Sunday, August 31, 2008

It's started in St Paul


from Glenn Greenwald: Conclusive evidence of Federal involvment in the raids in Minneapolis.

from OpEdNews:

Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff's department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than "fire code violations," and early this morning, the Sheriff's department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying. (more)

This kind of police intimidation has become a staple of cities hosting the Republican National Convention. It was rampant in NYC in '04 and done in plain view in Miami in '00. Apparently the mere idea of protest is now a crime as most of those being arrested are being charged with "conspiracy to riot" simply for being at meetings where protests were being discussed. This is a rather novel interpretation of the First Amendment's guarantee of the right to peaceably assemble. My guess is that the NeoThugs think that right applies to model building or something.

More from Glenn Greenwald of Salon, including video. Police have been seizing computers, personal papers, flyers, diaries....

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