In response to a FOIA request, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has released several years worth of Special Event Threat Assessments regarding Mardi Gras, which as the Bureau repeatedly reminds us “literally means ‘Fat Tuesday’.” These mostly redacted reports warn of potential danger from religious fundamentalists, white supremacists, and, oddly enough, Occupy Mardi Gras

In trying to learn more about how police respond to demonstrations, MuckRock has been consistently met with exemptions and pushback, often with entire records releases being denied. Let us curate the five worst examples of this we have come across in the last few months.

In a democracy, the power of the people comes from the ability to hold their government accountable. We’re launching a project to provide a comprehensive list of FOIA resources that will help you to prepare, participate, and investigate protests. Today, we’ll be looking at what to look out for during a protest.