A house raid is a surprise search of a residence conducted by an adversary. An adversary often conducts a house raid early in the morning when the occupants of the residence are asleep and taken by surprise.
An adversary can conduct a house raid on a residence:
- Most often, early in the morning when the occupants of the residence are asleep and taken by surprise.
- In some cases, during the day. This can be the case when one goal of the raid is to seize digital devices while they are turned on (and therefore their encryption is not effective). In this case, the adversary can decide to conduct the house raid during the day because digital devices are more likely to be turned on when their users are awake, which is more likely to be during the day.
An adversary can conduct a house raid on a residence to:
- Seize items to find evidence or to achieve network mapping. Commonly seized items include electronic devices, literature, materials that could be used in actions, and clothing. In some cases, the adversary seizes expensive items (e.g., computers, printing equipment) with the goal of disrupting the organizational capacity of their targets.
- Arrest the occupants of the residence.
- Install covert surveillance devices in the residence.
In some countries, when they conduct a house raid, the State is only allowed to search the rooms of those named in a warrant.
Used in tactics: Arrest, Incrimination
Mitigations
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Clandestinity | In order to carry out a house raid, an adversary needs to know where you live. If you take the path of clandestinity, they won't know where you live, so a raid is less likely. Sometimes a house raid is what prompts clandestinity — charges are made public, and if the person is not at home during the raid, they may decide to avoid arrest by going into clandestinity. |
| Preparing for house raids | You can prepare for a house raid by minimizing the presence of materials that could be harmful in the event of a raid. |
| Preparing for repression | House raids are often accompanied by arrests — having plans in case of arrest can make a big difference. |
| Stash spot or safe house | You should keep action materials without a “legitimate” purpose in a stash spot or safe house, or at worst, have them pass through your house for a very limited time. |
Used in repressive operations
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Repression of Lafarge factory sabotage | Among the initial house raids, one was particularly thorough: cops searched under mattresses, behind sofa covers and in every drawer of every piece of furniture, inspected every book, notebook and piece of clothing as well as the dishes, and emptied packages of pasta and sealed jars[1]. |
| Renata | During a house raid, cops tried to get into the basement before waking up the comrades in the house, then privately complained that they were unable to hide what they wanted to hide[2]. |
| 2013 case against Mónica and Francisco | During a raid on the home of Mónica and Francisco, investigators found[3]:
|
| Scripta Manent | One comrade was arrested after batteries and an electrician's manual were found in his home during a raid[4]. |
| Case against Jeff Luers | During the raid of the storage unit, investigators found[5]:
|