What you should be afraid of in DC:

While there’s risk to anything in the activism world, it’s easier to protest now than hide your neighbors in an attic later.

Unless things take an unexpected turn, DC is a well-planned, well-run, very international city beloved by the people who live there. As you may have heard recently, it is actually an incredibly safe city for its size, especially downtown, and what you are coming to do is the most American thing that can be done. You are utilizing the very cornerstone of democracy - the idea that your elected officials work for you. As for the atmosphere of Congress and their offices, think of Capitol Hill as a wealthy area of any town. The people there are generally quiet and things are orderly.

DC police vs. Capitol police:

The DC metro police force is both a normal urban force and are also used to dealing with more protests than any other American city. You won’t see many twitchy-hero-types because they’ve seen it all before. DC is also a heavily Democratic city which is reflected in the general public service sector.

As for the Capitol police, this is who you will likely encounter when you visit the offices of Congress. They are unique in their connection to January 6, 2020, and they did not forget. Trump pardoned people in 2025 that killed some of their friends and coworkers that day, and they appear to LOATHE this regime. They are usually glad to see people doing what you’ll be doing and are often eager to be helpful. You won’t tend to find ICE-like goons anywhere near the Capitol.

What if I’m attending a protest event?

Of course we are all worried about overreach, but the reality is that unless you are attacking someone aggressively, they will likely not be attacking you. If any of you are first-time activists, you will learn that if something is about to be spicy, you see it coming. Either a crowd or the police will become paranoid and agitated before something goes wrong. Even in the worst actions of law enforcement (like recently in LA), the bad actors were mostly telegraphing ahead of time that they were there to cause trouble - and the people that wanted to had a chance to clear out. Subtlety is not a strong suit of fascists.

You biggest enemy is far more likely to be social anxiety than any external troublemakers, and we have tools to help with that too!