Follow up. Secret Service points gun at protesters in Tampa

I posted the little bit of information that I had on here the other night. I have since spoken with several other witnesses who saw the same thing.

And Friday we found pictures.

Here is the rifle pointed skyward, but witnesses said it was pointed towards the protesters seconds later.

http://openthread.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/5/14/14515/6450

And here are some comments floating around in my e-mail.

@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:

I've been around for over seventy years. The last thirty plus years as a faculty member clearly identified with my "liberal" values. I've seen some bad times, McCarthy, Nixon, Reagan, at the University level the Johns commission, and others. I have never really personally felt threatened at any time, or intimidated to the point where I wondered if I should change my public views. That part hasn't changed, but I am deeply concerned about the future for my seven grandchildren under the Bush administration. Will the Bill of Rights be removed from the constitution? We can't allow this to continue for the next generations.


(next)
Mary, Nic, and I were there as well; and yes, it went down exactly as Barbara and John have said below. I don't think I've ever felt such a sense of foreboding in my life as when I saw that automatic rifle pointed at us, peaceful protesters.

At the time September 11th happened, I worked at a military base near where I used to live before we moved to FL. Immediately after 9/11, our base was at Threatcon D, meaning that the military personnel guarding our base had to be armed. Yeah, I saw sharp-shooters and automatic rifles; but I took some kind of comfort in the notion that these measures were meant for the "bad guys."

On Tuesday, the message that the sniper hanging out the window with his automatic weapon had for us was that we peacefully-protesting Americans were the "bad guys." And that thought alone gave me the chills.

Anyone have pictures from Tuesday's rally, by the way?

(next)

Yes.

John Russell was there, our 5th District Congressional candidate. And he told me the exact same story.

He said it was scary.

Now, I've been politically active for over 30 years. In January, 2003, I was in Washington DC. for Nixon's second inauguration. I was with a couple of dozen Yippee's. Remember Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin? We were part of that group.
But, at that time we had purged Abbie and Jerry, and had crazier spokesmen, such as A. J. Weeberman, Dana Beale, and Tom Forcade (founder and editor of "High Times"). Our Madison, Wisconsin chapter had brought down approximately 13,000 dead laboratory rats. We had a papier mache "rat" with Nixon's head, designed to fit over my VW Bug, as a float, for "Rats for Nixon", and tried to enter it in the inaugural parade. They denied us, but we did manage to throw all those dead rats at Nixswines mototcade. It made national TV news.

But, we never, ever saw a gun pointed at any of us.

This was after Kent State. There were major (millions) anti-war demonstrations that week in Washington D.C..

But, we never saw any guns.

(next)Another witness statement

We stood with about 50 others on rte 674 and when the motorcade came by there was assault rifle OUT the window pointing at ALL of us and the cars all looked like I remember seeing in the Hitler motorcades in the movies when I was a child, all boxy and black and one had the Pres seal and American flag on the sides. It was absolutely chilling! I worked the inner city for 15 years with gangs and even with kids and families of the Bloods and Crips and have never had an assault rifle pointed my way. In my 75 years I have seen many Pres motorcades and shook many pres hands and seen many pres elects and their entourage but never anything like this with the motorcycles, big black cars and rifles were just the very last straw. It wasn't the rifle that was scary it was knowing that this madman is so insecure and scared and psychotic that this is how he must travel. AARRRRRGH! USA, Banana Republic for sure. Then to know our tax money paid for this photo op and for the fundraising luncheon at the Renaissance Club is truly the icing on the cake which will kill us all. Very depressing to say the least.

"true peace is not merely the absence of war, it is the presence of
justice."
Jane Addams,
Nobel Peace Prize(1931) and founder member of WILPF (1915).

....clearer photograph of it.

PB

I wish it weren't...better luck next time.

Try totally useless, I can see a gorilla and that's about it

Like that better??

The point is the same: it proves nothing.

But I'm basing my case on eyewitness, testimony form people who were there, and I know personally to be reliable. This is the first one we've found so far, and are looking for others.

sharper focus. My Koday Easyshare software found my grandkids in a photo that the flash hadn't worked on. It actually turned out to be a pretty good picture of them. Have anyone around who knows about this sort of stuff?

I'm too dumb.

Could be a break in the hunt for the missing gunman.

some nutjob (could even be an ultra-conservative) opened up with a .22 on that armored car motorcade (the equivalent of a mosquito trying to attack an elephant) or heaven forbid someone would choose that moment to set of some firecrackers, I just wonder what the collateral damage would be to the bystanders, not just the demonstrators. How many dead or injured because this asshole has such a bad, but well-deserved, public image?

Something tells me that if this is their policy, to flash their automatic wepons at the general public at random, they already have the spin worked out on this one if something tragic were to evolve.

that they're a bit more trained than just to spray down the neighborhood in case there is a noise. You may want to consider loosening the tin foil just a bit.

My 2¢,

RegexReader
$USA =~ s/Republican/Democrat/ig;

I guess you had to be there to see it...