RNC Sweep Raids Twin Cities IMC

Kinda cool - you can read warrants here:

http://twincities.indymedia.org/2008/aug/tc-imc-exclusive-complete-search-warrant-minneapolis-raid-today

BD

As of Sunday afternoon:

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, August 31, 2008 - The crack down on free speech, free press, freedom to assemble peaceful is under way with raids and arrests going on throughout the area. The right to be secure in your own home from unreasonable search and seizure was violated all day long on Saturday. Civil rights have effectively been suspended in the Twin Cities in advance of the RNC next week.

So far it is believed that there have been eight separate raids on homes and meeting centers. Close to a 100 people have been detained, questioned and released with no charges in the last two days. There are six known arrests from the raids. Those arrested are charged with conspiracy to commit a riot. Blanket warrants listing common household items have been used and reused by police. Law enforcement’s claims of a criminal conspiracy were openly laughed at press conference held yesterday in Powerhorn Park.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (August 30, 2008)

On Saturday morning an FBI officer and a chief deputy from the Douglas County Sheriff’s dept. along with approximately 30 St. Paul police officers bearing firearms, tasers, pepper spray and at least one AR-15 surrounded a house where members of I-Witness Video Collective and journalist Elizabeth Press from Democracy Now were meeting. National Lawyer’s Guild Legal Observer Sarah Coffey was detained in handcuffs outside the building while acting as a liaison with the police. Occupants of the building did not consent to a search and were forced to lock themselves in the building.

At approximately 3:00 p.m. (CDT) police officers tried to serve a warrant that had the wrong address. After being denied entry they stormed the building through the attic by gaining access to an adjacent property.

The warrant covered all of journalistic equipment including privileged notes, computers, cameras, video tapes and communication devices. People inside were forcefully detained, photographed and police made a record of their names and addresses. After a 45 minute search the police released all detainees and left without seizing any of the equipment.

Five other members of I-Witness video who were not present at the house were also simultaneously detained. Three of them detained as they were riding their bicycles a mile away from the scene of the search and the other two as they were driving in a car. The three-hour detainment stopped the media group from documenting three other raids happening simultaneously against activist groups in Minneapolis and St Paul.

This follows an incident from earlier this week when three members of Glass Bead Collective were illegally detained and had their equipment and notes confiscated by the Minneapolis police.

I-Witness Video is an independent media group using video to protect civil liberties. During the 2004 Republican National Convention in NYC, video evidence provided by I-Witness Video exonerated 400 arrestees by exposing lies stated by the NYPD in sworn legal affidavits.

Video of the incident and search warrant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi1eluuDGss&fmt=6

High quality H264 download available on request

Contact: Olivia 646.361.1986 Olivia [at] glassbeadcollective.org
Vlad 917.650.2486 Vlad [at] glassbeadcollective.org
Eileen Clancey 646.944.1181 iwitness [at] iwitnessvideo.info

ST. PAUL, MN-Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman was unlawfully arrested in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota at approximately 5 p.m. local time. Police violently manhandled Goodman, yanking her arm, as they arrested her.

Video of her arrest can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ

Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now! producers who were being unlawfully detained. They are Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman's crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul.

Democracy Now! is calling on all journalists and concerned citizens to call the office of Mayor Chris Coleman and the Ramsey County Jail and demand the immediate release of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar. These calls can be directed to: Chris Rider from Mayor Coleman's office at 651-266-8535 and the Ramsey County Jail at 651-266-9350 (press extension 0).

Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns this action by Twin Cities law enforcement as a clear violation of the freedom of the press and the First Amendment rights of these journalists.

During the demonstration in which they were arrested law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force. Several dozen others were also arrested during this action.

Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in the United States. She has received journalism's top honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar is a transparent attempt to intimidate journalists from the nation's leading independent news outlet.

Democracy Now! is a nationally syndicated public TV and radio program that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe.

Video of Amy Goodman's Arrest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ

Goodman was released at 8pm Sunday night.

The others are held on felony riot and will be held 36-48 hours unless charged with the offense.

BD

Sign the letter to drop all charges against Amy Goodman
initiated by Free Press:

https://secure.freepress.net/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr012=i06ym8gso2.app44b&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=281

BD

"Justice Department unit reaches out to police, protesters"

Federal mediators say they want to reduce possible conflicts and violence via counseling. St. Paul police have accepted the offer, but protest groups are dubious.

By RANDY FURST, Star Tribune

In the latest sign of concern over possible trouble on the streets during the Republican National Convention, a special unit of the U.S. Justice Department is offering counseling services to protest groups and local police.

St. Paul police have accepted the offer, and seven officers will train with the federal experts Wednesday morning, but so far protesters are wary.

Two protest groups that were invited to a separate session Wednesday night by the federal Community Relations Service said they won't participate.

"Our movement does not have faith in anything that comes out of the administration," said Cheri Honkala, national organizer of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, which is planning a "poor people's march" on the Xcel Energy Center on Sept. 2.

St. Paul police have expressed concerns about an assortment of groups that have vowed on websites to "shut down" the convention by blockading roads and preventing buses from reaching the Xcel.

Tom Walsh, a police spokesman, said police supported the efforts of the Community Relations Service. "They have a good track record, and we are making efforts to make sure there is good dialogue," he said.

Dates to '64 rights act

Kenith Bergeron, a senior conciliations specialist with the Justice Department group, said it was created by the 1964 Civil Rights Act to deal with issues regarding race, color and national origin. "We were created to prevent and resolve racial and ethnic tensions, incidents and civil disorder," he said.

In addition to talking to police, he said, his group wants to teach the protest organizations to "self-marshal themselves" during their demonstrations.

"We don't investigate, we don't assess blame and we keep things confidential," he said. "We are there to assist [the protest groups] to make sure the convention protest marches are done safely without any conflicts and disorder."

There was a report Tuesday night that TC-IMC was facing a second raid.
There was heavy police presence outside the house and a paddy wagon, which created obvious concern.
Lawyers were called and tapes were secured
but fortunately nothing happened.

We received this text message at 1:55 AM, Twin Cities time:

"IMC space is A-OK! police presense was
outside bldg; tapes and people inside were secured, ok now. it's
staying open!"

If someone "important" were to come to the U of I campus or the courthouse, where demonstrators might not be welcome and a potential embarassment, will it be long before we see this kind of unconstitutional attack on the "leftist" media outlets in our fine community? "Minneapolis is a test, this is just a test, a test of the emergency media management system,...if this had been an actual emergency, martial law would have been declared, this is only a test..."

Ah, but who cares anyway? So what if the appellate courts of Minnesota rule four years from now that the raids were constitutional violations against unwarranted search and seizure? The 2008 Republican Convention was a splendid time had by all, and there was none of that nabobbing of negativity by the propoganding Liberals.

Convention coverage and an interview with Dead Prez from the RNC at:

http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2008/09/268638.shtml

Although they got the names wrong - Stic Man in the hoodie, M-1 in the Bogart cap.

Free 'em all.

BD

dear everyone: what has been happening in St. Paul is outrageous and frightening. frightening not just because of the injuries people have sustained while attempting to exercise their first amendment rights to protest on the streets, but also because they have been brutalized in jail, and have been denied medical care after being sprayed, gassed, and beaten. scary because of the militarization of st. paul, so that the city's residents don't even recognize their city; because of the massive *pre-emptive* arrests (searches and sweeps of houses where activists have been staying) *before* anything "happened." outrageous because of the preventive detention and illegal arrests of *journalists*, and specifically the shutting down of I-witness video, who played such an important role in videotaping the arrests and police brutality and misconduct at the RNC in NYC 4 years ago -- their work meant that many, many illegal arrests had to be thrown out of court.

Amy Goodman of Democracy now! and a number of her producers were arrested. Since her release, Goodman has been going to press conferences organized by the police chief, sheriff, and district attorney, speaking up and out. When the D.A. tried to silence her, Michael Isikoff from Newsweek shouted that she had a right to ask a follow-up question. let's hope that Newsweek will cover this...

the FBI and the secret service are involved. people are being charged not just with riot and criminal trespass and the like, but also "conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism." Eight members of the "RNC Welcoming Committee" are believed to be the first persons ever charged under the 2002 Minnesota version of the PATRIOT Act.

Most people, even self-described informed, educated, media savvy people, do not know what's been going on in st. paul, or the extent of it - largely because of the silence of the mainstream press and media. the only outlets i know of that are consistently covering these events are Free speech tv and democracy now .

see also:
http://iwitnessvideo.info/
http://www.theuptake.org/
http://www.truthout.org/article/pre-emptive-strikes-against-protest-rnc

activists are asking people to call Mayor Chris Coleman at 651 266-8510, and the jail at 651 266-9350.

p.s. even chris hedges, who is a *liberal*, has described what's happening as "the incremental institutionalization of a police state." the erosion of the u.s. constitution and bill of rights is proceeding apace. we've seen this before, and we will see it again and again, until we do something, folks.