Riverside, CA: Reflection and Report Back on Event Security

The following post details a critique and reflection on how local organizers in Riverside, California dealt with potential threats of disruption from the far-Right towards a community education event. What follows is a post-event reflection from the organizers. 

This intention of this post is to address the issue of security at high risk events, especially ones that are in direct opposition to white supremacist organizing. Several members of the sponsoring org raised concerns about the likelihood that the building would be targeted during and after this event. These issues are always taken seriously and we should not put others in danger without discussion and precaution. We talked about several different tactics for enhancing security for the event. We mentioned inviting specific local groups to act as security the night of. We talked about vetting people before entry, giving pat downs or screening for problematic clothing logos, for example.

Nothing short of changing the venue seemed to quell the fears of the org that was hosting us. We settled on a new location and decided to give people the new address at the door of the old location. We figured that if any problematic individuals showed up that they would show some sort of sign of anxiety that would give away their intentions. We waited a half hour past the original meeting time to start the presentation in order to allow folks to find us and settle in. We ran through the entire presentation unhindered and without issue.

Not one person tried to disrupt or derail the talk. But we still noticed a big problem. Many of the people who assured us that they would come, didn’t show up. It didn’t take much effort to imagine why either. The new location was a nearby University where free public parking is limited, and only students know how to find specific rooms. This presents a huge problem for anyone who can’t shell out ten dollars for parking or who would get lost. This problem is magnified for anyone who doesn’t speak English. In short, even though the event went smoothly we don’t know for sure that our specific actions made us any safer.

When weighed with the clear downside of poor attendance, we all agree that it wasn’t worth it to change venues. This event was supposed to be accessible, but we failed in that regard. Now that we know this approach was counterproductive, we won’t be taking this route again. The consensus was that if we’re going to be at risk in one place, we’ll also be at risk in other places so why bother moving. Our plan now is to implement the security procedures mentioned above, as well as other tactics that won’t be discussed in detail in this posting. Moving forward we should make it our priority to make these events as easy to attend as possible. If anything, please use our experience here to guide your organizing efforts so you don’t make the same mistakes. We can be both safe and accessible, these two ideas are not mutually exclusive.