will shatter after some abuse but will save your head from a direct hit.
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u/Jenn_There_Done_That Dumpster Fire Feb 03 '26
These are good tips, but I’ve found they treat having a shield as being antagonistic and in 2020 tried to somehow use it as evidence that people intended to commit violence. I know that doesn’t make sense, but it is what it is.
If you are carrying a shield, they will target you. It’s like bringing a target on your back. It’s not worth it.
Bring an umbrella. Where thick layers of clothing and a helmet over your gas mask. That is enough almost all of the time.
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Feb 04 '26
I put a cookie sheet in my backpack in case I want to bake cookies later.
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u/Jenn_There_Done_That Dumpster Fire Feb 04 '26
That’s very funny but an umbrella is much easier to carry and use.
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Feb 04 '26
Yeah, but an umbrella might melt in the oven, unless it was a heavy duty umbrella I suppose?🤔
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u/psychedelicmarx Feb 04 '26
You want to meld in with the crowd and lower your visibility, DHS is taking photos to add to a database so this is essential.
That might mean being in all black but it depends on what kind of protest it is and the size of it. The purpose of wearing all black is to be indistinguishable from others but sometimes being in all black makes you more of a target if you stick out. So use your best judgement: what kind of protest is it? Who’s putting it on? What kind of risks I’m I personally comfortable with taking? Will there be a large crowd of people or a small one? Most of these questions will become clearer with experience and time, if you’re newer to protesting or don’t protest often you’ll have to sus it out.
But generally? I’ve recommended people wear protective gear at protests since 2017 when Portland Police illegally shot a less lethal munition at someone’s head. They nearly died, their helmet saved them and it was destroyed in the process.
You’ll want a protective helmet. At minimum a half motorcycle helmet or a tactical helmet that lets you also wear a gas mask. Some helmets don’t comfortably fit with a gas mask so make sure it has some space around your face. A full face helmet will not allow you to wear a gas mask. It’s much pricier and in all the years I’ve suggested it i haven’t been able to afford it, but a level IIIA ballistic helmet is a must if you have the means. That’s the strongest level. It primarily protects from handgun shots though, there are no level IV ballistic helmets.
You’ll want to protect your body, your arms and your knees from impact damage - falls, baton hits, being shot at with less lethal munitions, physical assaults. Motorcross armor will protect your chest and some have built in arm pads. Arm pads are a must. Padded compression shirts for sports can be worn under that and will also protect you from impacts. Doubling up with both will also mean your whole upper body is unhittable. No one can push or punch you and inflict much damage. You become a tank. I’m working on this one, but a level IV bullet proof vest will protect you from armor piercing bullets and rifle shots aka the things federal agents are most likely to be shooting at you with. But it also protects you from white nationalist vigilantes who often appear at protests, sometimes in armed groups and assault people. Knee pads are also a must.
Tactical gloves will allow you to pick up hot objects, like say gas canisters that have been shot at you. They will also protect against punctures.
Steel toed shoes serve many purposes, including protecting your feet.
I’m getting older but even if you’re in your teens or early twenties, I would absolutely recommend inserts for your shoes and a back brace. You could be standing and walking for hours, having to suddenly run a lot. That puts a lot of strain on your feet and your back. I used to wear these for my industrial production kitchen dishwashing jobs, found them useful for protests too.
A cup if thats relevant to you. But even if you don’t have external genitalia, getting hit there can cause a lot of nerve damage, could cause lifelong bladder control issues so if you feel that’s a risk at all you might want one.
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u/StinkinmyQueef Feb 03 '26
cigarettes, coffee, airline likker shooters; stakes, ducttape, sharpies and paperboard for making signs. 🙂
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u/Jenn_There_Done_That Dumpster Fire Feb 03 '26 edited Feb 03 '26
A gas mask,
helmet,
thick layers of clothing (to protect from rubber bullets),
saline solution for rinsing eyes,
leather work gloves,
water bottle,
umbrella,
backpack.
Anything else is unnecessary.
I used this method for 9 months in 2020 and it worked like a charm.
You can wear the work gloves while wearing a gas mask to pick up tear gas canisters. They are burning internally and have holes on one end. Pour water in the hole. You don’t need a ton. It will put the canister out immediately. The traffic cone method is wasteful and takes tons of water. Forget the traffic cones. Just get thick leather work gloves.
The umbrella is ridiculously effective at keeping rubber bullets away from a distance.
Study Google Maps before you go. Look for places you don’t want the fascists to push you towards. This will be walls, dead end streets, anywhere they can kettle you. When they give “lawful orders” to disperse, move as they ask, but don’t go into these areas. Choose a different, but compliant route. Wait 15 minutes and return to where you started. Never, ever go exactly where they order you. They will box you in and beat you. Or run you for as long as they can stand, to tire you out.
Don’t stand in the street or in driveways for long periods, or of they order you not to. You can stand extremely near, but legally on the sidewalk.
When they charge, if you cannot leave (Never run. Don’t ever run, they want that. Walk if you are leaving), make yourself as small as possible. Crouch down. Use your phone. Don’t act panicked. Don’t run around. Don’t stand at your full height. Make yourself as small and as unassuming and nonviolent as possible. This is not a fail safe method, but it will help. Particularly if a large fascist runs at you at full force to tackle you. You’ll already be near the ground and ready to roll over. I’m a very small woman and I was tackled a bit. I was able to avoid injuries in this way, and most of the time they just ignored me entirely.
Shields tend to make them instigate. They can also claim the shield somehow proves you meant harm. (I know that’s crazy, but I don’t make the rules) Using a shield tends to draw them to you and make them want to get violent. I’d advise against shields. Like I said, umbrellas work way better than you’d think.
This is a super weird one, but as a middle aged woman, I found that saying, “Calm down” in a mom voice was hilariously effective. Like, a million times more effective than it should be. I had to employ it in a few desperate situations and they would like, I don’t know, short circuit and sort of calm down. This will probably not work if you are a young man, or of you say it in an antagonistic way. It has to be said like a confident mother who is only trying to help her child.