Anonymous submission to North Shore

On Tuesday November 25, 2025 the London Police Services – in conjunction with several other police services – carried out four simultaneous pre-dawn raids on individuals throughout Ontario that they allege to have been part of resistance to “The Best Defense Conference” held in London, Ontario on October 21, 2025. The conference attracted participants and attendees from the canadian forces, arms manufacturers, and defense contractors – all of whom spent considerable time in the rain and hotel lobby when over 100 people took to shutting down the conference. Reports from the day outline that people successfully used a variety of tactics to disrupt – from blocking areas with their bodies and the creative use of paint to physically securing entrances with u-locks, destroying card readers, building barricades, and drilling sliding doors closed.

As of this writing, a total of six individuals have now been arrested and charged in relation to this disruption, some with their electronics and other items seized. London Police Detectives continue to try and harass or intimidate others into providing information with repeated calls and door knocks, inviting individuals to come in for an interview to “distance themselves from any criminal acts”.

As a gentle reminder, dear reader: DO NOT TALK TO COPS!

Not if they call you.

Not if they visit you.

Not if they email you.

Not even if they offer to wine and dine you.

There is zero legal requirement to answer your phone or door, or for anyone to speak with any police officer who is requesting that you do so. The only exception to this is if you have been told that you are under arrest. In that case, you only have to provide your name, date of birth, and address. If you are detained while operating a vehicle or bicycle, you need to provide your name and relevant documents.

In other words: don’t speak to the police, even just to deny that you were in attendance or state that you know nothing. And here’s why: Any halfway decent detective (or intuitive individual) can read a room. You say “no” instead of “no comment” or simply remaining quiet? That’s providing more information than they had before. Maybe your no is protective and worth digging into or pressing on. Maybe it’s a lie police can use later to apply pressure for you to inform. Whatever it is, it’s more information than they had before you came in. It may not be enough information to lay a charge right away, but a lead is a lead.

Don’t give them that lead.

Here is some other information that’s worth finding its way to comrades who shut shit down on October 21 – no matter what their individual participation looked like – or simply those interested in brushing up on some OpSec and current events.  Please share widely, self-assess any risk and exposure, and step together instead of apart.

1. If you get a phone call, related door knock, or are arrested, reach out to londonlegaldonation[at]gmail[dot]com to touch base with folks doing support.
2. London Police are still actively investigating. It’s not too late to implement security practices for yourself and others. Use encrypted chats like Signal for everyday communication instead of SMS, turn on disappearing messages & limit message history, encrypt your devices, delete sensitive data including browsing or location history, consider regularly leaving  your phone at home, and don’t talk about being present (or not present!) on October 21 with anyone. There are lots of online resources with other best practices for those interested.
3. Don’t spread unverified rumors or gossip. Don’t fear monger. Don’t speculate on who might have been where and done what. These can all be damaging to individuals and our movements.

 

Interview techniques detectives have used in this investigation include;

1. 1. Sowing division – trying to create or bring out a “good” versus “bad” protestor narrative. Don’t fall for it. This action appears to have been effective because of the combination of tactics used. Don’t turn on your comrades – we make each other stronger.
   2. Appearing empathetic and open – or ignorant – and inviting people to explain why they (or someone) might have participated. This is a prompt to get you to talk or offer up a motive for yourself or others. Don’t.
   3. Info Nuggets – dropping small pieces of information they believe will elicit a response, whether it’s to shock you into a response (any response), intimidate you, get you to reject their narrative, or something else.
   4. Accusations – accusing individuals of specific things (views, roles, betrayals) to elicit a defensive response.

 

Investigative techniques detectives are known to have used so far include;

1. 1. Canvassing for video footage from the venue and surrounding areas, including a nearby mall.
   2. Attempting to track down purchases of everyday items that may or may not have been used at the protest – like paint purchases.
   3. Obtaining warrants for some individuals’ electronic devices (computers, phones, thumb drives, SIM cards, external drives) that specifically seek communications (call logs, text or message histories) and digital media content (documents or graphics, audio or video clips) between October 14, 2025 and October 28, 2025, as well as device locations between October 20, 2025 and October 21, 2025 inclusive.
   4. Cold calling large numbers of people they believe could be connected to the protest, whether or not they know the individual was there. So far there are 7-8 people who have been contacted by detectives. If you’ve been contacted, connect with the support email noted above to document and receive support.

 

The Larger Context

These targeted house raids come in the context of a huge influx of federal and provincial funding to police forces – specifically their intelligence units – to “combat extremism and hate, including anti-blackness and antisemitism”. Larger budgets mean more resources to put in to selected investigations via surveillance or more paid time to generate/follow a larger number of leads. These moments in time are when policing agencies are most likely to be actively working with each other through the Hate Crime Extremism Investigative Team (HCEIT) – a provincial network of municipal police intelligence units – and the Provincial Operations Intelligence Bureau (POIB), which is the OPP’s Intelligence unit. Simply put; it’s more likely that, for example, photos of unknown individuals will be disseminated province-wide instead of just service-wide for identification.

Of course, the more money intelligence units spend on these investigations, the more pressure there is to turn something up and lay charges (often inflated). We have frequently seen this in the lead up to,  during, security summits (G8, G20) and large sporting events (Olympics, PanAm Games), but also to scale in moments of constant, heightened resistance – such as during Landback, Shut Down Canada, or sustained attacks against pipelines or gentrification. This type of movement history and knowledge should directly shape our current risk assessments and threat modelling both as individuals and networks, but not deter acts of resistance.

 

Grounding in Reality & Fighting Fear

Always compare what is possible with what is likely.

Just because someone was present or unmasked or masked or something in between or contacted by a detective does not mean that they will be charged. Right now, police are trying to incite fear and panic and scrambled responses. They have intentionally chosen the strategies of coordinated pre-dawn raids with a follow-up splash of shock and awe to see what shakes out. It is a common method: they are counting on finding that one person who will talk and give them more leads to work. Fuck them and fuck that.

The best defense is a good offense: Stay solid, everyone, and keep fighting the good fight.