VIDEO: Protester Raid Inside Convergence Space ("Everyone Is To Be Handcuffed; Based On What, Sir?")

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_10351505

Protester raid video: See the confrontation inside the "convergence space" building
By Mara H. Gottfried
mgottfried@pioneerpress.com
Article Last Updated: 08/31/2008 07:11:52 PM CDT

The president of Communities United Against Police Brutality released a video today of the first seven and a half minutes of a raid in St. Paul Friday.

Michelle Gross said she shot the footage after Ramsey County sheriff's deputies went to 627 Smith Ave. about 9:15 p.m. and executed a search warrant. The former theater is being used a "convergence center" for different groups.

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Gross said sheriff's deputies ordered her and others to the ground during the search on Friday and most of the video she filmed was from the floor. She said the footage is "not all in a beautiful position because I was on my face, but was able to capture some of the essence of what was going on there."

After about seven and a half minutes, Gross said deputies turned the video camera off, despite her protests that she had a right to record what was happening.

"We document these incidents and then to have them pick up and then turn off the video camera ... is grotesque," Gross said today. "More than that, though, this was only the latest in a salvo of several incidents involving police attempting to block people from telling the story of what they're doing."

The National Lawyers Guild and Communities United Against Police Brutality filed an emergency motion in Hennepin District Court Saturday night, asking a judge to stop police from seizing video equipment and cellular phones used to document officers' conduct.

In the Friday and Saturday searches, Fletcher has said there were weapons and material recovered that could be used in the RNC Welcoming Committee's planned "tactics to blockade and disable delegate buses, breaching venue security and injuring police officers."

The National Lawyers Guild has said the materials were common household items and the RNC Welcoming Committee's Web site has never stated or discussed plans for violence during the RNC, including against law enforcement.

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We should be arresting them under the Patriot Act.

found at several raids. True?

If they are so afraid, why did they agree to host the RNC.