BREAKING at RNC: A Nun and Eight Others Swept into Unmarked Van by Police in Minnesota

[marmar]

from AlterNet's PEEK:



BREAKING at RNC: A Nun and Eight Others Swept into Unmarked Van by Police in Minnesota

Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein, Firedoglake at 12:35 PM on August 31, 2008.

Abuse of "probable cause holds" shows the importance of habeus corpus protections.



UPDATE (12:34 PDT):: One of the 9 protesters arrested was a nun, seen being loaded into an unmarked blue van. The 9 were apparently trying to climb a fence near a church.

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UPDATE: ColdSnap is reporting 9 arrests downtown near the Excel center and police massing all over the downtown core.

The National Lawyers Guild and Communities United Against Police Brutality have filed an emergency motion to stop the seizure of cell phones and cameras during the RNC.

The groups will hold a joint press conference at Hennepin County Government Plaza to discuss their application for an emergency injunction, according to a tweet issued by the ColdSnap Legal Collective.

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The 6 activists arrested during police raids in advance of the Republican National Convention are being held without charge by the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office, the Minnesota Independent reports.

The arrestees are being held on probable cause holds. These holds give the authorities 36 hours to charge them or let them go. Holds are typically used to give investigators more time to gather evidence before filing formal charges.

Holds allow police to charge first and ask questions later. Sometimes that's a good thing. Arrest opportunities are unpredictable. A suspect could slip away in the time it takes to turn a solid suspicion into sufficient evidence to file charges. A probable cause hold buys the police some time to dot the i's and cross the t's.



However, it doesn't take a genius to see how the power to detain people without charge can be abused. For example, unethical police officers have been known to use frivolous holds as quickie jail terms. Piss off the police, spend 3 days in jail--no trial required.

In Minnesota, a probable cause hold can be issued by an officer without review by a judge or a prosecutor. The 36-hour window doesn't include weekends and holidays. So the protesters arrested over the long weekend could be locked up until Wednesday.

The National Lawyers Guild is asking a judge to review these detentions in the hopes of getting the arrestees out sooner.



Imagine if the police could hold these protesters as long as they wanted.

The United States is holding suspects without charge at Guantanamo--many of whom were apprehended without anything approaching probable cause. Of course, Bush administration asserts the right to put off their trials forever.

Scenarios like these illustrate why habeas corpus is vital to the rule of law.


http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/97077/breaking_at_rnc%3A_a_nun_and_eight_others_swept_into_unmarked_van_by_police_in_minnesota/

[MikeNearMcChord]

1. Welcome Comrade Marmar!! To Corpratist Christian (White)People's Republic Of America!

[marmar]

2. Don't Turn Around.....

.....Der Kommissar's In Town....


Scary shit, isn't it? :scared:

[thunder rising]

3. habeas corpus is sooo pre 9/11

The police are just fucking with the weak and defenseless. The funny thing is the really mean Dems are not even there.

[malaise]

4. They got away with these tactics in South and Central America

More shock doctrine while they loot.

[marmar]

5. Indeed....The Shock Doctrine in action in America....

..... and hello Malaise....Glad to see that you're OK.

[malaise]

8. Yep back to normal here

Lots of people have lots of damage. We're lucky as usual. Tomorrow we'll get together with a group who are helping one of the communities in distress.

[Sebastian Doyle]

6. Damn those terrorist nuns!

Will that nut Bill Donohue be protesting this miscarriage of justice, or does he only stick up for the Opus Dei types?

[Maccagirl]

10. He only shows up when ultra-conservs are being verbally

bitch-slapped. He'll be applauding the good sisters' incarceration.

[Solly Mack]

7. Which rule of law?

The kind of rule of law Americans have been schooled to believe in?

or the rule of law for a police state?

Rule of law is a dangerously deceptive phrase when corrupt people hold the power

People can't rely on the rule of law of a corrupt government to protect them...since it's that corrupt government making the law, enforcing the law, and dispensing the justice

I think Bush Inc have shown it doesn't matter what the law says when it gets in the way of what those with power want...and laws can always be changed...and when laws are changed for the worse, what passes for justice also takes a turn for the worse

[1776Forever]

9. This goes right along with reports of police breaking into home of protestor with no warrant - link.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x178827

When I first read this and then reflected back on the above linked report it seems to have Blackwater fingerprints all over it. I tried to find out if Private Security was being used but couldn't find any links to report it for sure. If anyone can find a link please post it!

McCain and Palin are true poster models for this type of dangerous and destructive mercenary tactics that show us it is THERE way not the Constitution that they believe in!

Let us hope that this election will not be stolen this year!

[mzmolly]

11. I don't see this blowing over

for the officials involved in these intimidation tactics.

[Cleita]

12. Welcome to the police state our Republicans have created for us

at work in their own venue. I think this party needs to be outlawed as a rogue and treasonous organization. These are not Americans who uphold the Constitution but totalitarian fascists who operate under the cover of being a political party. The real GOP died thirty years beginning with Richard Nixon.