Police officers searched a van belonging to We Volunteer, which was delivering equipment for the protest, including effigies, and bottles of fermented fish . They also checked We Volunteer member Rattaphum Lertpaijit’s ID card.

The officers wanted to take picture of Rattaphum’s ID card, claiming that they have to check whether he has an outstanding arrest warrant. They asked to search the car, but were refused. No one at the scene was found to have an arrest warrant, and the police did not present a search warrant.

The officers claimed that they had to check whether there was anything illegal in the van, and asked for the identity of the owner of the content. During the search, an officer asked whether the fermented fish was for throwing at the officers.

Piyarat said that because the officers opened the packages of bottled fermented fish, they had to buy the entire lot. He also claimed that the officers told them that they wouldn’t let them go if they didn’t sell them the fish.

Sunday’s protest took place at the Democracy Monument at 14.00 and was organized by Free Youth and its partner groups. The protesters planned to march to Government House to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, a reduction in the budget for the monarchy and military to increase Covid-19 assistance, and replacement of the Sinovac vaccine with mRNA vaccines. However, they were blocked from reaching the Government House by crowd control police armed with rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannon trucks.

On 18 July 2021 prior to the #18July rally at the Democracy Monument, authorities confiscated “straw dolls”, protest items by the #WeVolunteer group at a dormitory in Nontaburi province. The dormitory owner was also seized for allowing the dolls to be stored for interrogation at the Plaibang Police Station. Police claimed that they had been notified of hidden drugs there. When the police asked the dormitory owner how she got the items, she said she had been asked to keep them. The interrogation took around 2 hours without the presence of any lawyers and trusted persons.