This is your regular reminder that cops lie, and charges are often trumped up. News reports usually parrot these lies as if they are fact.
@erin pulling people in on fake charges are useful to the police because:
1) it gets you out of the street for that night
2) they can try to force you to accept unconstitutional release conditions like not attending protests for some length of time
3) they can collect your info (picture, fingerprints, name, possibly DNA)
4) they can try to frighten new protesters with scary felony charges that would never stick and try to get them to talk (interview) or flip and become an informant.
@erin the important thing to remember is that if you're arrested:
Shut. The fuck up.
Don't say anything at all and demand to speak to a lawyer.
The charges are almost always made up and are created to do one of the things listed above and will blow over with time.
But the only word you know in jail is LAWYER. Like a Pokémon. Practice it now.
@old_angry_queer @erin "Like a Pokemon" is very good! In such stressful and terrifying situations it can be very important to have a memorable image to use to stick to your guns. A funny one to relieve stress is even better!