Headlines From the DNC: A Kinder, Gentler Police State

Convergence Center Being Raided by Denver Police
colorado.indymedia.org/node/1042
*Happening right now*
The Convergence Center for activist coordination and
planning, etc. is about to be raided by the Denver Police
Department. Two people have been arrested, another is
being detained, reports from the inside say that the police
are attempting to get a warrant to raid the entire location
and carry out more arrests.
Show your support: 4301 Brighton Blvd. Denver. It’s at
38th & Brighton.
Police Fail to Obtain Warrant for Convergence
Center Search
colorado.indymedia.org/node/1054
Channel 9 News has quoted an activist who states that
police tried, and failed, to obtain a warrant to search the
Convergence Center.
[excerpt] “Matt Kellegrew, an activist who says he
watched police arrive at the building, says officers tried to
get a warrant, citing wooden poles and bricks found outside
as weapons. Kellegrew says officers grew angry when
a phone call seeking that warrant was fruitless.”
Police Block Veterans’ Access to DNC in Largest
Protest to Date
colorado.indymedia.org/node/1073
DENVER, Colo.—A little more than an hour before Sen.
Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at Pepsi Center
to conclude the evening at the Democratic National Convention,
his campaign had an exchange with Iraq Veterans
Against the War (IVAW).
Approximately 100 IVAW members were determined
to push Obama on his stance on troop withdrawal. Leading
a grueling three-hour-plus long march of an estimated
7,000 demonstrators towards the Pepsi Center late in the
afternoon, IVAW hoped to deliver a folded flag and a letter
calling on Obama to endorse the three main goals of unity:
immediate withdrawal of American troops, full veterans
benefits, and reparations for the Iraqi people.
The march was met with a line of more than 100 Denver
Police Department officers clad in riot gear and armed with
batons and pepper ball guns at the intersection of Market
and 17th Streets. The police refused to let IVAW or the thousands
of antiwar demonstrators closer to the convention.
After long moments of contention between the demonstration
and the police, finally one IVAW representative, former
U.S. Marine Liam Madden, was allowed to cross police lines
to meet with representatives of the Obama campaign.
As Madden left on his mission, it seemed as if more
than 50 IVAW members were prepared to engage in nonviolent
civil disobedience and likely arrest. Less than 10
minutes later, at approximately 7:40pm (CT), an
announcement was made by IVAW to the crowd, indicating
that Obama had endorsed their three points of unity,
causing the crowd to uproar in applause. […]
Breif Report Back of 8/25 Anti-Capitalista March
colorado.indymedia.org/node/1052
The anti-capitalista march gathered Monday evening
around 1800 at civic center park, and by 1830 they were
organized and marched out of civic center Park onto
Banock street. There they advanced a half block before
encountering a line of riot police. The strom troopers were
well armed, with CO spray tanks (it looks like a red fire
extinguisher), four foot clubs, bean bag guns (which looked
like gernade launchers), tear gas, pepper ballguns (remember
that girl that was murdered by the police at the 2004
Red Sox victory? That same type of gun), and full riot gear.
With the bloc advancing, the first two rows linked arms
and shouted “who’s streets!” “Our streets!” and “No justice!
No Peace!”. There was good morale and momentum,
which broke when the bloc got within five feet of the
police. The storm troopers then sprayed clouds of CO
spray into the anti-capitialists who had no weapons or
armor of any sort. The police also attacked reporters on
the scene, targeting their cameras and bulbs.
The protestors recoiled, causing an accordian effect
where the bloc was pushed foward into the attacking
police, before breaking into a falling back towards the middle
of the park. there were a few who were running, but a
few well minded affinity groups rallied the bloc with shouts
of “Walk! Don’t run!” and “Slow down! Face them!”. The
bloc regrouped quickly, but not very organized. There was
a discussion of forming a wedge, which gave way quickly
to the typical arm linked formation in rows. […]
Post Columnist Notes Accusation Against
Protesters Unfounded
colorado.indymedia.org/node/1154
The innuendo and slander against protesters have been piled
deep as the trash left by the Dems at Invesco. To date, few of
the lies have been publicly challenged. There are a few exceptions,
however; Denver Post Columnist Susan Greene has
attempted to set the record straight concerning one false
accusation. She also comments about the police state impression
left on a youngster visiting Denver during the DNC.
[excerpt]13[Denver Police spokesman Sonny] Jackson
—the man paid to provide accurate information—told me
Tuesday that officers were getting ‘spit on’ by protesters.
Three days later he acknowledged he ‘couldn’t verify’ any
spit ‘for certain.’
“‘It may have been just a rumor,’ he admits.”
National Lawyers Guild, DNC People’s Law
Project Criticizes DNC Court Procedures
colorado.indymedia.org/node/1093
Denver—The National Lawyers Guild DNC People’s Law
Project (PLP) criticizes the procedures that created a high
risk of accused persons waiving their rights without access
to lawyers or an adequate understanding of their cases.
ABC News Staffer Pushed Into Traffic,
Jailed By Police
colorado.indymedia.org/node/1091
[excerpt] DENVER (AP)—An ABC News producer covering
the Democratic convention was pushed into traffic by a
sheriff’s deputy on Wednesday and then arrested, the network
said.
Asa Eslocker was arrested on charges of interference,
trespass and failure to obey a lawful order.
Authorities said Eslocker repeatedly had been told to
stop blocking a sidewalk and an entrance to Denver’s
Brown Palace Hotel. He wasn’t arrested until three hours
after the first warning, police said.
ABC said Eslocker and a film crew were trying to photograph
senators and donors for a story on the role of corporate
lobbyists and wealthy donors at the convention.
The network said video of the incident shows a deputy
telling Eslocker that the sidewalk is owned by the hotel,
then pushing him into traffic.
”We expect to see that kind of thing in Myanmar, not
on the streets of Denver,” ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider
said in a written statement.