"But be ready for jailtime with a high bail set. Be ready for a nasty trial. Don't expect anyone to pardon you. Be mentally prepared to consider all the legal hoops you need to jump through before you know you are legally allowed to defend yourself."
As to the Easy Off - Don't even go there! The penalty for spraying someone in the eyes with a caustic chemical would be far greater than brandishing a lawfully carried weapon. Just bringing a can of Easy Off to a protest could establish intent and put you away for a long long time. Some of the "advice" being posted here is just way out in LALAland. One wonders why this matter isn't being taken more seriously. I sure wouldn't send this thread out to anyone in a position to help the victims because of the BS being appended to it. Sure, flame me for this observation because I think it important to get to the truth here.
A protest is scheduled near the HQ of the opposition. A bunch of FreePers show up, and many of them have solid metal poles, small sledge hammers, and spray cans containing caustic substances. The opposition party advances on the FreePers who use the items in their possession. The opposition will claim that they were provoked or threatened, even if nothing on film corroborates them. The opposition is found to have had no weapons in their possession. A lawsuit is filed by RAT lawyers and FreePers are individually served and run up legal bills in the tens of thousands of dollars defending themselves. And God help them if they are arrested, even if the charges are dropped. It is more ammunition by the left against them. It is a nightmare beyond the imagination of some of the posters who think they can casually arm themselves for protection.
The only deadly weapons they can have must be CCW permits. And if they actually use a firearm, they must be able to convince the investigating agency that they were afraid they or another would suffer death or great bodily harm. And believe me, the agency and the District Attorney's office will put that claim through an investigative electron microscope.