If police approach your gathering

A Peace Mob is a peaceful, silent, free gathering in public space — about as low-risk as a public gathering gets. But it still helps to have a calm, repeatable response ready. Public gatherings sometimes draw official attention even when nothing is wrong, and a steady response keeps a non-problem from becoming one.

The mindset

Calm, polite, brief, cooperative. You have nothing to hide — you're a group of people sitting quietly. The goal is to de-escalate and keep everyone safe, not to win an argument or make a point.

What to say

Lead with what you are:

"Hi officer. We're a peaceful, silent gathering — people sitting quietly together for a few minutes. It's free and open to anyone. Is there a problem we can help with?"

If they ask what it is or who's in charge:

"I organized it. It's a Peace Mob — a quiet, public gathering. We'll be here about an hour and we'll clean up after ourselves."

If you're at a partner venue or have a permit:

"We're here with [community center / library / house of worship], and they're aware of the gathering." (Or: "We have a permit — here it is.")

If they ask you to move or wrap up:

"No problem, officer. We'll [relocate / wrap up] now."

Then actually do it, calmly. A Peace Mob is not worth a confrontation.

Do

Stay polite and calm. Tone matters more than words.
Keep it short. You don't need to explain the philosophy.
Cooperate with reasonable requests (move along, lower noise, clear a path).
Ask clarifying questions if you're unsure: "Are you asking us to leave, or just to move over here?"
You may ask "Am I free to go?" or "Are we being detained?" if it's unclear whether you're free to leave.
You can record in public, openly, as long as you don't interfere. If you do, keep it low-key and non-confrontational.
Protect the group. If you're asked to disperse, help people leave calmly.

Don't

Don't argue, lecture, or escalate. Being right is not the goal.
Don't lie to an officer.
Don't physically resist or obstruct, even if you believe a request is unfair. Comply now; raise concerns later through the right channels.
Don't volunteer consent to searches of bags or belongings — you can simply say "I don't consent to a search," calmly, once.
Don't make the gathering a standoff. Relocating or ending early is always better than a confrontation.

After

Make sure everyone's safe and the space is clean.
Report what happened to us through our contact form — date, city, what was asked, how it resolved. This helps us improve guidance and spot patterns.

This is general, calm-down guidance — not legal advice — and your rights and obligations vary by jurisdiction. Back to the host guide.