This past Monday, the White House dropped yet another executive order, and this one includes a directive to the Department of Justice to defend and support local police who face liabilities on the job. That “support” includes financially backing law enforcement agencies and officers accused of misconduct.

If you’re feeling particularly strong-stomached today, go ahead and read the whole executive order, which is earnestly titled “Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens.”

While there’s a lot to be worried about in the executive order regarding the administration’s ardent and growing pursuit to arrest and deport “alien criminals,” the section I chose to zoom in on is how the federal backing of local police could further endanger the lives of protesters. As powerful waves of anti-Trump organizing continue all over the country — including protests planned for tomorrow — the nuance here is frighteningly timely. And the most vulnerable are organizers of color, particularly Black Americans.

“American law enforcement agencies have long played a role in suppressing racial justice movements,” Jamilah King writes in a 2021 piece about how Black organizers have had to develop security plans after seeing how biased (and sometimes unhinged) police are during protests. And while this suppression of organizing has always been the play, the dangerous dynamics between local police and Black and brown protesters became even more apparent during the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.

During the summer of 2020’s surge of Black Lives Matter protests, Amnesty International documented 125 incidents of police violence against protesters across the country in an interactive map that’s both telling and disturbing. Last summer, Chicago police outnumbered and “brutalized” Gaza demonstrators — arresting 59 of them, including 4 journalists. Also last year, a professor at Southern Illinois University was assaulted by police while protesting at a Pro-Palestine rally on campus.

The police are more likely to make unjustified arrests during racial justice protests. Data from 2020 compiled by the Thurgood Marshall Institute shows that police “used projectiles and chemical weapons at 19.4% of racial justice protests compared to just 2.4% of non-racial justice protests,” and they’re more likely to use said chemical weapons in predominantly Black neighborhoods.

As we approach the May Day rallies, the Trump administration’s desire to further embolden law enforcement resonates in a terrifying way. Section 2 of the executive order, which discusses the legal defense of law enforcement officers, asks the attorney general to take action to provide (pro-bono, if necessary) legal resources to indemnify police “who unjustly incur expenses and liabilities for actions taken during the performance of their official duties to enforce the law.”

Just a reminder: Police officers already enjoy multiple layers of protection (qualified immunity, specifically) that act as teflon against misconduct allegations. Trump’s executive order is remarkable because it reinforces a profoundly broken justice system that makes accountability for bad cops even less attainable.

While the order does not specifically target law enforcement at protests, it will likely have a massive impact on the safety calculus for protesters.

“Some of the most high-profile lawsuits against police officers occurred during the Black Lives Matter protests,” Newsweek notes in a recent piece about this week’s executive order. At the core of this executive order is the attempt to help police evade accountability for using excessive force or imposing other types of violence. If protesters — and police — are aware that officers can use violence with little fear of consequences, it will likely have a powerful chilling effect on the right to public protest.

Protesting has always been and will always be a powerful means to protect our and our loved ones’ rights, so now is the time to stay informed about how to do so as safely as possible.

If you’re gearing up to hit the streets tomorrow, here is some essential reading on what you should know, according to the ACLU as well as some useful research my colleagues at HuffPost have done over the last couple of years.

• On Organizing or Attending a Protest: A comprehensive list of tips that outlines your rights.
• When Filming The Police: It’s your right to document something unjust that could be denied in court later without proof. Here’s what you should know about whipping out your phone and pressing record.
  
  
• If You’re Stopped By The Police: Here’s what an officer can legally require of you — and what they can’t.
  
  
• How to Dress and What to Bring: Seasoned organizers know exactly what to do, but if you’re a newbie, this is a solid logistical guide.