With 30 guns drawn, police raid building of RNC protestors

[debbierlus]

They stand accussed of a simple fire code violation. In all seriousness, I hope no protestors are hurt or killed at the convention. We are dealing with fascist crazy people.


ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) -- Police raided a rental hall used by a group organizing protests at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday.


Police on Friday raid the hall rented by a group planning to protest the Republican National Convention.

The RNC Welcoming Committee, which describes itself as "anarchist/anti-authoritarian," accused St. Paul police of trying to disrupt their protest planned for Monday, the day the GOP convention is set to begin.

Although no one was arrested, the group said police temporarily detained and photographed at least 50 people who were inside the building.

St. Paul Police spokesman Tom Walsh said they were executing a search warrant.

"The cause for the search warrant is not public at this time," Walsh said.

As many as 30 police officers entered with guns drawn, according to witnesses in the building. Watch members of the group at the scene of the raid »

"The convergence center is simply a gathering place and is not used for illegal actions -- it is a place for workshops and trainings," a statement from the protest group said. "Tonight, we were watching films and sharing food.

"We are now accused of a simple fire code violation," the statement said.

Oddie Miller, a 19-year-old from Fort Collins, Colorado, said it was "just a space to get food, free Internet, community organization."

"There were no bombs or anything in there," Miller said.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/30/rnc.protest/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

[thunder rising]

1. WTF Minnesota? I lived up there years ago and I never thought they were a dangerous people.

Nor a fearful people, nor a people that would let a sheriff get this far from the base beliefs of the community that he serves.

[debbierlus]

2. Maybe its feds?

It is shocking, and if we didn't have a corporate fascist medi; it would be front page news.

[RichardRay]

4. Detailed accounts wth quotes and video...

From Glenn Greenwald on Salon. He's been on the scene of several of the events and reports more today.

Glenn Greenwald on Salon

It's all pretty raw...

[tomnjoy]

3. Local news reports

Local news has been covering this, and they have been reporting that they did confiscate some materials that "could" be weapons...here's a quote from the local story:

"The sheriff's office said it confiscated weapons on Saturday including a machete, hatchet and several throwing knives, empty glass bottles, rags and flammable liquids, homemade devices used to disable buses, metal pipes, axes, bolt cutters, sledge hammers, empty plastic buckets made into shields, an Army helmet, and large amounts of urine."


Here's a link to the full story on the local NBC channel, KARE11:

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=523389&catid=2


It's tough to know exactly WHAT'S going on. Some reports are saying it was a peaceful gathering and there was no reason for the raid - other reports are saying there was evidence that the protestors were planning violence. From what I've heard locally, most protestors have been very peaceful and there have been no other reports of violence.

[RoyGBiv]

5. Cause for search warrant not public?

I see.

[Cleita]

7. Welcome to the police state of Minnesota.

If there is a lot of heavy handed police activity in this RNC Convention, they will have a hard time finding another state or city willing to host them in the future. IMHO.

[backscatter712]

6. Fucking pigs!!!

Absolute pieces of authoritarian garbage.

I'm sure it won't be long before the pig-loving wannabees will be all over over this thread telling us how the pigs were following the rules, and that the protesters were completely in the wrong for wanting to be within 20 miles of the RNC convention and wanting to make use of their First Amendment rights, and that they were right for kicking down their doors wearing their Imperial Stormtrooper gear and pointing guns in their faces and seizing all their stuff.

I hate and distrust cops, and I always will, and if you don't like it, shove it!

[Cleita]

8. Rank and file police are just militia like any other. They are following orders.

It's the authorities that are giving them the orders that you need to go after. In this case, the orders probably come from the White House, but I'm sure you are not surprised.

[backscatter712]

9. Ve vere just followink orders!

That excuse didn't fly for the Nazis at Nuremburg, did it?

If you're ordered to violate someone's civil rights, it's your duty to refuse that order.

[Cleita]

10. It did fly in Iraq though. If it weren't true there wouldn't be an Iraq

war because most of the military personnel were unwilling to go. They wanted to go to Afghanistan, yet they went because they were issued orders. Any rotten police department can be traced to its chief of police. I know that there are individual cops that are rotten and often when there is a bad chief of police there will be a rotten culture running through that police department, but the police are pretty much told what to do from higher ups.

[ladjf]

11. The drawn guns were part of the plan to intimidate. There wasn't

any chance that all of sudden the protesters were going to open fire on the policemen.

That's the same reason the Feds are eavesdropping on everyone. Intimidation, the tool of choice for police states. It keeps the opposition to afraid to be able to resist.