Recipe 1

From the Thermate recipe in Arson Around With Auntie ALF: “Thermate is similar to commercial thermite, used in welding, except that it also contains an oxidizer, making it easier to ignite. Thermate will readily burn paper, rags, excelsior, straw, and other tinder type materials. However, its main use in sabotage operations is against motors, gears, lathes, or other metal targets – to weld moving parts together, warp precision machined surfaces, and so on. Since it burns with a brief, almost explosive action, it is not recommended for burning wooden structures or other materials where persistent heat is required.”

Recipe 2

From Weekend Science Projects

Thermite is an incendiary reaction that can burn as hot as 2500°C or more. That means that if you lit a pound of thermite on top of your car it would melt through your hood, through your engine, through your driveway, and make a hole in the ground. Thermite is a reaction between a metal (aluminum, magnesium) and a metal oxide (iron oxide, copper oxide, manganese oxide…) this reaction has a high ignition temperature, but once its ignited it supplies it’s own oxygen. This allows for some interesting applications, for example thermite is still used today for underwater welding.

Safety Precautions

Before you get started, you must realize that what you are about to do is a dangerous and energetic reaction that should only be performed with the utmost care. Besides its ridiculously high temperature, thermite also emits UV radiation that can do permanent damage to your eyes and if you don’t want to wear a welding mask, at least put on a pair of good quality sun glasses. Also, metals with a low melting point (zinc, lead) will vaporize and explode if near the thermite reaction.

Supplies

There are many kinds of thermite, but the most common uses iron oxide and aluminum powder, both of which can be made at home (see my instructions for How to Make Iron Oxide and How to Make Aluminum Powder). You also need a way to ignite the thermite. Most people use magnesium ribbon, but I haven’t had much luck with that and usually use potassium permanganate and glycerine. Potassium permanganate is a filter cleaner and a dye sold at hardware stores.

Glycerine is a skin care produce and can be found at any drug store like CVS. When mixed they spurt flames like my mother’s cooking. Additional things that you might want include a flowerpot to contain the mixture while it’s burning, bricks to hold it up, and something to melt. If you don’t have anything to destroy, at the very least just put some sand under it to keep it from ruining your driveway. What ever you do, don’t use water to catch the drops. Water will instantly vaporize, explode, and spray you with molten iron- generally something to avoid. If you’re interested, this is an example of what happens when you have even the slightest amount of moisture.

1. By weight the ratio of iron oxide to aluminum powder is 8-3. Both should be powdered as fine as possible as this will make it burn hotter and ignite easier. Measure them out, and mix as thoroughly as possible- this will make it burn faster and hotter and is well worth your time.

2. Pour the thermite into your container. Flower pots are most commonly used, but almost anything will work. Flower pots are used because clay is one of the only materials that will still be there after hell has reigned. If you do use a flower pot, you should consider using two. The second pot will contain the shards of the first and reduce the risk of it breaking halfway through. The only thing that I would advise against is glass as it might shatter before it melts.

3. If you’re using magnesium, stick it in, fray the top to make it easier to light, and light it. If you’re using potassium permanganate, then pour it in, mix it in a little bit with the thermite, and add the glycerine. Rule of thumb is two to three parts glycerine to one part potassium permanganate. It usually helps to stir the ingredients after you add the glycerine. If it still won’t light, adding powdered magnesium or powder rubbed off of a sparkler makes it easier to ignite. Whatever you do, stand way back.

4. If it lights, then yell, cheer, and behold the awesome power of thermite. If it doesn’t light, then re-evaluate and try something different.

Recipe 3

From Skylighter

What is Thermite?

Thermite is a pyrotechnic composition usually consisting of metal powder and a metal oxide. It is not usually explosive, but it does create extremely high temperatures in a very small area for a short period of time. For instance, aluminum/iron-oxide thermite temperatures are as high as 4500 degrees F.

Thermite is used for welding, metal cutting or boring, field-expedient metal repairs, science demonstrations, high temperature ignition, disabling military equipment (including artillery, document files, and hard drives), and other applications.

Making Thermite Using Red Iron Oxide

Having the correct balance of fuel and oxidizer is key to having a stable burn in a thermite reaction. The thermite recipe for red iron oxide and aluminum is 3 parts iron oxide red to 1 part aluminum fuel. In pyrotechnic compositions the finer the ingredients and more well mixed they are, generally the easier it is to ignite, and the faster the reaction will progress.

So our goals in selecting thermite ingredients are ease of ignition and a stable, non-explosive burn.

For this example, we are using Skylighter’s -325 mesh red iron oxide and Skylighter’s -325 mesh bright aluminum, which has an average particle size of 45 microns.

Thermite#1 Mixture

Ingredient	Parts by Wt.	Parts by %
Red iron oxide -325 mesh	3	75
Aluminum flake -325 mesh	1	25
Total		100%

To make a 4 ounce batch of thermite, first weigh out 3 ounces of red iron oxide. Then weigh out 1 ounce of aluminum powder. Dump them into a plastic tub, and put the top on. Shake them until the color is consistent throughout.

Then pass the mix through a 20-mesh or finer screen. If there are any clumps break them up with your fingers. Screen the mix two more times, or more, until you have a uniformly colored powder.

Note: Using a 40-mesh or finer screen will make the mix much easier to ignite.

This can be a dusty process, so be sure and do it an area where the aluminum dust will not cause a problem. Do not try this where air is moving. The better you mix the ingredient, the faster and hotter the reaction will be. Thermite needs a very high temperature to ignite it.

Your thermite kit comes with 6 gold sparklers. The iron in them burns at around 1800 degrees F.

Here’s how to use sparklers to ignite your thermite. Place your thermite mix in a plastic tub. Make a hole near the bottom on the side of the tub big enough for a sparkler to go through.

Push 1 to 2 of inches of the sparkler through the hole in the side of the tub into the mix inside. Leave at least 2-3 inches of your sparkler sticking out. Place the plastic tub on a metal surface that want to burn through. Light the sparkler, and get back 40 or 50 feet.

WARNING: Do NOT attempt to ignite your thermite by dipping your sparkler into the mix by hand. The mix can and does ignite violently, and will spray you with burning metal.

WARNING: A violent ignition of thermite can throw molten metal in all directions. Do not stand close to the mix when it is igniting or burning.

TIP: If you have trouble igniting your thermite with a sparkler, try mixing some magnesium powder or chips into a small amount of thermite mix. Then you should be able to ignite the magnesium mix using your sparkler.

WARNING: Thermite burns extremely hot and produces molten iron slag that can melt though a car’s engine block! Burning thermite can spatter molten iron a long way from the burning pile. Stay as far back as you can. And make sure there is nothing nearby that can catch fire. Start your thermite experiments with small amounts at first, until you understand how it behaves, and how far it will throw molten metal slag.

WARNING: You cannot extinguish a thermite fire with water. Do not attempt to put the fire out with water, or you may have a violent, steam explosion, which can throw molten slag as well. Likewise, do not use any wet materials to attempt to extinguish the fire.

(Technical details are in bold.)

Early in the morning of April 20th we poured concrete on the train tracks that lead out of the Port of Olympia to block any trains from using the tracks. We took precautions to notify BNSF (the train company) – we called them and we used wires to send a signal that the tracks were blocked. We did this not to avoid damaging a train, nothing would bring bigger grins to our faces, but to avoid the risk of injuring railway workers.

This action was done to disrupt the movement of trains carrying proppants used in natural gas fracturing. These train tracks are part of a system of pipelines, fracking wells, mines, clearcuts, control centers, fiberoptics, dams, highways and factories that cover the planet and are physical manifestations of a process that is destroying the ecosystems, cultures, and inhabitants everywhere. Behind this network of infrastructure there are politicians, CEOs and bureaucrats who have private security, cops, prison guards, non-profit directors, PR consultants and the legacy of 500 years of colonization to back them up. We oppose all of these manifestations, infrastructural, personal and ideological. We blocked the train tracks because we want to blockade the entire web of domination that is slowly killing us.

We were inspired to take this action by acts of resistance taking place across turtle island and the world, particularly the fierce indigenous resistance of water protectors against the Dakota Access Pipe Line, the encampment blocking a train full of fracking material on these same tracks in Olympia this past November, and the clandestine attacks against pipelines in Florida, South Dakota and Iowa.

We also were emboldened by the spirit of all those who have risen against the white supremacist police in Ferguson, Baltimore, Oakland and elsewhere, as well as by the riotous opposition that has characterized the first few months of Donald Trump’s reign.

Resistance to this many-tendriled death machine has and must take many forms. Some have set their goals narrow and try just to stop the port from shipping proppants. We are aiming beyond, for a liberation that destroys all vestiges of oppression and colonization leaving us free to experiment with ways of living in cooperation on our own terms. We want to unlearn the legacies of domination that we have inherited. We need a diverse and vibrant resistance composed of more forms of destruction, mutual aid and solidarity than we can yet imagine.

This action and actions like it are quite easy to do yourself. This only took a few hours and a little bit of planning. The hardest part was calming our nerves. Particularly easy was placing wire on the tracks to send a signal to the train company that the tracks were blocked. This action can and has been easily repeated wherever train tracks are. For more info on how to do this check out this explanatory video.

Concrete on the tracks is just a start
Rest in Power James Marker!
Free Red Fawn!

-some anarchists

From Puget Sound Anarchists

PDF French

1. Notes on security

The devices described here can leave traces, all the more so if they don’t ignite. Thus, all manipulations need to be done in a clean environment, with a pair of one-use rubber gloves, while covering your mouth and hair, using a clean garbage bag spread out as a work space, and while wearing a k-way type tracksuit (where hair of any sort won’t cling to it). The device can be stored in a garbage bag or a freezer bag before removing your gloves, to transport it. If the material is bought, don’t buy everything at the same place and paying in cash could be a good idea. Lastly, in the case of a raid, it’s better to be rid of the material and packaging before use.

Lastly, do several tests before using it for real, to be sure that the brands of different materials work well together and to avoid bad surprises!

2. With magic candles

Ingredients:

• fire-starter
• magic birthday candles (that re-light)

With the support of the candle or with a clean knife, make a hole corresponding to the diameter of the candle in the fire-starter, and stick the candle in it such that it doesn’t move.

After lighting it, you must in general wait around twenty seconds before the interior filaments are lit and that they will re-light if they extinguish.

Small sparks are given off by candle once it is lit. This device is very simple to make, but it is bright and thus easy to notice, by a passerby for instance.

You can count on 5/6 minutes of delay, before the fire-starter cube lights in turn and sets the rest of the incendiary device alight.

3. With anti-mosquito spirals/incense stick

Ingredients:

• fire-starter in individual packaging with easy lighting
• 5/6 matches
• cellophane
• small elastics
• a stick of incense, or a 4/5 cm piece of anti-mosquito spiral

With a knife, remove the sulfur from the matches while avoiding adding wood shavings, and reduce it to a powder (by wrapping it in paper and crushing it with a knife handle, for example).

Put the sulfur in the middle of a square of cellophane and form a tight ball, by twisting the cellophane well. Fix this ball well to the incense stick or the anti-mosquito spiral with an elastic, ensuring that the ball is well stuck, and that the ball isn’t surrounded by elastic all the way until the end (illustration below) – it’s necessary that the ember of the spiral is first in contact with the sulfur, otherwise there is a risk that the device will come undone before igniting.

With another elastic, fix this construction onto the fire-starter, sulfur in contact with the fire-starter.

This device allows an adequately long delay, depending on the length of the spiral/incense before the sulfur: one could do tests to evaluate the time that is obtained. It is also more discreet: there is not a flame before the trigger, but just a small ember and a thin trail of smoke. But it is also more complex and can thus necessitate testing it multiple times before using it, with perhaps different brands for the incense, cellophane and/or matches, and with the amount of manipulations, it’s very important to pay attention to not leave a trace. After lighting it, do not blow on it to extinguish the flame, but shake the device!

[Notes from Warrior Up:
– You can use multiple delays per incendiary device, so that if one fails the rest of the incendiary device still has a chance to ignite.
– In our experience the anti-mosquito spiral is more reliable than incense.
– An alternative configuration that involves less manipulation is using matches covered in camping fire-paste to light the fire-starter, rather than the sulfur cellophane ball. In a match-book, two rows of matches are attached by a staple. You can use one row of these matches to wrap around the spiral, and if there is enough contact the ember of the spiral will light the matches. However, adding fire-paste to the match-heads and the fire-starter ensures this better. In addition, fire-paste between the fire-starter and the plastic bottles of accelerant (see point below) will cut down the time the lit fire-starter takes to pierce the plastic and ignite the accelerant (from over a minute to a few seconds).
– Tape vs. elastics: tape is more likely to pick up DNA evidence during construction, so should be handled very carefully, but it allows a sturdier construction that is less likely to be displaced during transport. Thin strips of duct-tape work well.
– Recommendations for the rest of the incendiary device: two plastic 1.5 L pop-bottles, taped together so that when lying down they form a valley between them. Fill with a mixture of 3/4 gasoline and 1/4 motor oil. To prevent leakage, fill the containers only 3⁄4 full, leaving the top quarter as air space for vapors to collect. If the delay/igniter devices described above are taped into the valley the bottles make together, gravity will bring the lit device down into the accelerant even if the tape is burned. If you were to tape the delay/igniter device to a single bottle, it’s possible that once the fire-starter is lit it would burn through the tape before the plastic bottle, and come undone before the device could ignite. ]

Translated from Attaque

(Technical details are in bold.)

As you reach to the top of the hill there’s the Great Bear right above your head. And then, below, you see the lights of Issoire, which make war on the stars in the sky. And above all, above everything, there’s a repeater next to you, which reminds you that you didn’t come to recite poetry. Light up the fire…

In the early hours of 22^nd August we set fire up there on the hill. In Moidias, two repeaters that serve the telephone line from Issore to Brioude and the broadcasting of many radio frequencies went up in flames. As we couldn’t turn off the city lights, at least we switched off the smartphones .

Because this world is too narrow, it aims at the normalization, control, sterilization and digitalization of any individuality. Because we wanted to give ourselves a breath of air, feel alive rather than suffocate. True, this desire for destruction could have been satisfied with an attack on Red Cross premises, a breeding farm or a migrant detention centre. We attack so as not to be yet another architect of power’s structures. We attack for immediate pleasure and not for a hypothetical radiant future.

As pointed out in other claims, technology – which keeps us immobile and colonizes our imagination – is one of the pillars of civilization. If we agree with this, we cannot be satisfied with a mere exchange of ideas. So we looked for sensitive points on which to act. By burning repeaters, we not only aim at inflicting the greatest damage on the promoters of technological prosthesis. It’s a way of communicating, interacting, sabotaging civilization. So as to break the routine of honest citizens, workers, consumers, all the people – rich or poor, young or old, super-connected or techno-sceptical – who contribute to the development of deep-flow civilization, where we continuously send out information, argue via internet and fuck via SMS. So that those who depend on screens and headphones are immersed in the anguished silence of failed communication, and they are precisely those who are building and perpetrating this kind of relation with the world, thus guaranteeing the fact the latter runs no risks.

But this attack also comes from the will to question the relation we have with the technological mediation of the living (human and non-human) and the digitalization of the existent. It allows us to criticize in deed the construction of all the rules (sexist, racist, homophobic, specist…) spread over by the incessant flow of images and information and which have almost crushed our individualities.

If we add the fact that many comrades are hit by repressive proceedings where, also thanks to the collaboration of phone operators,  the means of communication become instruments to capture those who revolt, here are quite a few reasons to barbecue repeaters. Quite a few reasons none of which contemplate the perspective of opening a crack in normality so that revolution occurs. If this hope embraced us in the past, it is now dead in our hearts.

We wanted this attack to resonate with the string of other barbecues (of repeaters, vehicles and premises of Enedis [a branch of Electricité de France, the national electricity network]…), that took place in the summer of 2017 about which we share many of the criticisms and proposals. In this respect we have asked ourselves what we should do so as not to fall into a dynamic of competition. How be inspired by others’ actions without this becoming a challenge to see who does the biggest one (repeater)?

This is what led us to analyse, plan and carry out this attack. What took us days was the definition of the practical aspects of the plan (how to start a fire without getting burned, for example), but also the sharing of what was at stake, the specificities, desires and limits of each individual who took part in it. We put ourselves at stake and found the means for our desires, even if it was hard physically and emotionally. The beauty of the process through which we tried to unite the violence of the intent with the benevolence of attention, gives us as much satisfaction as that of having succeeded in destroying those repeaters. We are not soldiers, it is in moments like these that our individualities become real, encounter one another and discuss with one another. That we make our own synthesis between theory and practice. That we organize ourselves to destroy the relations of power, attack the dominations that shape us and which we reproduce just like they structure the world.

We destroyed the repeaters by forcing the doors or fences that protected them and placing incendiary devices on different parts of the cables. The devices were simple one and a half litre plastic bottles filled with petrol, on to which a good piece of firelighter was attached with wire.

We won’t end this communique without first expressing our solidarity with Krem and Kara and with those who attack the world and don’t forget they themselves could be part of its mechanisms.

B.A.R.J.O. – Barbecue d’Antennes Relais Joliment Osé

[Nicely Dared Barbecue of Repeaters]

From Attaque via Act for freedom now

(Technical details are in bold.)

line 9 shut off & line 7 valve tampered with in hamilton, on

our hearts were bursting with love and cheer after hearing of the many times our friends have courageously shut down pipelines in recent months.

so in the early hours of january 25,2016 we found our own courage and took action against enbridge and their line 9. slipping in to a valve station located on traditional Haudenosaunee Territory (in hamilton, ontario) we successfully operated an electronic valve to shut off the flow of tarsands crude in line 9. a line 7 valve, also an enbridge tarsands pipeline, was also tampered with and closed part way. we then disappeared back into the night.

we took this action to stand in unity with all those who have defended the land before us, and for those who decide to take action after us. we take it to fight against an industry that puts us at risk every day and subjects frontline communities to violence upon their bodies, communities and cultures – for profit.

we believe that’s worth fighting against; that those people and communities are worth fighting for.

so call us what you will, but we only do what is both necessary and right. our actions hurt none, but a lack of action hurts everyone.
may we all find the courage to actively resist & destroy exploitative capitalist industrial projects.

fuck enbridge
fuck the tarsands
and fuck all pipelines.

ps. for those curious to follow in our stead – enbridge thinks they’re being all smart by putting on large gold security chains (which can’t be cut with bolt cutters) and lockboxes on the gates. bypass these by cutting the fence itself. then all you need are some garden shears (to cut the very, very secure zip tie protecting the electrical panel), your wits and an exit plan.

(Technical details are in bold.)

What better way to start a new year than by shutting down some fucking oil pipelines?

Sometime in the night of January 3rd, 2016 individuals stole into the dark near so-called Cambridge and used a manual pipeline valve to restrict the flow of Enbridge’s Line 7. We then applied our own locking devices to delay response time.

Line 7 is another recently-expanded tarsands pipeline operated by Enbridge, running parallel to Line 9 & flowing 180,000 bpd of tarsands crude.

This action was undertaken to show our ever lasting love and support to the brave folks who’ve taken similar actions in the traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, Mohawk, and Anishinaabek people.

Further, we take action to counter the new narrative of the state; to swing back at the grossly inflated charges those in Sarnia received, and show that we will not be cowed.

We fight for the land and water; and we fight for our lives.

We will always fight back, whether it’s with the sun warming our faces, or the moonlight to guide us.

Join us.

No tarsands, no pipelines.

From MTL Counter-info

Excerpt from Canadian counter-insurgency publication

“Unlike electric energy transmission lines, crude oil and natural gas pipeline are relatively secure from harm once they are properly placed in the ground. Each pipeline, however, requires pump and compressor stations to push product through it. These above-ground stations are susceptible to damage and interference. Other supporting parts to the crude oil and natural gas system might also be vulnerable to interference and accidental damage, including crude oil refineries, natural gas processing plants and storage facilities for both products.”

Excerpt from Canadian counter-insurgency publication

“Unlike electric energy transmission lines, crude oil and natural gas pipeline are relatively secure from harm once they are properly placed in the ground. Each pipeline, however, requires pump and compressor stations to push product through it. These above-ground stations are susceptible to damage and interference. Other supporting parts to the crude oil and natural gas system might also be vulnerable to interference and accidental damage, including crude oil refineries, natural gas processing plants and storage facilities for both products.”

Excerpt from Canadian counter-insurgency publication

“A burning car on a railway track is not simply a blockade, it is also a very efficient and economical weapon. A car with a full fuel tank would burn at a temperature high enough to warp the track and require extensive repairs. An attack on isolated tracks in sparely settled countryside, for example, north of Lake Superior or west of Thunder Bay to the Manitoba border, would require the deployment by rail of special repair equipment. Once deployed, other attacks on the same line might trap that equipment in the wilderness. There is little doubt that one or two effective attacks, especially ones that derailed trains, would close CP and CN traffic simply because sensible train crews would refuse to travel on insecure railways surrounded by hostile forces.”

“Direct action, simply put, means cutting out the middleman: solving problems yourself rather than petitioning the authorities or relying on external institutions. Any action that sidesteps regulations and representation to accomplish goals directly is direct action—it includes everything from blockading airports to helping refugees escape to safety and organizing programs to liberate your community from reliance on capitalism.”

– A Step-by-Step Guide to Direct Action: What It Is, What It’s Good for, How It Works

We believe that the greatest barriers to participating in direct actions are social ones: finding comrades to build affinity groups takes time, patience, and trust (see How to Form an Affinity Group: The Essential Building Block of Anarchist Organization). This recipe assumes that you already have people who you can get mischievous with.

Before we had ever done a night-time direct action, we felt hesitant to begin. We had no one to teach us the basics, and feared making stupid, easily preventable mistakes. For that reason, we want to share several logistical tips that we feel may be helpful in carrying out these actions.

Legal disclaimer: All information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only, and does not condone or encourage any illegal activity.

1. The secret is to begin

First, you need to choose the target of your direct action and what tactic you will use. Although this could vary widely, for this recipe we’ll use the classic example of smashing out the windows of a gentrifying business in an urban neighbourhood.

Think about what the action will communicate to people you’ve never met – from possible accomplices to the most passive citizen. What possibilities might this communication open up? For example, the numerous smashings of luxury businesses in Hochelaga and St. Henri over the past years have communicated a resistance to gentrification, have spread signals of disorder (see Signals of Disorder: Sowing Anarchy in the Metropolis) that visibilize how anarchists are fighting back against social control, and in some cases, have contributed to such businesses having to close up shop.

There are introductions to ‘security culture’ available elsewhere (see What is Security Culture?), but here we’ll just say to do all of your planning in person, with people you trust, outside of houses and with no phones present (both being vulnerable to police surveillance).

When we started getting our hands dirty, we found it helpful to first get comfortable with less risky activities like graffiti or wheatpasting posters, practicing the same communication habits we would later apply in attacks. This helps us become acquainted and feel more comfortable with our ability to act in stressful conditions (encounters with police, evasion, etc.) and our relationships with each other.

2. Scouting

Scout the target ahead of time; look for the safest entrance route and exit route, prioritizing paths with fewer cameras (alleys, woods, bike-paths, train-tracks, residential areas). If you use bolt-cutters to cut a hole in a fence, will that open more possibilities? Have fun subverting the urban organization of space designed for social control to your purposes of social war.

Be discrete; don’t point at the cameras you want to smash, or walk in circles around the target. Decide where to position lookouts (if you think you need them), posted up smoking at bus stops that aren’t on camera, for instance. How will they be communicating with those doing the direct action: hand signals, inconspicuous shouts of random names to signify different situations, walkie-talkies, flashlights, burner phones (see Burner Phone Best Practices)?

It helps to know what the traffic patterns are like at the time you’ll be acting. How busy is foot traffic? Where is the closest police station, and what are the most patrolled streets? Doing the action on a rainy night at 3 am means there will be fewer witnesses, but also fewer people to blend in with afterwards when police might be combing the area, so sometimes closer to midnight will make more sense. Once you’ve gained confidence in nocturnal actions, maybe you’ll want to experiment with day-time actions that are more visible to passersby and thus harder for the authorities to invisibilize, like the looting of the yuppie grocery store in St. Henri last year. Leave at least a week or two between scouting your target and the action because that’s the average amount of time it takes for surveillance footage to be overwritten.

3. Fashion decisions! (and other prep)

Wear two layers of clothing; a casual layer for the action that includes a hood and hat, and a different layer underneath so that you don’t match any suspect descriptions. Blend in with the character of the area; it doesn’t make sense to dress like a punk in a yuppie neighbourhood, but it does make sense to be in flashy jogging gear if you’re going to be running down a bike-path. Baggy clothing can help to disguise body characteristics. A hat and hood will keep you relatively anonymous during your approach – most cameras are pointed from above, so your face will be mostly obscured when you’re looking down.

You can pull up a full mask for the last few blocks and the action itself (see Quick Tip: How to Mask Up). Depending on the terrain and where cameras are located, you may afford to wait until right before the action to mask up to avoid arousing suspicion preemptively.

Expect to be seen on camera during the action. Don’t get too paranoid about cameras in the surrounding area – a standard CCTV camera has poor resolution in the dark, if police even bother to get the footage before it’s overwritten automatically. All surfaces of any tools you’ll be using should be thoroughly wiped with rubbing alcohol ahead of time to remove fingerprints, and cotton gloves should be used during the action (leather and nylon will retain your fingerprints on the inside). Do not take your cell phone, or if you must, remove the battery; it geo-locates even when powered off.

Make a plan in case a good citizen intervenes, or starts following you to call the police. Dog-mace has worked wonders for us, but if that feels too intense as an immediate response, being verbally confronted by a masked group is enough to deter most people.

4. It’s witching hour

Once lookouts are in their locations and they give the agreed upon starting signal, take a final glance around, and go for it! For breaking the windows of a gentrifying business, bring enough rocks for several windows, aim for the bottom corners, and make sure you’re finished up within, say, thirty seconds of the first crashing glass pane. If you also want to put glue in the locks, paint-bomb the sign (see Paint bombs: light bulbs filled with paint), pull down the cameras (see the tips in Camover Montreal), write a graffiti message (in blocky ALLCAPS to hide hand-style particularities), or anything else that’s relatively quiet, do this before you make a kerfuffle breaking the windows, or plan for an extra friend to do it simultaneously.

Ditch everything including your top layer of clothing at the soonest appropriate place along your exit route – cops have lights that will reveal glass shards on clothing (more of a problem if you use hammers than rocks). Find creative hiding spots ahead of time to ditch anything you don’t want found, but as long as your materials and clothing are free of fingerprints it shouldn’t matter. The exception to this is arson tactics, where DNA forensics are more likely to be used, in which case you may want to take everything with you in a backpack and dispose of it farther away.¹

Ideally, even if you are detained by police on your way out, you’ll have nothing on you that they can use to connect you to the crime. Know your story of why you’re in the neighbourhood, or be ready to remain silent because if they find evidence to contradict your story, it can be used against you in court, while your silence can’t be held against you. When arrested in Quebec, you only have to give the police three pieces of information: your name, date of birth, and address (this may differ in other places; it may be useful to be knowledgeable of local laws before carrying out any illegal action).

Once you’re arrested, saying anything else will do more harm than good. After providing the above three pieces of information, you can repeat the following phrase: “I have nothing more to say. I want to speak to a lawyer”. (If things go south, check out How to Survive a Felony Trial: Keeping Your Head up through the Worst of It. In Montreal, get in touch with the Contempt of Court collective for help with legal representation.)

A typical police response (if there even is one – often times vandalism is only discovered the next morning) will involve police first going to the scene of the crime, maybe taking the time to ask possible witnesses if they saw anything, then driving around the surrounding streets looking for possible suspects. If you get out of the immediate area quickly, you’ll avoid all of this. Hiding can be a viable option if something goes awry and leaving as planned looks risky – backyards, corners of driveways, rooftops, bushes, etc. can all be helpful in waiting it out.

5. Sweet dreams!

Consider using a bike to get out of the area quickly – you can have it locked a short jog away. Bikes can be disguised with new handlebars and saddles, black hockey-tape on the frame, removing identifying features, or an all-black paint job.

It’s best to avoid using cars if possible – a license plate is far easier to identify than a hooded figure on a bike. But if you must because the location is too difficult to get to otherwise, be careful. You could park a bike-ride away in an area that’s not on camera. Be dressed totally normally when entering the car. Take back roads and know your way around. Don’t use cars that may be already known to police, in case they have been tagged with a GPS surveillance device, and don’t use a rental (in part why Roger Clement got caught for arsoning an RBC branch against the Vancouver Olympics).

Rest well knowing that you’ve fucked up a small part of this fucked up world.

Check out How to safely submit communiques if you want to claim the action! Also check out this How-to page for more direct action guides: blocking trains, shutting down pipelines, demonstrations, riots, and more!