Nationalist Dry Cleaning

By Michael Harrington

[This article is not part of the same series as OPSEC and The Daylight Trap. As such, it is actually an instructional that uses clear instructional vocabulary on how nationalists can start to transition from soft targets that are easy to surveil, predict and elicit actionable intelligence from, to hard targets that are not. I would like to state for the AJAB record that instructing people on how to make themselves harder to be followed and tracked by individuals that wish them ill will is not illegal, nor tantamount to any “shadow militia” agenda.]

Dry Cleaning is a term used in counter-surveillance work that is defined as a series of manoeuvres that result in adversarial surveillance assets being “dumped” prior to a protected activity/returning to a residence or base of operations after field work. There are a few ways this can be performed but I’ll keep it relatively simple in this adaptation.

To greatly reduce the probability of being tailed back to a residential location after a protest by Antifa, journalists, racial or religious enemies, undercover police or security service personnel, begin as such:

Select a route that is a few streets away from your residential area and walk that route several times with slight deviations, while you use reflective surfaces, double-backs (supported by logical reasoning — such as walking to a shop you know is closed and then turning around) and intrusion points such as lifts, shops, public transport, restaurants etc. to discern if you are being followed by a surveillance asset.

You will know if a surveillance asset is present if you repeatedly see the same figure behind you when taking deviations. Should that figure then enter an intrusion point after you, then you need to take notice. For example; if you quickly duck into a shop and position yourself where you can see the shop entrance without looking directly ahead, and someone enters shortly after you, you should make a visual profile of that person before exiting the shop. If you discover a person fitting that visual profile following after you using the previously mentioned manoeuvres, there is a high probability that he or she is a surveillance asset, which requires additional confirmation using another intrusion point such as a bus, tram or subway train; for if that visual profile pops up again after boarding, the probability of a surveillance asset being present reaches 98%, promoting the need to begin evasive manoeuvres.

Theoretically, if the surveillance asset was Antifa, a racial or religious enemy, or a journalist, you could commit to a sudden engagement, but because there is always the chance that it could be undercover 1312 or security service personnel, you shouldn’t risk an engagement. You should instead default to evasive manoeuvres that are initiated by a sudden burst of movement (such as a quick turn into an intrusion point at the last minute, vaulting over a barrier/fence, jumping down a level, quickly entering a low light internal environment, etc.) so the surveillance asset loses line of sight (LOS), giving you ample time to sprint, duck around corners, or hide in a nearby location to wait for them to execute a lost contact drill and then slip by them in the opposite direction when they pass.

Important Note: Under no circumstances must you risk a lethal burn by turning your head to look behind you because if you are being followed by Antifa, racial or religious enemies, undercover 1312 or the security services they will initiate the “attack phase” — and if it is 1312 or security service personnel that are following, you are going to be arrested or “black bagged” because their only chance of obtaining intelligence from you after they’ve been burned is by interrogation.

In addition to the recommended manoeuvres, if you have made the mistake of bringing an electronic device with you, it needs to be powered off, dismantled into separate parts on the move (SIM card and battery removed, for example) and held in the pocket, ready to be snapped (SIM card and mobile) and discarded in separate locations along the route (road-side sewer grates and public bins are the best due to their abundance) if a surveillance asset has been identified. It is highly important to note that when discarding the parts it must be done when LOS is broken, otherwise the surveillance asset will know: (a) that they have been burned (discovered) and enter the attack phase; and (b) where to search for the parts and recover them for later data mining. However, it is much simpler to not take electronic devices with you to protests because all it takes is for you to receive a text message from anyone, even a perfunctory text from the service provider, and your phone will ping your location through its interaction with a nearby cell tower, a process that is required to receive text messages and calls. That can then be used by 1312 to place you at the scene within a certain time frame. While some people believe that you have to open a text for your location to be pinged, the truth is that you only need to receive it, hence why mobile phones are not carried by professionals akin to whom we saw on the first night of the Belfast protests.

In conclusion, Dry Cleaning applies when returning to and leaving your residence, so ensure a similar anti-surveillance protocol is executed when leaving the area for a protest/protected activity. Remember: You could be under surveillance because an adversary knows your address and suspects you but hasn’t yet confirmed that you are connected to certain activities; or conversely, a known location (away from your residence) or comrade could be under surveillance, but the adversary may not have determined your identity and connection to the location or comrade.