Progressive Calendar 08.31.08
From: David Shove (shove001tc.umn.edu)
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:33:53 -0700 (PDT)
             P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R     08.31.08
                          POLICE RAIDS II

1 Turck
2 Turck
3 Broderick
4 Hare
5 RNC
6 Hare
7 DeLaCruz
8 Beegle
9 Wood
10 Meland
11 Simons
12 Ellison
13 Driscoll
14 Yorek
15 Wilkinson
16 Underwood
17 Driscoll
18 Morales
19 Carr
20 Schleuning
21 Wood
22 Muller
23 Underwood
24 Goldstein
25 Repke
26 Wilkinson

This should be a "teachable moment". Whatever has just happened here
obviously CAN happen here. Who knows what more will happen over the next
few days - whatever does, CAN. It appears to be very well planned and
intentional at every level; it is not going to go away, and will only get
worse if we do nothing. Time for articles, letters, meetings, forums,
sit-ins, pressuring city govt for laws and practices that will banish
events like those related here. -ed

--1--

To: David Shove <shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu>
Subject: Journalists targeted by FBI in St. Paul

Journalists targeted by FBI in St. Paul
By Mary Turck , TC Daily Planet
August 30, 2008

Mike Whalen and reporters sit, handcuffed, in his backyard. (Photos by
Mary Turck)

According to I-Witness reporter Eileen Clancy, an FBI agent came to Mike
Whalen's house on Iglehart Avenue this morning, looking for an individual
who was not present at the time. This afternoon, police broke into the
house with guns drawn, detaining Whalen and the journalists for hours as
dozens of reporters from all over the country stood outside, kept on the
opposite side of the street by police orders. The six people inside the
house - and one legal observer who came outside to try to talk to police -
were handcuffed during the search of the house.

Legal observer Sarah Coffey answered reporters' questions in front of the
Iglehart residence, as police looked on.

Journalists inside the home included Clancy and Elizabeth Press, a news
producer for Democracy Now. Journalists outside included Amy Goodman, host
of Democracy Now and a camera crew.

Kim, who lives next door, voiced her strong objections to the police
proceedings, praising Mike Whalen as "a good neighbor, a very nice
neighbor for ten years. He has never caused a problem". She said anyone
should be allowed to protest, though "I'm a Jehovah's Witness so I don't
give a crap about Republicans or Democrats," but said that anyone should
be allowed to protest.

Eventually, she invited the crowd of journalists into her back yard, where
they interviewed Mike Whalen and Eileen Clancy over the back fence, as
police watched in obvious, mute discomfort.

"They look through materials and copy materials, but you are not
arrested," said Clancy. "If you sue later, the court thinks it wasn't a
big deal, because you were not held very long".

"They cannot raid a news office without a subpoena - but they did. This is
journalists' work product".

Police eventually produced a subpoena, similar to the ones that have been
used in all of the half-dozen raids during the past 18 hours.

"These are pre-emptive raids," Clancy insisted. "Police are targeting
people who are here to protect free speech rights".

Eventually, Amy Goodman and a camera crew climbed over the fence. Police
tried to get them to leave, with no success. Police on the scene would
make no comment, saying that a public relations officer would talk to
reporters They were unable, however, to say who the public relations
officer was, or where that person might be found.

In the end, the police released all of the people detained at the Iglehart
address.

At the same time that the I-Witness reporters were being detained on
Iglehart, police followed, stopped and detained two other I-Witness
reporters and a friend as they biked down Marshall Avenue in St. Paul.
They searched the trio's belongings and detained them there until the raid
at Iglehart ended.

Article Tags: I-Witness, journalists, Media, police raids, RNC, RNC 2008


--2--

Ramsey County sheriff raids homes in South Minneapolis
By Mary Turck, TC Daily Planet
August 30, 2008

Police officers raided the "Bread Not Bombs" house at 2301 23rd Avenue
South on Saturday morning. According to the onlookers, items confiscated
from the house included a sack of onions. (Photo by Mary Turck)


This morning the Ramsey County's sheriff raided the house of Food Not
Bombs, two other private residences in south Minneapolis, and the Wellness
Center in St. Paul. At least four people were arrested on charges of
"conspiracy to commit a riot". The search warrants shown at these raids
appeared to be nearly the same as the warrant for last night's raid, with
the addition of specific named individuals and vehicles to be searched.
The warrant lists multiple pages of items to be searched for, ranging from
explosives to cardboard to "urine and feces".

Ramsey County sheriff's deputies conducted the raids in Minneapolis this
morning, as well as the raid in St. Paul last night, with back-up from
Minneapolis police this morning and St. Paul police last night. At least
one officer at the raid at 23rd Street and 23rd Avenue South in
Minneapolis was wearing an FBI jacket.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher issued a press release this morning
saying that at Friday night's raid on the Convergence Center, "Numerous
items were recovered. No persons were arrested. The search warrant was a
part of an ongoing investigation regarding serious criminal acts".

Fletcher stated, "This investigation pertains to actions of the RNC
Welcoming Committee. The 'Welcoming Committee' is a criminal enterprise
made up of 35 self-described anarchists who are intent on committing
criminal acts before and during the Republican National Convention. These
acts include tactics to blockade and disable delegate buses, breaching
venue security and injuring police officers. They have recruited
assistance in their criminal conspiracy from other anarchists groups
throughout the country. Through their plans and actions they have
exhibited a blatant disregard for the law and the safety of others..

The Minnesota Independent reported that police searches turned up weapons
and devices to disrupt traffic, though the location of the seized articles
was not disclosed.

Article Tags: Both, Government, Public Safety


--3--

Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:51:32 -0500
From: Richard Broderick <richb [at] lakecast.com>
Subject: For the PC

Here's something for your consideration. It went up this afternoon at
the Daily Planet.

It Can't Happen Here? It already has...
Rich Broderick
The Twin Cities Daily Planet
August 30, 2008

As I write this, the precise authority under which members of the Ramsey
County Sheriff's Department participated in raids of houses and private
buildings in St. Paul and Minneapolis this weekend is unclear to me. I
have heard from a very harried friend at the National Lawyers Guild that
the break-ins and arrests of RNC protestors took place under the auspices
of the Secret Service and Justice Department - apparently FBI members
participated in the raids.

But under whatever authority and in the name of whatever statutes - at
this point, the cause for detentions in Minneapolis has been given as
"conspiracy to commit riot," as flimsy and ad hoc a rationale as the
infinitely elastic "Homeland Security Offense" listed on a police report
to justify the detention in Minneapolis of independent journalists earlier
last week which resulted in the seizure of their equipment and personal
belongings - it should be obvious that concerns about this country turning
into a police state, a corporation- friendly fascist nation like Singapore
or the People's Republic of China, are greatly misplaced. There's no need
to worry about this happening in the United States.

It already has.

It should also be clear that both the wish list of expanded powers to spy
on, arrest, and detain "suspects" without charge that got dropped into the
Patriot Act and the whole War on Terror have as their ultimate objective
not to make life difficult for terrorists. No. Like the equally bogus War
on Drugs, they are designed to make it easier for law enforcement
personnel at every level - as always the chief line-of-defense of the
propertied classes - to terrorize American citizens. Citizens who should
perhaps henceforth more properly be referred to as "American subjects."

The erosion of civil liberties and constitutionally guaranteed rights in
this country - an erosion that, it cannot be emphasized enough, did not
begin with George W. Bush but has proceeded apace under a succession of
Administrations, both Democratic and Republican d-- makes all the eloquent
calls we heard from Denver for unity and restoring the American Dream
little more than hollow rhetoric. At the national level, both major
parties are knee deep in creating and nurturing the
military-industrial-congressional complex - the genesis of the national
security state - that Eisenhower warned more than 50 years ago posed the
gravest threat of all against democracy and the rule of law. I hate to say
it folks, but when it comes to curbing this beast, there isn't, to quote
George Corley Wallace, "a dime's bit of difference" between Barack Obama
or John McCain.

Right now, there is a power vacuum in this country - a power vacuum that
has made us easy pickins' for the fascists among us; political discourse
has given way to spectacle, as we have been conditioned by the mass media
to believe that "democracy" is just something that happens every four
years when we go to the polls.

At the local level, there are things we can and must do to address this
vacuum, this confusion of spectacle with politics. We can pressure the St.
Paul City Council to make sure that the security cameras that have been
placed all around downtown St. Paul come down just as soon as the RNC
circus vacates the Xcel Center. We can contact the Ramsey County
Commissioners and demand that they do what they should have done a long
time ago: rein in their Sheriff's Department.  We can pressure both city
councils in Minneapolis and St. Paul into passing resolutions authorizing
the arrest of Bush Administration officials complicit in any of dozens of
flagrant assaults on our civil liberties should they ever set foot in
either jurisdiction. We should vote out judges unable to recognize that
such resolutions certainly do fall within the jurisdiction of local
governments. We can also support the heroic efforts by non-partisan groups
like the National Lawyers Guild and the ACLU in their rearguard battles
against the national security state.

Above all we can all step up to the table and acknowledge that our
obligations as citizens do not consist solely in voting. We can begin to
volunteer to serve on the literally dozens of commissions, boards, and
other municipal, county and state organizations currently occupied, by and
large, by persons interested in maintaining the status quo. It's great to
rage against the machine. How much better to take over its controls, turn
it into an engine of progress and liberation rather than reaction and
enslavement.

For Barack Obama is right at least in this: change must come from below,
not from some savior descending from on high. As Woody Allen said, the
world is run by the people who show up. And it's high time we all started
turning off the television and showing up.

Otherwise, we might as well kiss whatever chance we have of reclaiming the
Constitution good-bye.


--4--

Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:47:36 -0500 (CDT)
From: hare [at] tcfreenet.org
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

I have said many times that I trust the Saint Paul Police.  I now want
them to save us from the Ramsey County Sheriff and this blatant attempt to
intimidate and violate rights.

There's not much point in having a convention to pick a presidential
nominee when we live in something like a dictatorship.  The irony should
not be lost on anyone.

I offer my house for the purpose of organizing, 3 blocks from the Xcel,
should other places no longer be available.  Please contact me if you need
it.

Chief Harrington, I call on you to carry out your duty and protect the
citizens of Saint Paul.

Erik Hare
West End (Irvine Park), Saint Paul    http://erikhare.wordpress.com
Info about Erik Hare: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/erikhare


--5--

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Permitted SEPT.1 March  goes forward despite police pressure.

Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War
For Immediate Release: August 30, 2008
Contact: Katrina Plotz 651.769.4474
Steff Yorek 612-865-8234
Coalition to March Office: 379-3584

Police Actions Designed to Chill Free Speech of RNC Opponents. Permitted
March for September 1 goes forward despite police pressure.

The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War condemns the police
raids and arrests being carried out against people associated with the RNC
Welcoming Committee. Jess Sundin, a spokesperson for the Coalition said,
"The raids and arrests are unacceptable and should be condemned by
everyone who stands for peace and justice."

Steff Yorek said, "The actions by the St. Paul Police are an attempt make
people afraid to take a stand against the war and the Republican agenda.
We denounce authorities' attempts to suppress free speech and remind
everyone that the March on September 1, 11am at the State Capitol is a
permitted rally and march. People from all walks of life should feel
confident that the March is a safe place to protest the war."

The office of the Coalition to March on the RNC at 1313 5th St. SE, Suite
112 C, Minneapolis, MN will be open until 4:30 today for photo
opportunities. Media spokespeople will be available


--6--

From: hare [at] tcfreenet.org
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

Another thing I'd really like to know:

Fletcher got warrants for these raids, as we can expect.  Which judge
signed off on them?  I think that's where the pressure has to be put.
Bob is just being what we would expect, and we're not going to change his
gestapo tactics in a few days.  But we might be able to get a judge to
realize how perilous this is.


--7--

Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:14:50 -0500
From: Cristy A. DeLaCruz <cristy.delacruz [at] gmail.com>
To: St. Paul Issues Forum <stpaul-issues [at] forums.e-democracy.org>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

I would like to know why the Ramsey County Sheriff has jurisdiction over
these arrests rather than the Saint Paul Police. I don't like how this is
playing out.

And I second the motion that anyone who needs a place to organize is
welcome at our house in Irvine Park. It's a bit dusty with our office
construction still in process, but we do have the space on private
property.

Cristy
Irvine Park, near the fenced barricades on Chestnut Avenue


--8--

Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:17:22 -0500
From: Margaret Beegle <beegle [at] louberts.com>
Subject: Progressive Calendar Correction

There is an error in the Coldsnap Legal Hotline phone number on the last
calendar.

The correct number is (651) 356-8635.


--9--

Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:00:04 +1200 (NZST)
From: Michael Wood <mwood42092 [at] yahoo.com>
To: St. Paul Issues Forum <stpaul-issues [at] forums.e-democracy.org>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

Gees, Lenin once said that: "the bourgeoisie looks backward in fear of
democratic rights which threaten to strengthen the proletariat." (Lenin,
Two Tactics...)

Are we in the Gus Hall Action Club going to be rounded up and/or
mistreated, too, because we advocate the science of Marxism-Leninism and
have initiated a picketline demanding nationalization and public ownership
of the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant on Wednesday, Sept. 3 @
3:00-6:00 pm at the Ford Plant?

Michael Wood
Longfellow, Minneapolis
Info about Michael Wood: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/michaelwood


--10--

Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:14:06 -0500 (CDT)
From: kmeland [at] bitstream.net
To: David E Shove <shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu>
Subject: Ramsey County Sheriff's Conduct

It sounds as though Sheriff Fletcher has become the Ramsey County
equivalent of Maricopa County AZ sheriff Joe Arpaio.  A joke if there ever
was one.  The legislature should investigate this type of overreaching and
so should the Ramsey County commissioners.  Keith Meland, Gold Canyon, AZ


--11--

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: STRIB: Police raids on protesters homes
POLICE RAID PROTESTS SITES IN TWIN CITIES
By Abby Simons, Heron Marquez Estrada and Bill McAuliffe, Star Tribune

http://www.startribune.com/politics/27695244.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUs

PHOTO:Paul police officers attempt to gain entrance to house on Iglehart
that was raided Saturday afternoon. Raids were executed at numerous sites
of alleged anarchist groups in the Twin Cities in preparation for the
start of the RNC. Sara Coffey, with, with the National Lawyers Guild was
stopped outside the house, handcuffed and detained and helped police
negotitate with those inside. A total of ten persons were eventually
handcuffed and detained.

POLICE RAID PROTESTS SITES IN TWIN CITIES

By Abby Simons, Heron Marquez Estrada and Bill McAuliffe, Star Tribune
Last update: August 30, 2008 - 5:58 PM

Ramsey County authorities conducted raids across Minneapolis and St.
Paul Friday and Saturday as a pre-emptive strike against disruptive
protests of the Republican National Convention.

Five people were arrested and more than 100 were handcuffed, questioned
and released by scores of deputies and police officers, according to
police and elected officials familiar with the raids.

In a statement Saturday morning, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said
the St. Paul raid targeted the RNC Welcoming Committee, a group he
described as "a criminal enterprise made up of 35 self-described
anarchists...intent on committing criminal acts before and during the
Republican National Convention."

"These acts include tactics to blockade and disable delegate buses,
breaching venue security and injuring police officers," Fletcher said.
Deputies seized a variety of items that they believed were tools of
civil disobedience: a gas mask, bolt cutters, axes, slingshots, homemade
"caltrops" for disabling buses, even buckets of urine.

But the raids drew immediate condemnation from activists and St. Paul
City Councilman Dave Thune, whose district includes the former theater
at 627 Smith Avenue South, which was rented by activists as a gathering
space.

"This is not the way to start things off," Thune said Saturday morning.
"This is sending the wrong message. Regardless of how you feel about
these people...they had a right to be there."

On Saturday afternoon, law agents surrounded 951 Iglehart Av. in St.
Paul where members of I-Witness Video, a New York-based group that
monitors police conduct during protests, were staying. They were
detained and handcuffed but eventually freed without charges.

At a news conference Saturday, Cheri Honkala of the Poor People's
Economic Human Rights Campaign, one of the protest groups, described the
Friday raid and an earlier one Thursday that evicted a demonstrators'
camp on Harriet Island as "terrorism" intended to divert attention from
issues the protest groups are raising and cast the news as police versus
protestors.

"We will not be intimidated," Honkala said.

Thune was especially critical of Fletcher for taking action within St.
Paul city limits.

"I'm really ticked off...the city is perfectly capable of taking care of
things," Thune said. "If they had found anything that could have been
used to commit a crime they would have arrested somebody."

Said Thune: "Unless they come up with anthrax or weapons of mass
destruction, I think they came up short."

Later Saturday, Fletcher described in a news release the items seized
during the raids, which included a variety of "edged weapons"; glass
bottles, rags and flammable liquids; "Old tires (for burning)," a gas
mask and "Empty plastic buckets cut and made into shields."

The RNC Welcoming Committee denied criminal intent and described the
police actions as "violence" that is a sign of more extreme police
measures to come.

Three people were arrested and detained for probable cause conspiracy to
commit a riot following a raid at 3240 17th Ave. S. in Minneapolis.

Ten other people in the house were processed and released after about 90
minutes, said Bruce Nestor of the National Lawyers Guild.

Nestor said the warrant used to search the home was identical to two
others for searches at homes at 3500 Harriet Av. S. and 2301 23rd Av. S.
in Minneapolis. One man was arrested at the 23rd Avenue S. house, and a
fifth arrested at an "undisclosed location," according to the Ramsey
sheriff's office.

Nestor said the the warrant used to search the 17th Avenue house also
matches the one used to raid the former theater in St. Paul that is the
organizing site of the RNC Welcoming Committee.

Nestor said he has not seen documents that support a reason for
searching any of the locations, but that the warrant, signed by a judge
on Friday, seeks multiple items, including electronics and MP3 players,
rags, jars, Molotov cocktails, communication between RNC Welcoming
Committee members, urine and feces.

Those arrested could be held through the weekend, Nestor said. A judge
will review their case within 48 hours. Nestor said the conspiracy to
commit a riot charges are vague.

"This is a charge that police use for preventive detention," he said.
"It requires that no actual criminal act be committed and borders on
criminalizing political advocacy."

Nestor did not know whether the three were members of the RNC Welcoming
Committee.

Meanwhile, the group decried the Friday night raid on their organizing
site as unwarranted, as evidenced by the lack of arrests after at least
50 people were detained. The group decried law enforcement's tactics,
particularly because children and the elderly were present while the
group was watching films and sharing food before the doors were broken down.

"The police may claim that the raid was executed according to protocol -
however, the violence inherent in this action may only be a hint of the
violence to be expected on Monday and beyond, and is only a hint at the
violence perpetrated daily by the police," the group's statement read.

"(By) Looking for items found in any twin cities house like jars, paint,
and rags, this attempt to portray us as criminals and destroy our
credibility has already backfired as evidenced by the masses who have
come to support us." the RNC Welcoming Committee said in a statement
late Friday.

An attorney for protesters said Ramsey County sheriff's deputies and St.
Paul police officers handcuffed at least 50 people and made them lie on
the ground for an extended period. The raid happened Friday night around
9 p.m. at the former Smith Theater on St. Paul's west side.

Thune estimates that about 100 people were in the theater and detained.
He said deputies knocked down the door using a police battering ram and
then deputies went in with guns drawn, forcing people to the ground.

The group says they are now accused of a fire code violation and the
theater was boarded shut on orders of Fletcher. This last action also
upset Thune, who said the sheriff had no authority to order city staff
to keep people out of a building.

Thune said he would be working with city officials today to re-open the
building. Demonstrators said later Saturday that the building was being
re-opened.

Abby Simons - 612-673-4921


--12--

Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:36:07 -0500
From: Pam Ellison <pamellison [at] isp.com>
Subject: Re: Hauling away protesters in advance - Are we all a threat? Paint,
 jars and rags?

Andy et al:

We are now living in "Minority Report" the movie Tom Cruise made a few years
ago where they arrest people on suspicion they will commit a crime.

I agree wholeheartedly with you Andy, this IS OUTRAGEOUS!!  What REAL
proof do we have that these people were a threat?  Why is the Sheriff of
Ramsey County acting in this way in the City of St. Paul?  Did Chief
Harrington the Sheriff's assistance?  Where is the line between City and
County law enforcement?

Who do we know that does not have paint in their home or gasoline for
their lawnmower, or a jar of pickles?  Does this mean we are all potential
threats?  So if we protest do we need to dispose of all potential tools,
containers, paint, fertilizer, rags, ........?

More and more people tell me of instances where law enforcement is out of
control, this proves it in black and white.  Our country and specifically
Minnesota in this case is out of control when these supposed criminal
searches are sanctioned by those in power.

State Fair goers that I talked with at the Minnesota Independence Party
booth had several chilling tales from all over the state of Minnesota of
so-called sanctioned, over-zealous actions enacted with chilling effects
by law enforcement, no doubt sanctioned and enshrined in the Patriot Act.
Many more people contact me on a regular basis and state stories that are
similar.

I personally am one of those "crazy people" that would rather take the
risk of dying at the hands of an unknown terrorist than lose my freedom
and be detained, molested and tortured by my own country's legal system
that can heavy-handedly arrest, detain, molest and trample me and my just
and thoughtful constitutional rights.  I will take Freedom over Terror of
the political kind any day of the week.

What you read in today's paper is just the tip of the iceberg.

SEND A STRONG MESSAGE to elected officials NOW by exercising your VOTE
accordingly.  We need Criminal Justice and Judicial Reform now! How much
power does the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office have?  The question begs an
answer, and certainly after the actions of last night and today, the
question probably is even more poignant.  Lets wake up people!!!!  At some
point we will all find ourselves at the mercy of Sheriff Fletcher or
someone else like him if we don't stand on the constitutional standards
that built this great nation.  Your rights and mine of freedom of speech,
freedom of assembly and right to privacy are trampled on every time an
action of this nature is taken.  These tenets of the constitutional
supercede partisan issues, they supercede ethnic issues, the SHOULD
supercede ALL issues where justice is concerned.

I would hereby call that all the fine citizens of Ramsey County petition
the Ramsey County Commission to change the office of Sheriff to an
appointed position, rather than an elected one.  We need the office of
Sheriff to respect the freedom of speech and rights of our citizens to
protest within reasons. If the position were appointed, those acting as
Sheriff can be fired rather than waiting for an asleep electorate to wake
up to these types of actions chronicled in the morning paper, in time to
elect the person out!

These detainments and arrests were clearly out of line when those detained
and arrested were freed within two hours of their detainments.

This is not the direction we need to go in our state or nation.

I would encourage the media to track anyone who has made a dissenting
opinions about this matter, to make certain they are not arrested or
disappear for their dissent, and widely report it if they are!!!

Because quite frankly, we ARE at that point in Minnesota and across the
nation.  Amnesty International stated in a recent mailing to me that they
have identified over 50,000 people in American jails that remain
imprisoned and tortured without cause.  This is our America!!!!! Are you
willing to take a stand against these actions or will you ignore it until
you are in prison?

Pamela I. Ellison

"The two greatest obstacles to democracy in the  United States are, first,
the widespread delusion among the poor that we have a democracy, and second,
the chronic terror among the rich, lest we get it."
 - Edward Dowling, Editor and Priest, Chicago Daily News, 28  July, 1941


--13--

From: Andy Driscoll <andy [at] driscollgroup.com>
Subject: [StPaulGP] Hauling away protesters in advance - Are we all a
    threat? Paint, jars and rags?

Thank you, Pam.

I've just returned from taping an RNC Welcoming Committee news conference
outside the same old West Side St. Paul building Fletcher's boys raided
last night, kicking in doors, weapons drawn, forcing everyone - including
children ­ facedown to the floor where they were handcuffed with large,
sharp-edged, plastic straps, searched, then released, one-by-one. Officers
confiscated several computers, maps, programs and some money according to
Lisa Fithian, who conducted the news conference. More on the news
conference itself later, but...

Several teams of sheriff's deputies and other police have raided three or
four private residences in Minneapolis and stopped several bicycle riders
at gunpoint around both towns, arresting and jailing several of them on
"conspiracy" charges, mostly young men and women connected to the protest
community.

Defense attorneys say these cross-jurisdictional raids are authorized and
coordinated by Homeland Security and encompass all police and sheriffs'
departments, the FBI and the Secret Service. The St. Paul Police were
supposed to be "in charge" of any security outside the Secret Service "red
zone" around the Xcel Center, but it's quite clear every police department
in the Metro is under the coordination and direction of a larger entity.

Gena Berglund, a National Lawyers Guild (NLG) attorney coordinating legal
observers and recorders calls this Homeland Security operation the Fusion
Center, a likely name for granting law enforcement powers across all
jurisdictions.

Fithian insisted that, in her 35 years of working in dozens of local and
regional venues "for radical change in this country," she had never seen
anything the likes of which is occurring this weekend across the Cities.

Apparently, twelve to fifteen people have been detained without charges
filed and they can be held for up to 36 hours - not counting weekends and
holidays - meaning that they could be held through Tuesday unless their
release is forced by a court, according to NLG lawyer Jordan Kushner, who
spoke at the news conference.

Among the other speakers were:

Michael McPhearson of US Veterans for Peace, which is holding its annual
convention in a Bloomington hotel/motel. Police officers from several
jurisdictions appeared at that gathering as well, claiming to be scouting
the facility for a their own use when, in fact, the VFP group had reserved
the entire space for the same period of time. McPhearson was certain this
was little more than police intimidation in much the same manner as he and
his fellow soldiers used their uniforms and weaponry as intimidation of
Iraq and Kuwaiti civilians during the Gulf War I and the current Iraq War.

Dave Bicking, Green Party activist and father of one of the arrested
people in this morning's Minneapolis raids, Monica Bicking.

Coleen Rowley, former FBI agent and whistleblower and organizer of next
Thursday's Peace Island Picnic.

Ann Wright, former US Army colonel who said she has served in nearly every
US-led military theater from Grenada to Iraq and has never seen such an
operation as this weekend's preemptory police actions.

All the speakers spoke of the profound curtailment of civil, human and
Constitutional rights the police raids represent, and that every citizen's
right to dissent and petition their government is being illegally quashed.

What came quite clear to me is that law enforcement must knowingly be
provoking the violence they warned city officials about in advance of the
protest marches to come Monday and Tuesday mornings by the anti-war and
anti-poverty group sponsors. What may be aimed at pre-convention
intimidation and preemptory arrests of protest leaders to quell
protesters' announced intentions to disrupt the convention has only fired
up the very people police expected to put down.

A cynic might wonder if this is all leading up to justification for a
brutal confrontation between well-armed and armored police officers and
unarmed and generally harmless marchers and dissenters.

Where the two major city mayors, the city councils and county boards are
throughout this extraordinary breach of Constitutional rights is a matter
for citizens to challenge - and the disgrace this is bringing to the
otherwise reasonable Twin Cities and Minnesota cultural heritage is beyond
understanding.

It would seem that, with little resistance, the elected officials of our
cities have given governance over to a police state, however temporary,
and to the paranoia that accompanies such an inbred culture as law
enforcement, itself undeterred by the rule of law in keeping the peace and
protecting the Constitution.

The ripple effect in this community will last for years beyond the coming
week - and the political and personal lives of citizens and our
representatives will have taken a severe turn for the worse. Was it worth
all of this grief for the money you all insisted was coming to our fair
city's and business coffers to sully the very climate that made us so
attractive in the first place?

I think not.

Andy Driscoll, Producer/Host
Lynnell Mickelsen, Co-host
Truth to Tell & CivicMedia/Minnesota
KFAI Radio, 90.3 Minneapolis/106.7 St. Paul/Streamed@ KFAI.org
651-293-9039 / Fax: (same, call ahead) / Cell: 651-492-2221
email: andy [at] driscollgroup.com

TRUTH TO TELL

SEPT 1-4: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION WEEK

TRUTH TO TELL meets the Republicans coming to St. Paul¹s Xcel, talks with
the groups protesting them, and watching the cops confronting everyone.
Listen as TTT and KFAI present special coverage of the events inside and
outside the convention arena. Our ³reporters² from all walks will provide
stories and interviews from marches, counter-conferences, rallies and
insiders throughout the week.

OUR SCHEDULE:

* MONDAY, Sept 1- PM Hourly: News and field reports on the anti-war March
Against the RNC and others

* TUESDAY, Sept 2 ­ PM Hourly: News and field reports on the Poor People¹s
march, Peace Island conference

* WEDNESDAY, Sept 3 ­ 11AM: TRUTH TO TELL ­ Live from the Convention Center.
        GUESTS: TBD; News

* THURSDAY: Sept 4 ­ 6-10PM: LIVE COVERAGE ­ Discussion and Analysis from
KFAI and Xcel

KFAI Radio, 90.3 Minneapolis /106.7 St. Paul / Streamed [at] KFAI.org
A CivicMedia/Minnesota production
Podcasts are available for all Truth to Tell shows:
<http://truthtotell.mypodcast.com/rss.xml>


--14--

Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:44:02 -0500
From: Steff Yorek <yosteff [at] gmail.com>
Subject: Sunday news conference will give final update on preparations for
    Monday anti-war protest

Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War
NEWS RELEASE
August 30, 2008

For more information contact:
Jess Sundin 612-379-3584; 612-272-2209
Katrina Plotz 651-769-4474
Mick Kelly 612-715-3280

States Jess Sundin, a spokesperson  for the Coalition, "The phones in the
coalition office are ringing off the hook as people are calling in for
details of the protest and to report what they are doing to bring their
family members, friends and neighbors out to say no to the war and
occupation of Iraq."

The Monday protest, called by the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop
the War, is being held under the calls of:  U.S. Out of Iraq Now! - Money
for human needs, not for war. - Say no to the Republican Agenda. - Demand
peace, justice and equality.

The Monday protest will start with a rally at the Minnesota State Capital
building at 11 am followed by a march that will go past the Xcel Energy
Center, site of the RNC convention, and returning to the capital for a
closing rally. Tens of thousands are expected at the march and rally.


--15--

Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:03:03 +1200 (NZST)
From: Jay Wilkinson <balthazarw [at] yahoo.com>
To: St. Paul Issues Forum <stpaul-issues [at] forums.e-democracy.org>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

Me and my white hair (under yellow helmet) and quasi-cruiser bike, cycled
down summit past cathedral and into dntn by St Jos early this afternoon.
Went around the park by central library, over steel blockades (down at the
time), through gates, etc.  Lots of fencing, lots of St Paul and MN State
police, some workers and a few delegate types and a few curious folks like
myself.  I wonder if I would have been so free if i were 25, skinny, in a
black tshirt?

I attended the press conference at the convergence ctr on smith.  It sure
was a scary place inside - dangerous looking things like computers,
newsletters, first aid, food, event schedules postings , etc.  And a
litter of plastic handcuffs at the front door.

Speakers included Colleen Rowley, a former US diplomat, the dad of woman
arrested yesterday, Pete Seeger's grandson, a vet for peace (or similar
org.).  Quite a few media people recording.

In addition to the raids in St. Paul and Mpls., cyclists and motorists are
being stopped for intimidation and questioning throughout the metro area.

I saw commandante Fletcher on news a few minutes ago showing off the
products of the raids.  He made it clear that there have been infiltrators
involved in the anti- war planners group for more than a year.  If history
is a guide to the present, there is a very good chance that the
infiltrators were at the radical edge of the groups and their finger
prints will be on the buckets of urine (you gotta be kidding....) and many
other items featured in the press conference.  It will be 4 years and a
milllion $ in attorneys fees before the fog of war is dispelled from our
city.

Here is the likely worst of what the cops are looking to prevent:  Some of
the protesters will block traffic and inconvenience the operations of the
convention.  Some will get in the face of delegates and police, if they
get a chance.  If it gets as bad as Seattle, some windows will be broken,
trash cans burned.

I'll be grumpy if my transit to work and home is delayed.  Some guests
(most of whom support US use of extreme violence throughout the world)
will be angry that their party is disrupted.

I'll be OK with Bob Fletcher arresting people who actually bring a pickup
and park it to stop traffic or who really chain themselves to the St. Paul
Hotel bathroom stalls or can be witnessed painting the anarchist symbol on
every billboard in the county (well, maybe I'm not ok with arrests for
that.)

That would be troublesome.  But what should we sacrifice to avoid such
troubles?  The police tactics we are seeing yesterday and today are
something else again.

If 15,000 people are intimidated and silenced and dare not come to
anti-convention events this week and 100 people are arrested and jailed,
and our community as a whole is turned into a "no-speech zone" - the
democratic values purported to be common to republicans and democrats will
be shown to be a tissue of lies.

City Council - County Board - I think special meetings are in order to
consider whether to continue local support of the police-state conspiracy
to intimidate and stop people from gathering and expressing their views.

I urge everyone to come to the Capitol at 11 on Monday for the main march
and then - if you can find your way around the barricades, head over to
Harriet Island for the SEIU sponsored concerts.

Ditto to Eric's comment on the barricades....

Jay Wilkinson Macalester Groveland, St Paul Info about Jay Wilkinson:
http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/jaywilkinson


--16--

Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:36:02 +1200 (NZST)
From: Charley Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
To: St. Paul Issues Forum <stpaul-issues [at] forums.e-democracy.org>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

A early evening (6:30 p.m.) update:

I am just back from the press conference at the newly re-opened
Convergence Center at 627 Smith Avenue.  I got there just a few minutes
late, but in time to hear Dave Bicking describing the arrest of his
daughter; Dave is a friend of mine and I will simply say that he is
worried.  The chances are huge that his daughter Monica will be released
without charges as soon as everyone is properly intimidated and the
convention is nearly over.  (The police have 36 hours to charge someone
AFTER the start of business on Tuesday morning.)  The more long-term
danger is that Sheriff Fletcher has made some very wild accusations that
carry the possibility of felony charges and possible decades in prison.

There was a lot about Ramsey County Sheriff's office being involved well
beyond their jurisdiction.  It turns out that this morning's raids in
Minneapolis also involved the Ramsey County office, even though Powderhorn
is quite clearly across the Mississippi River in Hennepin County.  A
fellow from the Veterans for Peace, which is now holding its convention at
the Ramada Mall of America in Bloomington, mentioned that there have been
quite a few uniformed and sometimes plainclothes officers from quite a few
jurisdictions who were swaggering (his expression) through the meetings.
The whole jurisdictional limitation seems to have disappeared, as far as I
can tell.

A number of officers have not had any identifying patches at all, either
as to their jurisdictions or even as to their names.  Someone said that
this is not legally required of on-duty police officers.  If this is true,
it is a strange situation, since Minnesota recently made it illegal to
bring charges against an officer unless you could prove conclusively that
the officer individually acted illegally.  The punishment for such
accusations is quite severe.  So the victim of police malfeasance is
required to identify the officer, but the officer is not required to
identify him/herself (if I understand the law).

The house on 17th Avenue is having the boards taken down and is being
occupied.  It was originally boarded up because the police knocked down
the doors this morning and the law provides that it must be boarded if it
cannot be secured by the owner (even though they had locked Monica up).

During the press conference on Smith, the organizers received two calls of
others being detained or arrested or of police searching houses.  One
address on Iglehardt, another on Marshall.  And a stop on Lake Street in
Minneapolis.  A new raid is occurring about every 15 minutes, according to
organizers.

As I mentioned, the Convergence Center is now open again.  I toured it and
saw the kicked-in doors.  The entryway was littered with the remnants of
those plastic handcuffs, which had eventually been cut off last night.
>From what I understand, Dave Thune deserves great thanks at getting to
the bottom of this illegal raid.  There were no bomb-making supplied at
the location.  There were no arrests.  Dave Thune apparently got
personally in touch with the city inspector, who determined that there
were no fire violations either, so the city inspector ordered the building
re-opened.

This next part is my opinion, not mere reporting.  It seems to me that
Sheriff Fletcher is sticking his neck out quite a bit here.  His is not
only trampling on St Paul's regulatory and police functions, but he has
sent his troops into Minneapolis (and perhaps Bloomington) as well.  I
cannot imagine that Mayor Coleman is happy with Fletcher's cowboy
approach.  If Matt Bostom keeps his promise, he will soon be offering his
resignation, since it seems pretty clear that quite a few civil liberties
have been trampled since last night.  City council members from both St
Paul and Minneapolis must already have a few regrets about inviting this
particular convention to town, and they must also regret their naive
belief that they could maintain control of their own law-enforcing during
such a high-profile event.

My personal hope is that Sheriff Fletcher loses his job over his
outrageous excess.  His actions serve neither public safety nor democracy.

Last question: Which judge DID sign those warrants?  And what was that
judge thinking of?  And how will that judge feel about future requests
that come from Fletcher's office?


--17--

Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:59:19 -0500
From: Andy Driscoll <andy [at] driscollgroup.com>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

As a follow-up to Charley (whom I wish I had met while there) -

The judge's name: Mark Wernick. The irony: Mark Wernick once represented
thousands of arrested and jailed Vietnam War and Powerline protesters, and
was once considered in the same vein as progressive (NLG founding) lawyers
Larry Leventhal, Ken Tilsen and Peter Erlinder.


--18--

From ricardo [at] northlandposter.com Sat Aug 30 21:48:25 2008
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:06:36 -0500
From: Ricardo Levins Morales <ricardo [at] northlandposter.com>
To: David Shove <shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu>
Subject: raids

A brief comment on the question of who is calling the shots:
I spoke today with Minneapolis city council member Gary Schiff after the
raids in Mpls. He said that Minneapolis had signed an agreement giving the
Secret Service overriding authority on matters related to the RNC,
including any actions by the Mpls Police. Previously when he had tried to
secure the return of confiscated video footage from the supposed "railroad
yard" incident, the Police would not give any information, even though it
was their officers involved, saying that it was in the hands of the Feds.


--19--

Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:15:02 +1200 (NZST)
From: Jan Carr <jan [at] carrcreatives.com>
To: St. Paul Issues Forum <stpaul-issues [at] forums.e-democracy.org>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

I just spoke to one of the NLG lawyers, and she counsels the best thing to
do right now is plain old political pressure - calls, emails, and faxes
to all our elected officials.

Fletcher answers only to himself, but if we start communicating to our
elected representatives, maybe that will embolden them to stand with Dave
Thune and speak out against these abhorrent police state tactics.

I made up a list of most of the people involved:

Mayor Chris Coleman Chris.Coleman [at] ci.stpaul.mn.us
Phone: (651) 266-8510 Fax: (651) 266-8513

Ward 1:  Melvin Carter:  Melvin.Carter [at] ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8610 Fx: (651) 266-8574

Ward 2: Dave Thune:  Dave.Thune [at] ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8620 Fx: (651) 266-8574

Ward 3: Pat Harris: Pat.Harris [at] ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8630 Fx: (651) 266-8574

Ward 4:  Russ Stark:  Russ.Stark [at] ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8640 Fx: (651) 266-8574

Ward 5:  Lee Helgen: Lee.Helgen [at] ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8650 Fx:  (651) 266-8574

Ward 6:  Dan Bostrom: Dan.Bostrom [at] ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8660 Fx: (651) 266-8574

Ward 7:  Kathy Lantry: Kathy.Lantry [at] ci.stpaul.mn.us
Ph: (651) 266-8670 Fx: (651) 266-8574

Sheriff Bob Fletcher: 651-266-9333
It's no surprise that Sheriff Fletcher does not publicize his email
address: but you can write to any of these Ramsey County Commissioners:

http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/cb/index.htm

BETTY MCCOLLUM
(651) 224-9191â^À¨    FAX (651) 224-3056
Send email: http://tinyurl.com/6e9pbt

KEITH ELLISON
612-522-1212   Fax:â^À¨612-522-9915
Send email: http://tinyurl.com/67z9d9

Jan Carr
Summit U, St. Paul
Info about Jan Carr: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/jancarr


--20--

Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:19:02 -0500
From: Neala Schleuning <schleuning [at] comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

Dave Thune is looking pretty good through all of this. . . whether you're
on the left or the right.


--21--

Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:42:04 +1200 (NZST)
From: Michael Wood <mwood42092 [at] yahoo.com>
To: St. Paul Issues Forum <stpaul-issues [at] forums.e-democracy.org>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

Brothers and Sisters,

I warmly believe that we shouldn't allow this repression to intimidate us
from attending the Sept. 1 anti-war protest sponsored by the Coalition to
March on the RNC and Stop the War @ 11:00 a.m. at the State Capital in St.
Paul, Minnesota, the Sept. 3 picketline for nationalization of the St.
Paul Ford Plant sponsored by the Gus Hall Action Club, the Poor Peoples
Economic Human Rights March on Sept. 2 or any other event.

Gus Hall, the former Marxist-Leninist leader of the Communist Party USA,
once said that "the war hawks always dominate U.S. government policy when
the people are silent." (Gus Hall, Basics) And Hall also pointed out that
we shouldn't be silent when our democratic rights are attacked.


--22--

Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:35:12 -0400
From: Alan Muller <amuller [at] dca.net>
To: St. Paul Issues Forum <stpaul-issues [at] forums.e-democracy.org>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

(1) Do people think the enhanced apparatus of repression ($50 million
worth?) will FULLY go away after the current Republican festivities wind
down?

(2) Suppose people were to come to their collective senses and desire to
kick the Republican convention out of Minnesota--to minimize further
damage to the community and begin repair....  Who--if anyone--has the
authority to do that?  Could the Mayor of St. Paul do it?


--23--

Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:18:03 +1200 (NZST)
From: Charley Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
To: St. Paul Issues Forum <stpaul-issues [at] forums.e-democracy.org>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

I had a fairly long telephone conversation late this afternoon with a
young friend.  She was driving along Lake Street at 11th Avenue when she
was stopped by Minneapolis police, made to like face-down with her hands
cuffed behind her back.  She has been living and studying in other state,
but is back in the Twin Cities visiting her parents.  She kept telling me
how "nice" the Minneapolis police were.  When she asked why they had
stopped her, they answered pleasantly that they didn't actually know.
(Apparently law enforcement from another jurisdiction was also present and
calling the shots, but she couldn't identify where they were from, just
noted another black SUV with tinted windows.)

Life presents little ironies.  While handcuffed on the ground, she asked
if she were being detained and was told "no."  She then asked if she was
arrested, but received no answer from the "nice" policeman.

Eventually, she was released.  No charges.  No ticket.  No arrest. Nothing
taken.  Just released.  It may have something to do with the crowd of
around 30 people who gathered around them and began asking questions like
if she was charged with anything.

As far as I know, she hasn't even been in town long enough to have met
with anyone from the RNC Welcoming Committee.  She has been studying out
of state, as I said.  I should mention that she is one of the nicest young
people I know, but that she is 19 and she does dress "goth."

Later this evening, I met with an older friend, a pacifist who has been
working with some members of the RNC Welcoming Committee.  She has
requested and received sanctuary from her religious community.  Following
the events of the day, she is completely convinced that Sheriff Fletcher's
office is arresting every single member of the Welcoming Committee that
they can find.  She knows that the police might raid her religious
community as well, but she is hoping to get at least one night's sleep in
safety, surrounded by her community of faith.  I wish her well.

The above are events I know about and will recount.  The pattern is there
for all to see.  Sheriff Fletcher is throwing around quite a few wild
charges and entering jurisdictions where his legal presence is as tenuous
as his understanding of basic citizen freedoms.  It is clear that
Fletcher's purpose is to quash all protest by associating it with
extremism and danger.  Yet Fletcher himself seems to be the most dangerous
and the most extreme.

It is time for this to stop.  Mayor Coleman and the other members of the
St Paul City Council must join Dave Thune is reeling in the out-of-control
cowboy before something serious happens.  This man Fletcher is doing some
serious long-term damage to any possible working relationship that the
police might hope to have with the citizens of St Paul.  Sheriff Fletcher
is exposing the city of St Paul to criminal charges stemming from their
cooperation with him, and he is exposing the citizens to massive lawsuits
that no insurance company could possibly cover.  Worse still, Sheriff
Fletcher shames the memory of so many who have fought and given their
lives for the freedoms he is now taking away.

Seriously, it is time for the mayor and city council to rein in this
fellow before he does any more harm.  It is time for us as citizens to
reject the fear that go with Fletcher's intimidation and to march in large
numbers from the Capitol on Monday, united together against the war,
united together for our own protection.


--24--

Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:25:50 -0500
From: Tom Goldstein/EFQ <tom_goldstein [at] comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

Let's keep in mind that whatever the Ramsey County Sheriff's Dept. claims
it confiscated at the building on the west side is automatically suspect
because of the pretext they've used for this raid and the manner in which
it was carried out. As someone else pointed out earlier on this list, many
of the things that might be capable of causing harm or damage to others
can be found in most houses throughout the metro area, whether it's gas
for the mower, paint thinner, etc. Using these heavy-handed, Gestapo-like
tactics, kicking in doors, etc., is clearly to intimidate and should be
repugnant to every citizen in the state.

As for John's earlier posting about what the RNC Welcoming Committee has
posted on its website, this is hardly a justification for the raids that
were carried out. In the 1950s and 1960s during the Civil Rights and
anti-war movements, many groups made it clear that their tactics would be
nonviolent sit-ins and other peaceful protests. Engaging in unauthorized
marches, occupying areas where one has been told not to be, blockading the
front of public buildings, etc., may all be things that cause annoyance to
others and occupy the police in ways they don't like, but this is exactly
the kind of protest that is supposed to be protected by our Constitution.
It doesn't mean that you won't be arrested or charged with some kind of
criminal offense for your conduct, but the idea that you can be prevented
from even waging that protest amounts to a prior restraint on speech,
which is not permissible.

Using Fletcher's logic, the fact that a police officer might injure his
back while having to lift a protestor who lies down on a sidewalk would be
a justification for engaging in this kind of raid. Similarly, it would
justify the police seizing table salt or paprika or kitchen knives or just
about anything you can think of under the pretext that these are going to
be used to cause violence and that some kind of conspiracy is afoot. Why
not seize the automobiles of protestors, because those can certainly be
used in weapons? In theory, if I'm part of a group that plans to march on
the RNC, refuse to obey any police commands to stay out of a particular
area, and has the goal of being arrested, then under the "Fletcher rules"
I could be detained as being a part of a "conspiracy" to break the law.
This involves a kind of mental gymnastics that even those who believe law
enforcement never crosses the line would have trouble attempting.

I also find reprehensible the kind of tactics employed here. Breaking down
doors and making mass arrests to seize literature and computers and
related paraphernalia? This is exactly the kind of rogue behavior that
gives all cops a bad name. What would have stopped the Sheriff's
Department from simply knocking and entering the unlocked entrances and
executing their search warrants in a more humane way? Kicking down
citizens' doors, whether they're avowed protestors intent on disrupting a
political convention or average citizens wishing to be free of
unreasonable search and seizures is a draconian response that is
completely unnecessary--and a black eye on all St. Paul law enforcement. I
would hope that Chief Harrington would denounce this raid, and instruct
his officers to not cooperate with Ramsey County in carrying out any
further suspect activities such as these, but I doubt that will happen. As
much as we may respect SPPD, no cops like dealing with protestors.

When I first read postings and reports raising all these alarms about what
was going to happen in St. Paul during the RNC, I have to admit that I
thought several people were overreacting. But I never considered the goon
tactics that somebody like Fletcher would utilize. Maybe everybody was
asleep on that one, because the RC Sheriff's office has not been
considered a key player in any of this, nor have they been present at the
briefings I've attended regarding the RNC. It's time for the Commissioners
to rein him in immediately, even if voting to restrict the funding of his
department is the only way they can do so.

Jay Wilkinson has it right: "City Council - County Board - I think special
meetings are in order to consider whether to continue local support of the
police-state conspiracy to intimidate and stop people from gathering and
expressing their views." I'll go a step further: the chief judge of Ramsey
County should immediately authorize expedited hearings for all protestors
arrested, even if it means convening court on Sunday or Labor Day. After
all, why should Fletcher's tactics be allowed to escape the scrutiny of
the judicial system while people are locked up or intimidated in the days
leading up to the RNC?

We've heard a lot of talk about how St. Paul should be hospitable to the
Republicans who are coming to town for the convention even though we in
St. Paul may strenuously disagree with their views, and civility is always
a good virtue to follow. But the real test of our city is whether we have
the courage to allow those who wish to engage in demonstrations or
nonviolent protest the ability to do so, even if those individuals have
every intention of getting arrested and/or trying to disrupt a political
convention. Democracy is a messy business, but if we're prepared to
tolerate the kind of tactics employed by one of our police agencies, then
we do a disservice to everyone.

No man can be an island unto himself, so expecting Dave Thune to shoulder
all the heavy lifting on this matter is not realistic. Contact your city
council member, the mayor, your county commissioner, and your friends. But
don't wait until Tuesday when the convention will be half-over. Cal them
at home, drop by their houses, let them know you're pissed at this kind of
behavior in your city.

Tom Goldstein
Hamline-Midway


--25--

From: Chuckrepke [at] aol.com
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Buckets of urine, slingshots,
     anti-bus weapons seized in raid on a...

I went and read the article there is NOTHING in the article that says that
any of those things were found at the Smith Street location. If that is
true than every thing the Fletcher is showing came from private homes. I
would encourage Bob to raid John K's home and see if he has any sledge
hammers, or nails or bolt cutters in his garage or basement. Got a lawn
mower John and a can of gas? Sounds like a trip to the workhouse for you.


--26--

Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:39:09 +1200 (NZST)
From: Jay Wilkinson <balthazarw [at] yahoo.com>
To: St. Paul Issues Forum <stpaul-issues [at] forums.e-democracy.org>
Subject: Re: [SPIF] Hauling away protesters in advance

My message to City Council, Mayor and Cty Board members

Mayor Coleman:

It appears that law enforcement has adopted a policy of preventive
detention and intimidation aimed at scaring people away from RNC protest
events.

Sheriff Fletcher's media statement included reference to more than a
year's worth of infiltration of alleged criminals by informants.  History
has shown that informants are often those who incite the hardest lines and
supply the danger that they are paid to uncover.

I fear St. Paul will learn this too late after the 1st Amendment is
crushed against steel barricades and we have 3 years of litigation.  You,
the City Council and County Board should act now to uphold the
constitution.

My friend Michael Whalen, whose house was broken into today by st. paul
police (causing more property damage than the anarchists have done so
far....) might have said:

"all Freemen ... have a Right publickly to remonstrate the Abuses of
Power, in the strongest Terms, to put their Neighbours upon their Guard,
against the Craft or open Violence of Men in Authority, and to assert with
Courage the Sense they have of the Blessings of Liberty"

but it was Andrew Hamilton, from his 1735 defense of John Peter Zenger, in
a landmark trial which helped to establish the principle of freedom of the
press in America.


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