Do not open the door without a warrant, do not speak to federal agents without the presence of a lawyer. Unlike state level law enforcement it’s actually illegal to lie to a federal officer. They will attempt to confuse you and get you to lie or mislead them and will prosecute you for that if they can’t pin you for something worse.
Absolutely. Under normal circumstances, the full version of the guidelines is:
Go to the door, walk outside to speak with them without giving time for them to step in and absolutely without inviting them inside, and close the door behind you.
You do have to identify yourself, with a physical ID or with name and birthdate. It can be a crime to refuse under certain circumstances and unless you are crystal clear on the law it’s probably a better idea to ID yourself rather than give them a reason to arrest you.
Cooperate if they want to arrest you or they serve you with a signed search warrant. Arguing or resisting will do absolutely nothing to prevent them from violating your rights, if you believe they are violating your rights, but it will get you some additional charges which can be pretty serious. If they say they need to pat you down for weapons, or announce that they are searching your car, make it clear that you don’t consent, but don’t try to physically prevent them from doing it, because that is a crime.
As far as any questions or searches outside of those specific areas, it is always Shut The Fuck Up Friday. Answer absolutely nothing. Agree to absolutely no searches. Say that if they’re here for a criminal investigation, you will only speak to them through legal counsel and ask if you’re free to go. They will start with harmless questions, they will be friendly a lot of the time, they will sound reasonable. Ask if you’re free to go. Repeat that you have nothing to say. Be polite but firm, be patient, and shut the fuck up. Leave as soon as they tell you you’re free to go, but otherwise just be chill and don’t say shit in response to whatever they have.
If they do arrest you they may make it sound like a good idea to speak with them, because it will help you. It will not. It will help them build their case, that is literally the only possible reason they might give a shit about spending time with you. Anything that is actually advantageous about talking with them will still be advantageous after you’ve talked with a lawyer. Again, be polite, but shut the fuck up whatever they say or however they manage to make it sound.
That is all advice for the before times, sometimes it is wrong now. ICE in particular has a habit at this point of just giving up and going away if people don’t come outside, and snatching them if they do come outside. It’s hard to give advice in general, but I would say that if it’s feds at this point, or if your local law enforcement is friendly with ICE, just pretend you’re not home and just wait for them to bust down the door if that’s what they’re planning to do. They will either do that or something like it, or they will leave. Might be a good idea to put your phone on silent and text some people you know letting them know what’s happening, too.
The only exception I can think of to this is if they threaten to send the K9 in, if you don’t come to the door, and you may get bit. Are they bluffing? I don’t know, man. Use your best judgement.
And of course, maybe it’s a good idea now to make a bunch of noise, get your neighbors involved, keep the door locked, intimidate them back. There are so many scenarios that it’s really just hard to say.
Anyway, if they do bust the door in (or pull you out of the car or whatever), it’s a good time to practice your shut the fuck up skills. Don’t say you were sleeping. Don’t say you were in the back and didn’t hear anything. Don’t say you didn’t answer the door because fuck you blah blah blah constitution. Just shut the fuck up. Why didn’t you answer the door? “I’ve got nothing to say sir.” Didn’t you hear us? “I’ll only answer questions with legal counsel.” We were out there for a while though. You must have heard us. “Like I said, I’ve got nothing to say, sir.” And so on.
Like I say things are changing. This is just generic advice. Things now are getting unstable.
You absolutely should not go outside. You have rights in your home you don’t have when you leave it. If for some reason you want to talk to potentially adversarial cops, do it from within your house and behind a closed door. You have no obligation to speak to them just because they come to your door.
You have rights in your home you don’t have when you leave it.
What rights are those? Be specific.
Again, my advice is for the before-times. Whatever TikTok would have you believe, you will not shield yourself from getting arrested simply by trying to hide in your house if they do have a warrant for you, and it is not unsafe to walk out and talk with them if they don’t have a warrant for you (as long as you don’t say shit and keep it brief). If you try to hide in your house and make them break in if they do want to take you, all you’ve done is created damage to your house which they will not fix and also given them the opportunity to see things in plain view inside your house in the performance of their duties.
In the current times… yeah, like I said, you might be right. Be careful. I honestly wouldn’t even try to have the through-the-door conversation unless I was confident of what agency they were from and that they were legit in whatever they were trying to do, I might just stay quiet inside and see what happens.
Again, my advice is for the before-times. Whatever TikTok would have you believe, you will not shield yourself from getting arrested simply by trying to hide in your house if they do have a warrant for you, and it is not unsafe to walk out and talk with them if they don’t have a warrant for you (as long as you don’t say shit and keep it brief).
Even in the “before-times” there is no reason to actually answer the door unless they present a warrant signed by a judge.
What is the benefit of stepping outside the legal protection of your home? You are under no obligation to speak to the police even if you have been arrested, you cannot be forced to incriminate yourself in a crime. That’s why we have the 5th amendment.
The go too line is “I don’t answer questions without a lawyer present”. If they press you and tell you that they will charge you with impending an investigation. Tell them “I would love to cooperate, but I really feel I would need to speak to a lawyer first”. This makes any delay in the investigation their responsibility as things would be moving along if they weren’t denying you your right to representation.
What rights are those? Be specific.
The Fourth Amendment protects the sanctity of the home against unreasonable searches and seizures. A warrant is required to enter a private residence for a routine arrest, establishing that there is probable cause and that a judge has authorized the police to enter. Exceptions to this rule include emergencies, consent, and “hot pursuit,” where police have probable cause to believe a person is fleeing into the home to escape an immediate threat.
Meaning that by stepping outside your home, the required probable cause for your arrest is lowered to the judgement of the arresting officer and not a Judge. Just opening the door can open avenues of argument in court, like the cop lying and saying they heard someone ask for help, or that they saw illegal activities happening from the doorway.
Even if it may not protect you from being arrested, if an officer violates your 4th amendment protections any evidence found during an illegal search is dismissable in court.
Never answer the door unless they present a warrant with a judges signature. A good investment is a camera with 2 way voice communication, so if you do want to communicate with police(to tell them to leave), you can do it without breaching the legal security of your home.
They can 100% tell you verbally through the door “You are under arrest,” and at that point, staying inside your house is obstruction. This idea that by making it physically difficult for the cops to put their hands on you, you’re putting yourself in a better position legally or practically, is 100% wrong. They are well prepared to deal with physical obstructions. In general, being antagonistic to the police or putting obstacles in the way of them doing basic things like talking will motivate them to make your life more difficult, which they definitely can do.
Personally, I think people place way too much emphasis on the “arrested” part of the equation and way too little on the “charged and building the case” part. If you stay inside, they leave and issue a warrant for you because they never got a chance to talk to you, and then pick you up later, for example, you’ve gained absolutely nothing. If you step outside, they arrest you, but you didn’t manage to add any charges with how you handled yourself and didn’t give them anything to help them build their case, then that’s about the best outcome you can have. Crucially, I think encouraging people to be physically obstructive with the cops tends to build habits that can serve them very very poorly in the future.
If you don’t believe me, here are some law offices’ professional explanations, which honestly are kind of better than what I said. What I said is just a clear simple guideline based on my understanding.
Again, all of this is kind of fluid or no longer accurate right now anyway, because the rules are changing. In the current climate I would start to lean more towards just not answering the door at all, but a lot of it depends on what agency they’re with.
They can 100% tell you verbally through the door “You are under arrest,” and at that point, staying inside your house is obstruction. This idea that by making it physically difficult for the cops to put their hands on you, you’re putting yourself in a better position legally or practically, is 100% wrong.
Lol, no they cannot… Not unless they have an arrest or search warrant.
From your own source
“If the police do not have a warrant, you can:
Greet them outside after exiting through another door if you think they might try to force their way into your home.
Speak with officers with the door ajar and secured by a chain lock.
Decline to answer the door at all.”
They are well prepared to deal with physical obstructions. In general, being antagonistic to the police or putting obstacles in the way of them doing basic things like talking will motivate them to make your life more difficult, which they definitely can do.
It’s not the door that is obstructing them, it’s the 4th amendment. Keeping the door closed just makes it a lot more apparent if they decide to disregard your constitutional rights.
Personally, I think people place way too much emphasis on the “arrested” part of the equation and way too little on the “charged and building the case” part.
Keeping police out of your residence is a pretty good way from having them collect evidence to build a case against you. To obtain a warrant they have to present evidence to a judge that there is a reasonable cause to breach your rights.
If you stay inside, they leave and issue a warrant for you because they never got a chance to talk to you, and then pick you up later, for example, you’ve gained absolutely nothing.
If you go to step outside and they falsely claim that they witnessed something inside that provides reason to enter your home you may lose your 4th amendment protections.
This is why in the source you posted it specifies that if you want to talk to them with the door ajar to keep it locked with a chain. Police are know to put their foot in the door, or stand in the doorway so that if you attempt to close it on them they can claim you assaulted them.
think encouraging people to be physically obstructive with the cops tends to build habits that can serve them very very poorly in the future.
Lol, utilizing your rights is not “physical obstruction”.
f you don’t believe me, here are some law offices’ professional explanations, which honestly are kind of better than what I said. What I said is just a clear simple guideline based on my understanding.
You didn’t read these, or you didn’t comprehend what you read. You should not be advising anyone about their rights if you have no idea about how the 4th or 5th amendment function.
They can 100% tell you verbally through the door “You are under arrest,” and at that point, staying inside your house is obstruction. This idea that by making it physically difficult for the cops to put their hands on you, you’re putting yourself in a better position legally or practically, is 100% wrong.
Lol, no they cannot…… Not unless they have an arrest or search warrant.
I don’t think you understand how a cop telling you “you are under arrest” works, and I don’t really want to have an extended back and forth with you about this. You can read the links I sent, if you want general guidance. Cheers.
Cops can’t enter your home without a warrant, exigent circumstances, or your consent, which means cops can’t arrest you without the same, maneuver you into a position to provoke you into resisting or “assaulting” them, or detain you in hopes that you’ll talk to them to get out of it. The door is a very clear legal and physical barrier to keep any interaction on your terms.
Do not open the door without a warrant, do not speak to federal agents without the presence of a lawyer. Unlike state level law enforcement it’s actually illegal to lie to a federal officer. They will attempt to confuse you and get you to lie or mislead them and will prosecute you for that if they can’t pin you for something worse.
Absolutely. Under normal circumstances, the full version of the guidelines is:
That is all advice for the before times, sometimes it is wrong now. ICE in particular has a habit at this point of just giving up and going away if people don’t come outside, and snatching them if they do come outside. It’s hard to give advice in general, but I would say that if it’s feds at this point, or if your local law enforcement is friendly with ICE, just pretend you’re not home and just wait for them to bust down the door if that’s what they’re planning to do. They will either do that or something like it, or they will leave. Might be a good idea to put your phone on silent and text some people you know letting them know what’s happening, too.
The only exception I can think of to this is if they threaten to send the K9 in, if you don’t come to the door, and you may get bit. Are they bluffing? I don’t know, man. Use your best judgement.
And of course, maybe it’s a good idea now to make a bunch of noise, get your neighbors involved, keep the door locked, intimidate them back. There are so many scenarios that it’s really just hard to say.
Anyway, if they do bust the door in (or pull you out of the car or whatever), it’s a good time to practice your shut the fuck up skills. Don’t say you were sleeping. Don’t say you were in the back and didn’t hear anything. Don’t say you didn’t answer the door because fuck you blah blah blah constitution. Just shut the fuck up. Why didn’t you answer the door? “I’ve got nothing to say sir.” Didn’t you hear us? “I’ll only answer questions with legal counsel.” We were out there for a while though. You must have heard us. “Like I said, I’ve got nothing to say, sir.” And so on.
Like I say things are changing. This is just generic advice. Things now are getting unstable.
You absolutely should not go outside. You have rights in your home you don’t have when you leave it. If for some reason you want to talk to potentially adversarial cops, do it from within your house and behind a closed door. You have no obligation to speak to them just because they come to your door.
What rights are those? Be specific.
Again, my advice is for the before-times. Whatever TikTok would have you believe, you will not shield yourself from getting arrested simply by trying to hide in your house if they do have a warrant for you, and it is not unsafe to walk out and talk with them if they don’t have a warrant for you (as long as you don’t say shit and keep it brief). If you try to hide in your house and make them break in if they do want to take you, all you’ve done is created damage to your house which they will not fix and also given them the opportunity to see things in plain view inside your house in the performance of their duties.
In the current times… yeah, like I said, you might be right. Be careful. I honestly wouldn’t even try to have the through-the-door conversation unless I was confident of what agency they were from and that they were legit in whatever they were trying to do, I might just stay quiet inside and see what happens.
Even in the “before-times” there is no reason to actually answer the door unless they present a warrant signed by a judge.
What is the benefit of stepping outside the legal protection of your home? You are under no obligation to speak to the police even if you have been arrested, you cannot be forced to incriminate yourself in a crime. That’s why we have the 5th amendment.
The go too line is “I don’t answer questions without a lawyer present”. If they press you and tell you that they will charge you with impending an investigation. Tell them “I would love to cooperate, but I really feel I would need to speak to a lawyer first”. This makes any delay in the investigation their responsibility as things would be moving along if they weren’t denying you your right to representation.
The Fourth Amendment protects the sanctity of the home against unreasonable searches and seizures. A warrant is required to enter a private residence for a routine arrest, establishing that there is probable cause and that a judge has authorized the police to enter. Exceptions to this rule include emergencies, consent, and “hot pursuit,” where police have probable cause to believe a person is fleeing into the home to escape an immediate threat.
Meaning that by stepping outside your home, the required probable cause for your arrest is lowered to the judgement of the arresting officer and not a Judge. Just opening the door can open avenues of argument in court, like the cop lying and saying they heard someone ask for help, or that they saw illegal activities happening from the doorway.
Even if it may not protect you from being arrested, if an officer violates your 4th amendment protections any evidence found during an illegal search is dismissable in court.
Never answer the door unless they present a warrant with a judges signature. A good investment is a camera with 2 way voice communication, so if you do want to communicate with police(to tell them to leave), you can do it without breaching the legal security of your home.
They can 100% tell you verbally through the door “You are under arrest,” and at that point, staying inside your house is obstruction. This idea that by making it physically difficult for the cops to put their hands on you, you’re putting yourself in a better position legally or practically, is 100% wrong. They are well prepared to deal with physical obstructions. In general, being antagonistic to the police or putting obstacles in the way of them doing basic things like talking will motivate them to make your life more difficult, which they definitely can do.
Personally, I think people place way too much emphasis on the “arrested” part of the equation and way too little on the “charged and building the case” part. If you stay inside, they leave and issue a warrant for you because they never got a chance to talk to you, and then pick you up later, for example, you’ve gained absolutely nothing. If you step outside, they arrest you, but you didn’t manage to add any charges with how you handled yourself and didn’t give them anything to help them build their case, then that’s about the best outcome you can have. Crucially, I think encouraging people to be physically obstructive with the cops tends to build habits that can serve them very very poorly in the future.
If you don’t believe me, here are some law offices’ professional explanations, which honestly are kind of better than what I said. What I said is just a clear simple guideline based on my understanding.
https://sieronlaw.com/posts/when-police-show-up-at-your-door/
https://www.snaderlawgroup.com/dos-donts-police-door/
https://www.ohlsonlawoffice.com/blog/2024/09/what-to-do-if-the-police-come-to-your-door-a-guide-to-handling-the-situation/
Again, all of this is kind of fluid or no longer accurate right now anyway, because the rules are changing. In the current climate I would start to lean more towards just not answering the door at all, but a lot of it depends on what agency they’re with.
Lol, no they cannot… Not unless they have an arrest or search warrant.
From your own source
“If the police do not have a warrant, you can: Greet them outside after exiting through another door if you think they might try to force their way into your home. Speak with officers with the door ajar and secured by a chain lock. Decline to answer the door at all.”
It’s not the door that is obstructing them, it’s the 4th amendment. Keeping the door closed just makes it a lot more apparent if they decide to disregard your constitutional rights.
Keeping police out of your residence is a pretty good way from having them collect evidence to build a case against you. To obtain a warrant they have to present evidence to a judge that there is a reasonable cause to breach your rights.
If you go to step outside and they falsely claim that they witnessed something inside that provides reason to enter your home you may lose your 4th amendment protections.
This is why in the source you posted it specifies that if you want to talk to them with the door ajar to keep it locked with a chain. Police are know to put their foot in the door, or stand in the doorway so that if you attempt to close it on them they can claim you assaulted them.
Lol, utilizing your rights is not “physical obstruction”.
You didn’t read these, or you didn’t comprehend what you read. You should not be advising anyone about their rights if you have no idea about how the 4th or 5th amendment function.
I don’t think you understand how a cop telling you “you are under arrest” works, and I don’t really want to have an extended back and forth with you about this. You can read the links I sent, if you want general guidance. Cheers.
Cops can’t enter your home without a warrant, exigent circumstances, or your consent, which means cops can’t arrest you without the same, maneuver you into a position to provoke you into resisting or “assaulting” them, or detain you in hopes that you’ll talk to them to get out of it. The door is a very clear legal and physical barrier to keep any interaction on your terms.