For a second day, Americans will take to the streets to protest Bush administration policies.
Today's schedule is as follows:
Eyes Wide Open & Cost of War Displays - State Capitol
Start: 7:00 am
End: 1:00 pm
Peace Island: A Solutions Driven Conference
Start: 8:00 am
Anti-Torture Bannering
Start: 9:00 am
End: 11:00 am
Experience Guantanamo in St Paul
Start: 10:30 am
End: 7:30 pm
Substance RNC Music Festival
Start: 12:30 pm
End: 7:00 pm
Ripple Effect music festival - at State Capitol w/Michael Franti, Anti-Flag, etc
Start: 12:30 pm
End: 7:00 pm
Call and Answer Black Dog Block Party w/lots of music
Start: 3:00 pm
End: 9:00 pm
March For Our Lives! - starts at Mears Park
Start: 4:00 pm
End: 7:00 pm
Wake Up World with Lizz Winstead!
Start: 7:00 pm
"Support Our Oil Companies Rally" at a party hosted by Mississippi Governor Haley "Offshore Drilling" Barbour
Start: 8:30 pm
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "the most translated document in the world," according to Guinness Book of World Records, proclaims that "everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly."
Our own Constitution, through the First Amendment, guarantees that:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Moreover, Brandenburg v. Ohio found that:
“[Our] decisions have fashioned the principle that the constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not permit a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.”
Rights considered basic came face to face with reality in the streets of St. Paul. Yesterday, demonstrators at several different protests were subjected to search, seizure, and imprisonment. Most were peaceful protesters who were rounded up and arrested.
According to Cold Snap Legal Collective, as of 10:30 last night, 284 people were arrested yesterday. The breakdown is as follows:
As of 10:30pm today, the arrest tally from Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office was: 284 total; 130 felonies; 51 gross misdemeanors; 103 misdemeanors. The jail is seemingly severely backed up and not everyone has been booked or processed, so these numbers clearly don’t represent the total arrestee count for the day. These numbers also do not necessarily include the numbers of arrestees whose identifications have not been verified.
Some folks are still being held from a series of raids this weekend.
Though some people have been cited and released, the majority are still being held in jail. We’ve gotten many reports that people are not getting proper medical attention, are being refused their medication, and/or have been separated from the rest of the group.
There are also many felony charges, which allow the state to hold the protesters for a longer period of time. Felony charges have historically been used as scare tactics against activists, and there is much less precedent for them to hold up in court. More often, these bogus charges are simply used to keep protesters off the streets and as a way to oppress and silence people.
I want to reiterate that the vast majority of protesters were peaceably assembled.
Protester arrested for falling of his bike:
Bystanders and protesters alike were subjected to tear gas and military aggression:
Veterans for Peace Marchers arrested:
Many journalists, including reporter Amy Goodman and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar from Democracy Now! were harassed and arrested:
From Freepress.net press release:
Date: September 2, 2008
Contact: Craig Aaron, Free Press, (202) 265-1490, x25
WASHINGTON -- Today Free Press, the national, nonpartisan media reform group, called on St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and local law enforcement officials to drop all charges against all journalists arrested while covering protests outside the Republican National Convention. Those arrested Monday include Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and two producers from her show, as well as a photographer from the Associated Press. Other independent journalists have been pepper-sprayed and even held at gunpoint during "pre-emptive" raids aimed at disrupting protesters. This follows the arrest of an ABC News producer at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, made the following statement:
"We condemn the arrest and harassment of journalists before and during the Republican National Convention. We call on the mayor, district attorney and police chief to rein in the overly aggressive -- and even violent -- tactics of law enforcement. Arresting and detaining journalists for doing their jobs is a gross violation of free speech and freedom of the press. We call for the immediate release of any journalists being held in the Twin Cities and for all charges to be dropped immediately. Reporting by independent journalists is the only way for the American public to learn the full story, and they must be free to do their jobs without intimidation."
Will the GOP continue to allow the rights of Americans to be trampled upon during their convention, or will representatives or the GOP and the McCain campaign stand up and condemn police aggression inflicted upon peaceful protesters? The whole world is watching.
Action Items:
Please show your support and solidarity by calling the jail at 651.266.9350 and demand that people are given proper medical attention, are given access to their medication, and are not separated from the larger group! Also, demand that arrestees’ charges are dropped and that they are released immediately! You can also call the Ramsey County Sheriff’s office at 651.487.5149 or the St. Paul Mayor’s office at 651.266.8510, as well your city council member, state representatives, etc.
Support the protesters through Coldsnap Legal Collective.
Go to St. Paul and exercise your right to assembly.
"What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground? How can you run when you know?"
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
-Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)
I will update this diary as information comes in.
Kossack Arielle has an excellent diary about her son being arrested.
Update:
msy Cty jail holding solidarity folks in holding cells & refusing to book them for "non-cooperation" - others still being processed this am.
Videographer reports that police are massing together. Spokesperson would not comment on action.
4:58 EDT:
SWAT team vans also pulling up at Mears park
less than a minute ago from web
20 cops in riot gear at 4th & Sibley, 20 more cops at 5th & Sibley, many other cops at 6th & Sibley (all near Poor Peoples March)
5:40 EDT:
120 riot cops at Ripple Effect concert at the State Capitol
5:42
Riot cops at Ripple Effect have rubber bullets, gas canisters, and concussion grenades ready.
6:10
"Non-lethal" weapons still out at Ripple Effect, snipers on roof of building in area.
6:39
Police just arrested an Indymedia journalist on 5th and Wacouta.
6:52
Man tasered, surrounded by riot cops at 5th and Wacouta.
7:48
Mobile Broadcast News Bus surrounded by police. Unconfirmed that police are breaking into the bus-- LO's and cameras needed!