As of tonight, it is way too early for me to tell just what the heck is going on in St. Paul with police raiding homes and arresting anyone not Republican who's exercising their civil rights. The few blogs here on Kos are sketchy, but they don't paint an encouraging picture. The Traditional Media is mostly ignoring the story, but they do report is almost exclusively about "Anarchists Smashing Windows", but there are a few reports about "Police Infiltrating Anarchist Groups" and raiding homes and collecting "Potential weapons," as evidence before anyone even hits the streets.
Can you Palinphiles quiet down just a little bit and let some real news get through? Something terribly important is happening, and this site is running three most rec'd diaries about Palin at any given time? How about some focus?
Please check out these diaries:
Smartinez
Valtin
Whitefish
And consider this a polite request for more info from the frontpagers about this story.
These Kos diarists seem to be regulars, and their reports seem to be accurate, but its still not a heck of a lot of information to go on. This has been happening all day, apparently. I understand that Katie Couric won't give this story any play, but shouldn't I see something corroborated or at least comprehensive on the frontpage here or TPM?
Here's my lame attempt at filling in some blanks. I don't hope to make the rec list, but I do hope to contribute to a change of topic while this is happening.
First, here's the link to Democracy Now's storyon the arrest of Amy Goodman, while asking police questions about why her colleagues were arrested, with this snippit:
Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar Released After Illegal Arrest at RNC
Goodman Charged with Obstruction; Felony Riot Charges Pending Against Kouddous and Salazar
ST. PAUL--Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar have all been released from police custody in St. Paul following their illegal arrest by Minneapolis Police on Monday afternoon.
All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back. Salazar’s violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was slammed to the ground while yelling, "I’m Press! Press!," resulted in her nose bleeding, as well as causing facial pain. Goodman’s arm was violently yanked by police as she was arrested.
On Tuesday, Democracy Now! will broadcast video of these arrests, as well as the broader police action. These will also be available on: www.democracynow.org
I have to say that I seriously doubt that Salazar and Kouddous were involved in felonious rioting. More likely they made the mistake of questioning a cop amped up on riot juice just what was going on.
Here's a bit from the Chief of Police from yesterday, from the Minnesota Independant:
Mayor Chris Coleman said that there are no plans for mass arrests. "If you’re here to protest peacefully you are welcome in the City of St. Paul," he said at the press conference. "If you’re here to create civil disturbance, if you’re here to try to shut down the convention , if you’re here to engage in criminal activity, that will not be tolerated and we will deal with that."
Looks like they are going beyond stated objectives, a little.
The World Socialist Website News has the most detailed account, though i have no insight on their credibility or lack thereof. This part is from a police press conference:
Ramsey County Sheriff Fletcher declared there had been only four raids and that "we’re not interested in other groups that are interested in protesting civilly in any way, shape or form. That is not our interest." However, a fifth raid took place in a St. Paul neighborhood where a local protester made part of his house available to I-Witness Video, a New York-based group that monitors police conduct during protests. Eileen Clancy, who was present at the house, said, "Essentially, they had this warrant. They stormed the house, they kicked down the door. They drew a gun on us. And they cuffed us. I have to say, it’s just appalling. The fact that we were not arrested is evidence that we were doing nothing wrong. Our intentions are peaceful."
Sounds like a clear attempt to prevent coverage of their activities, and nothing else. More from the same article:
Members of the Lawyers Guild have debunked some of the seized items, such as "weaponized urine", which authorities charge was to be put in containers and thrown at police and RNC delegates. It turns out two of the three pails contained "gray water"—an environmental conservation technique in which water collected from bathtubs, showers and sink drains is contained and later used to flush toilets. The third bucket had been retrieved from a nearby garage where a man had been living illegally without plumbing for years and used the bucket to urinate in.
During the press conference, Fletcher had two deputies on each side of him hold ends of the tube from a bicycle tire while he placed a rock in the middle. Pulling back on the rock and stretching the tube, he demonstrated how it was supposed to be used at demonstrations, while barking, "Sending rocks! Rocks for the cops! One guy holds them. Next guy sends them."
A bicycle tire inner tube? How stupid do they think people are? Anyone who was ever a kid knows that an innertube makes a shitty slingshot! And the shouting? Did they discover evidence of that, too?
Here's a report filed by Amy Goodman, before her arrest:
AMY GOODMAN: As we interviewed Jon Stewart at the Minneapolis airport next to baggage claim, we got a text message that Democracy Now! videographer, filmmaker Elizabeth Press, who had arrived before us, had been arrested, or she had been detained, or she was in a house with I-Witness Video, and somehow the group was surrounded by police. That was the last details we had. We had the address of the place; they were texted to us. And we raced off.
Armed groups of police in the Twin Cities have raided more than a half-a-dozen locations since Friday night in a series of preemptive raids before the Republican convention. The coordinated searches were led by Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher but conducted in coordination with federal agencies.
Yes, the FBI is in this throughout. Nobody condones violence, but it seems that the police are using one group's reputation and label ("Anarchist") as a pretext to flex their muscle and squash free speech, especially free speech that is critical of police.
Sorry for the hodgepodge; its the best I can do so late in the evening. I hope to read more definitive, corroborated and coherent reports tomorrow, and less about Bristol Palin's pregnancy.