Mark Crispin Miller: Minneapolis Full Of Belligerent Cops (Breaking Up Groups Of 4 Or More)

From Edward Tocus:

Mark,

Last night I forwarded your yesterday's piece on this subject to a nephew in Minneapolis who responded this morning that when he and friends went out to dinner last night they could barely drive through the downtown, so thick was it with policemen. He said the cops showed an aggressive attitude toward them and broke up any group of more than four people (BTW he is not some smart-mouth kid---he is 64).


Mark Crispin Miller <mark.miller@nyu.edu> wrote:
At 2:00 a.m., MN cops arrested members of the Glass Bead Collective, and
searched their rooms, as a pre-emptive measure against protest at the RNC.

Press conference by the National Lawyers Guild:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIm-IWaOPjo

II.

Jeremy Hubbell on the Minneapolis police, who have been mobilized for just
such actions since the late 90's:

The behavior of the Minneapolis police was predictable. Since the EarthFirst!, AIM, Medota Dakota, and neighborhood groups used aggressive nonviolence (treesits and lockdowns in buildings scheduled for demolition) to block construction of Hwy 55 through south Minneapolis (mid-1990s to climactic event in Dec 99, Operation Coldsnap), the city rapidly caught up with other metro police forces and their 'counter-terrorism' type policing. They got a little too zealous from that point on. In the summer of 2000, e.g., the U of MN hosted the International Society of Animal Genetics conference and police pre-emptively raided homes of known anti-gmo activists. Incidents have occurred since of this nature. Pre-emptive raids are old hat. Just fyi that this is not 'new' in our 'hasn't been a free society for a long time nation.' Not even new in "Nice" Minnesota.

I should also note: the St. Paul site for the RNC is perfect for controlling protest. If you haven't seen it or can't quite appreciate the maps of the site. The Xcel center (the power distributor of the Twin Cities, formerly NSP - Northern States Power) has a moat on three sides due to freeway construction. To get there, you either exit the freeway, or walk downhill from the Cathedral or state capitol. On the east, is downtown St. Paul and the Mississippi. Directly east, in fact, is the center of upper class St. Paul - the St. Paul Hotel, Rice Park, and The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra - the most secure section of the city. On the one hand, the geography should allow for an orderly separation of protesters from their object without arrest (just have them walk circles on the capitol mall. On the other hand, due to the control, it will be quite easy to make arrests - even easier than it was in NY.

-Jeremy W. Hubbell
(working on a book about the Twin Cities)

III.

Via Fernwoods, an on-line petition to protest and halt the violence by police (with frequent
updates on the site as well):

Police are suppressing the coverage of events by seizing
people's video cameras. People's cameras were smashed to
the ground and broken. These are not isolated incidents, they
represent a pattern of targeting people. We need everyone to
video the activities of the police Department. When we no
longer have the freedom of the press, we no longer
live in a democracy.
Urgent!
Defend Freedom of Speech and Assembly at the RNC!
Stand Against Police Repression!
Sign the online petition to send a message to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Police, Bush, Cheney, McCain, RNC, the Minneapolis and St. Paul City Councils, the Minnesota Gov., Congressional Leaders and the media to end the police violence against RNC protesters IMMEDIATELY! http://www.troopsoutnow.org/rnc08protestrights.shtml
For updates from the streets of Minneapolis-St. Paul, see http://dncrnc.wordpress.com.
visit TroopsOutNow.org
DONATE to keep us in the streets! Troopsoutnow.org/donate.shtml
visit our DNC/RNC BLOG at dncrnc.wordpress.com
JOIN US @ RNC 9/1-9/4!
RNC: MarchonRNC.org
StopWarOnIran.org - Sept 27 Actions in 100 Cities
Dear Friends,
As we write, thousands of activists are gathering in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul in preparation for a week of protest during the Republican National Convention.

Over the past three days, these activists have been targets of police raids, brutality, and media distortion. Salon reports, "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." (from http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/30/police_raids/index.html)
These arrests, days before the beginning of the Republican National Convention, are an attempt to undercut turn-out at the legally permitted anti-war rally planned for Monday, Sept. 1, organized by March on RNC Coalition. The event, which is expected to be massive, will gather at the State Capitol and march to the RNC Convention site. The police, acting on orders from the RNC, clearly intend to use tactics of fear and intimidation to impact the days of protest that have been planned by hundreds of justice and anti-war organizations for more than a year.

It is more important than ever, in the face of the outrageous harassment and illegal arrests, to support ALL the protesters in St Paul this week.

Take a minute and send a message in support - go to http://www.troopsoutnow.org/rnc08protestrights.shtml.
Police have claimed that protesters intend to engage in acts of violence, but the only criminal and violent acts taking place in the Twin Cities are those being committed by the Ramsey County sheriff's office and the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments. The illegal and excessive raids, conducted by SWAT teams armed with automatic weapons; the mass preemptive roundups of dissenters; and the attempt to label all protesters as criminals are tactics clearly intended to silence protest. We will not be deterred or intimidated by these tactics.
Please join us in standing up to Bush-McCain-RNC police state tactics. A delegation of Troops Out Now Coalition activists is in Minneapolis-St. Paul and will be participating in the many protests during the week of Sept. 1-4. If you are in the area, please join us--look for Troops Out Now Coalition banners and placards.
Whether you are able to join us in the streets or not, you can still stand with us against police repression. Please sign the petition at http://www.troopsoutnow.org/rnc08protestrights.shtml.
Demand: Stop Illegal Raids and Arrests! Protest is not a crime!
visit TroopsOutNow.org
DONATE to keep us in the streets! Troopsoutnow.org/donate.shtml
visit our DNC/RNC BLOG at dncrnc.wordpress.com
JOIN US @ RNC 9/1-9/4!
RNC: MarchonRNC.org
StopWarOnIran.org - Sept 27 Actions in 100 Cities