In talking with leaders of other peace organizations, it has come to our attention that in the last two years there have been a number of incidents in different cities where peace demonstrators have been violently physically attacked by counter-protesters. Over time a pattern has emerged.
Frequently there are one or more large male counter-protesters who confront or try to rush the demo but are blocked by a team of peace monitors who calmly form a line in front of the counter protesters. Following loud shouting and accusations from the counter protesters, one or more counter protesters will push or physically strike a peace monitor or other person who was simply standing there, causing injury, in some cases serious enough to need medical attention or hospitalization. There may be one or more such attacks at a single event. When the police arrive, no arrest is made because the counter protesters will claim that they were the victims of an attack by the peace protesters, and the counter protesters will lie outright. This produces a "he said, he said" situation which the police cannot tell who to believe. Attempts by peace activists to video tape confrontations have resulted in counter protesters charging forward and grabbing the cameras or phones. With no video evidence, the police do nothing. In some cases, online searches have found that the counter-protesters have a history of such violence, and getting away with it due to a lack of hard evidence. Some operate as groups, others as lone wolves.
As the US war on the world continues to escalate, we can expect tensions in the US to rise accordingly, and violent incidents may rise with it. The US is building alliances not only in Europe but also in Asia, where NATO is now preparing to militarily confront China. Between US racism and "human rights imperialism," we can expect rhetoric, passions, and tensions to escalate sharply in the next two years, and possible violent incidents to escalate with them.
Therefore, we suggest the following change in tactics for all our peace organizations: In addition to peace monitors as the movement has been using for decades, we should also have people assigned at future demonstrations to be video recorders. These Peace Recorders should always record any confrontations completely from beginning to end, and carefully stand at a safe distance - at least twenty feet or more - from any scene of confrontation. They must guard against having one or more counter-protesters rush them and seize their phone or camera, including retreating if necessary, putting their phone or camera away, retreating behind other peace protesters, or any other peaceful measures necessary to preserve their video evidence. We should make this a standard procedure at all future events. Traditionally, peace monitors have often had non-violence training, and it might be good to develop training and practice for Peace Recorders as well.