Headlines From the RNC: Little Baghdad On the Mississippi

Bruce Nestor of the National Lawyers Guild
Called For a Probe Into Police Conduct.
Bruce Nestor: “What happened in St. Paul, Minnesota
from—really going back to the infiltration and surveillance
two years, but from September 1 to September 4,
2008—had happened in any other country, that’s the type
of coverage and description of it we would have read. And
I think that you can either be for or against that political
repression, depending where you fall on the political spectrum,
but that is an objective description of what happened
and of the political content of why people were in
the streets, why people were demonstrating, and the political
nature of the response that was organized by the $50
million gift by the federal government. It was a targeted
abuse of force and of security forces to suppress political
activity, to scare people from coming out into the streets.”
More than 800 people were arrested during the fourday
convention.
Fascistic New Normal in St. Paul
twincities.indymedia.org/2008/sep/fascistic-new-normal-st-paul
August 29, St. Paul, Minnesota. Police in full riot gear raided
the “RNC Welcoming Committee” (which described
itself as “an anarchist/anti-authoritarian organizing body
preparing for the 2008 Republican National Convention”)
This raid, referred to in the media as a “pre-emptive strike,”
marked the beginning of a weekend of terror and intimidation
brought down by the state on activists, organizers,
protestors, and journalists throughout the four-day span of
the Republican National Convention.
Leading up to the anti-war protests planned during the
convention, police raided several houses in the St. Paul-
Minneapolis area, surrounding them, and breaking down
doors. The police told people to get down on the ground
and shoved guns in their faces in the middle of the night
while they were sleeping in their beds. Over the course of
the weekend, five people were arrested in these raids, at
least 100 were put in handcuffs and then questioned by
police. At the Welcoming Committee’s convergence center,
the police photographed people and held them for over an
hour—no arrests were made, but materials were confiscated
and the police issued a fire code violation.
Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, Minneapolis and
St. Paul police, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and
other agencies were involved. Police confiscated normal
household items claiming they were going to be used for illegal
activities. They searched through the houses and the welcoming
center, taking computers, laptops and video cameras.
BREAKING: RNC 8 Charged With “Conspiracy to
Riot In Furtherance of Terrorism”
twincities.indymedia.org/2008/sep/breaking-rnc-8-chargedconspiracy-
riot-furtherance-terrorism
In what appears to be the first use of criminal charges
under the 2002 Minnesota version of the Federal Patriot
Act, Ramsey County Prosecutors have formally charged 8
alleged leaders of the RNC Welcoming Committee with
Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism. Monica
Bicking, Eryn Trimmer, Luce Guillen Givins, Erik Oseland,
Nathanael Secor, Robert Czernik, Garrett Fitzgerald,
and Max Spector, face up to 7 1/2 years in prison under
the terrorism enhancement charge which allows for a 50%
increase in the maximum penalty. […]
Cops In Violation of Ordinance Requiring Display
of Their ID Numbers
twincities.indymedia.org/2008/sep/cops-violation-ordinancerequiring-
display-their-id-numbers
The cops are in violation of an ordinance requiring the display
of each individuals ID numbers prominently on their riot gear
for tonight’s protest on John Ireland bridge, according to a Minneapolis
City Council staffer who is observing the protests.
Many videographers, photographers and other
observers have documented this violation and their work
will serve as grounds for legal action against the police in
the near future. […]
Sheriff Admits That Intent Was To Inconvenience
twincities.indymedia.org/2008/sep/sheriff-admits-intentwas-
inconvenience
Outisde the jail in St. Paul on the evening of September
3rd, this Ramsey County Sheriff in his statement was
asked why the prisoners were being released in undisclosed
locations instead of right there at the jail where
there was support and would not answer. When asked if it
was to inconvenience folks he said “yeah, there you are.
Ok?” Watch the video:
www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/09/04/18532904.php
RNC Denies Iraq War Veterans
twincities.indymedia.org/2008/sep/rnc-denies-iraq-war-veterans
In the early hours of Monday September 1st a formation of
Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) marched to the gates
of the Republican National Convention. Wesley Davey, a
retired St. Paul police officer and Iraq veteran, led the group.
With a permit to march from the Capital building to the
RNC location at the Xcel center, the group took the streets
at 8:30 local time, arriving at their destination at approximately
9:30. Upon their arrival, Mr. Davey was escorted
through the police lines carrying a tri-fold American flag, a
document addressing the needs of returning service members,
and a copy of the U.S. Constitution to be delivered to
a representative of the McCain campaign. […]
FBI Intel Bulletin #89—Roadmap to Repressing
Dissent (2003 edition)
twincities.indymedia.org/2008/sep/fbi-intel-bulletin-89-
roadmap-repressing-dissent-2003-edition
This document is five years old, but it does provide the
roadmap for the criminalization of dissent—in particular
the part about how demonstrators may use the Internet to
expose police brutality is quite interesting. (additionally
the concept of ‘law enforcement circles’ as a restricted
clique of privileged intelligence is also interesting.)
Please post all further evidence and documents to TC
Indymedia which might be relevant to building a further
understanding of how the police policy was carried out,
and what the federal role in all this was.
To see the full FBI document go to: www.ratical.org/
ratville/CAH/linkscopy/FBIbulletin89.pdf