Why do protesters get arrested

Law enforcement officers may also break up any violent protests and can arrest protesters who are engaging in violence or property destruction. What happens after you have been arrested for protesting? If you are arrested at a protest, you will be searched and transported to a local police station for processing. There you will be fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. At that point, you can either decide to post your bail or remain in custody until your court hearing, during which your bail amount may be adjusted.

Your first court appearance is known as an arraignment and is expected to occur within 48 hours of your arrest. During your arraignment, you are informed of the charges that have been filed against you and you are asked to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. In fact, it's not uncommon for law enforcement to make mass arrests at large protests, even when they know criminal charges won't hold up.

But whether you've actually committed a crime or not, you continue to have important constitutional rights, including the right to have a lawyer present when you're being questioned. Many civil rights advocates suggest that you have a lawyer's phone number with you when you go to a protest maybe even written on your arm , so you have someone to call when you're allowed a phone call after an arrest.

Learn more about your rights when detained or arrested at a protest. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service.

Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Market Your Law Firm. Lawyer Directory. Call us at 1 Learn about your constitutional rights when protesting, the limits on those rights, and when your actions could be illegal.

When a Protest Turns Violent or Dangerous The most significant limit on your right to protest is in the language of the First Amendment, which prohibits government interference with the right to assemble "peaceably. Violating Orders to Disperse Once police decide that a protest is violent or presents an immediate threat, they may declare that it's an unlawful assembly, issue an order to disperse, and arrest anyone who doesn't leave right away.

Violating Curfew or Other Emergency Orders You can be arrested for violating a curfew issued during ongoing protests. Blocking Traffic Generally, authorities may require advance permits for demonstrations that will block traffic on city streets or even sidewalks. Taking Videos or Pictures of the Police As part of your First Amendment rights, you're generally entitled to take videos and photos of the police when they're performing their duties in public.

Trespassing and "Buffer Zones" You may be arrested for trespassing if you're protesting on some types of government property including military installations, prisons, and courthouses or on private property without the owner's permission.

No big deal. But for Sandidge, one of thousands of people arrested in recent days at protests around the country over systemic racism, police brutality and the killing of George Floyd, there have been significant lingering effects. He and his friend were on their way to a protest in downtown Indianapolis in early June, right around curfew, when police officers told them to stop walking.

Instead, terrified, they ran. Sandidge was caught and arrested for violating curfew and for resisting arrest by flight. He was held for more than 24 hours, during which he missed the orientation for his new job.

Instead, they kept them as evidence and sent them to the property room. It took about a week for him to finally get his things back. I feel like they purposely targeted my future. Nationwide, police have arrested more than 10, people at protests over systemic racism and police brutality in recent days, according to a tally by the Associated Press, often for curfew violations and failing to disperse.

More than reports of journalists being attacked by police have been recorded since 28 May. On 2 June, six police officers in Atlanta, Georgia, were charged with excessive force during an arrest of two college students on 30 May. A staggering 12, complaints against police in Seattle, Washington, were made over the weekend of 30 May in response to excessive force at protests. In New York City, videos surfaced of NYPD officers pointing a gun at protesters, driving an SUV into a crowd of protesters, swiping a protester with a car door, an officer flashing a white supremacy symbol, and another officer shoving a woman to the ground, which left her hospitalized.

Several protesters and bystanders around the US have been left hospitalized from rubber bullet wounds , bean bags , teargas canisters and batons , while police have reportedly torn down medical tents and destroyed water bottles meant for protesters. Though there were no protests occurring at the time, Rojas had decided to clean up fragments of rubber bullets, teargas and frag canisters on the public sidewalk in his neighborhood when six police officers confronted him and arrested him.

They put me in a squad car and arrested me for rioting at