Operatives who represent the object of protests may attempt to cause mayhem in order to taint the protest and sway public opinion against it.
When gathering for a protest, if you see someone wearing a mask or otherwise looking suspicious. If you are able to do so safely, obtain a photograph of the individual or the vehicle they arrived in.
Capturing a video of the perpetrator conducting acts of vandalism particularly when being confronted by protesters can also be useful to demonstrate that damage the resulted was not caused by the protests.
Pinochet’s latch-ditch efforts
On 5 October, 1988. In the wake of his electoral defeat, Pinochet attempted to implement a plan for an auto-coup. He attempted to implement efforts to orchestrate chaos and violence in the streets to justify his power grab, however, the Carabinero police refused an order to lift the cordon against street demonstrations in the capital, according to a CIA informant. In his final move, Pinochet convened a meeting of his junta at La Moneda, in which he requested that they give him extraordinary powers to have the military seize the capital. Air Force General Fernando Matthei refused, saying that he would not agree to such a thing under any circumstances, and the rest of the junta followed this stance, on grounds that Pinochet already had his turn and lost.