It is almost 11 p.m., and the April 6 Youth Movement’s Giza office is bustling. It is the night before a protest in front of the prosecutor-general’s office demanding the release of three April 6 members being held in solitary confinement. They were arrested during a March protest outside Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim’s residence and are accused of insulting the minister and attacking security forces.

Voices rise as members engage in a heated discussion as Egyptian pop music blares in the background. The office is a small apartment in one of Giza’s popular neighborhoods. Vibrant paintings of the revolution’s martyrs and slogans adorn the walls: “Bread, freedom and social justice.” Located next to the entrance is a floor-to-ceiling portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India’s non-violent independence movement.

Non-violent resistance forms the heart of the April 6 movement’s philosophy. The movement formed in solidarity with workers who were planning to strike on April 6, 2008, in the industrial town of al-Mahalla al-Kubra. Much to everyone’s surprise, thousands of Facebook users responded to the call for a national general strike in support of the Mahalla workers. From 2008 until the Egyptian revolution overthrowing former president Hosni Mubarak, April 6 continued to mobilize not only at the grassroots level via lively political discussions on social-media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, but also through peaceful street protests, though usually with low turnout.

In the wake of the Tunisian revolution ousting President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the April 6 movement coordinated with other youth groups to organize a Day of Revolt on January 25, 2011, sparking the protests that would lead to the downfall of the repressive Mubarak.