http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/30/police_raids/#

Quote :

" Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff's department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than "fire code violations," and early this morning, the Sheriff's department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying. ..... In the house that had just been raided, those inside described how a team of roughly 25 officers had barged into their homes with masks and black swat gear, holding large semi-automatic rifles, and ordered them to lie on the floor, where they were handcuffed and ordered not to move. The officers refused to state why they were there and, until the very end, refused to show whether they had a search warrant. They were forced to remain on the floor for 45 minutes while the officers took away the laptops, computers, individual journals, and political materials kept in the house. One of the individuals renting the house, an 18-year-old woman, was extremely shaken as she and others described how the officers were deliberately making intimidating statements such as "Do you have Terminator ready?" as they lay on the floor in handcuffs. The 10 or so individuals in the house all said that though they found the experience very jarring, they still intended to protest against the GOP Convention, and several said that being subjected to raids of that sort made them more emboldened than ever to do so. Several of those who were arrested are being represented by Bruce Nestor, the President of the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers' Guild. Nestor said that last night's raid involved a meeting of a group calling itself the "RNC Welcoming Committee", and that this morning's raids appeared to target members of "Food Not Bombs," which he described as an anti-war, anti-authoritarian protest group. There was not a single act of violence or illegality that has taken place, Nestor said. Instead, the raids were purely anticipatory in nature, and clearly designed to frighten people contemplating taking part in any unauthorized protests. Nestor indicated that only 2 or 3 of the 50 individuals who were handcuffed this morning at the 2 houses were actually arrested and charged with a crime, and the crime they were charged with is "conspiracy to commit riot." Nestor, who has practiced law in Minnesota for many years, said that he had never before heard of that statute being used for anything, and that its parameters are so self-evidently vague, designed to allow pre-emeptive arrests of those who are peacefully protesting, that it is almost certainly unconstitutional, though because it had never been invoked (until now), its constitutionality had not been tested."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/30/rnc.protest/index.html

Quote :

"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. 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. "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. advertisement 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."

When the scared words of salisburyboy start to become true, we know we're in some deep shit.

9/2/2008 5:59:46 PM

Our "leaders" must be afraid of something

They see their system unraveling

9/2/2008 6:10:02 PM

WTF

9/2/2008 6:19:46 PM

I guess the title of this one isnt as provocative as your other RNC protest thread

9/2/2008 7:11:08 PM

That's fucked up.

9/2/2008 7:25:57 PM

bullshit. of course the courts will dismiss the charges, but the police have already trampled over rights, and it seems unlikely they'll ever see punishment.

9/2/2008 8:13:40 PM

Welcome to the police state.

Seriously though, if the law enforcement agencies are pushing this hard on people who aren't doing anything, it's not going to be long before they're actually retaliated against. People won't put up with this shit forever.

9/2/2008 8:18:34 PM

hey man. fire code violations. do you know what you can do w/ fire code violations, nigga?

9/2/2008 11:51:47 PM

They're targeting Food Not Bombs, huh?

9/3/2008 11:24:40 AM

Has this ever happen in US history before, in this way?

9/3/2008 11:26:07 AM

The conflict between anarchists and pigs has a long history.

9/3/2008 11:27:03 AM

How did they get a fucking search warrant for this shit? The judge that ordered that should be disbarred. Thank you democrats for rolling over on FISA and everything else you know you'll use if you have to.

This country is done. The decline of the American Empire has started.

9/3/2008 11:31:43 AM

this is highly appalling.....but I do like this sprirt:

Quote :

"several said that being subjected to raids of that sort made them more emboldened than ever to do so."

police state here we come.

Quote :

"of course the courts will dismiss the charges, but the police have already trampled over rights"

not to mention pictures of all involved, personal info, and whatever else may have been on their comps.....They probably knew full well how it would play out, and didn't care about getting any convictions. Now they have all the info they need to put these people on some sort of watch list. If the department/city isn't harshly punished, others will take example....

9/3/2008 11:45:35 AM

dont you think liberal socialism is more oppressive than a liberty free state

9/3/2008 4:05:54 PM

hahahahaha

Which is worse

Shit Sandwich

or

Turd Burger?

I'll take the Turb Burger with an extra serving of corn, thanks!

9/3/2008 4:10:51 PM

Turns out the authorities have been bothering Food Not Bombs since the start.

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_3704.shtml

9/4/2008 11:20:02 AM

This country is toast. Seriously, stick a fork in us. Just hearsay from a biased paid infiltrator is all it takes for a judge to issue a search warrant? I guess everyone on the side of the State just assumes these folks won't have the financial backing to take this to the highest levels of the supreme court that it should go to.

Unreal. What happened to democracy and freedom of ideas?

9/4/2008 11:26:04 AM

Well when you vote to give the fed the power to make your dicisions for you, dont be suprised when they decide in their best interests.

9/4/2008 11:28:19 AM

who needs the freedom to assembly anyways
its right up there in uselessness with the freedom to petition

who needs that shit [/GOPolice State]

9/4/2008 11:34:42 AM

The Democrats weren't much better at their convention.

9/4/2008 12:16:40 PM

i must have missed all the press about how the police were conducting raids during the DNC to stop protesters from assembling

9/4/2008 12:42:34 PM

Quote :

"i must have missed all the press about how the police were conducting raids during the DNC to stop protesters from assembling"

they arrested that ABC anchor for standing on the sidewalk and being too close to the Democrats super secret meeting

not the same thing as raiding a home, but an example of some fucked up shit happening at the Dem convention

9/4/2008 12:48:38 PM

Obviously thats equivalent to a raid based on a bogus search warrant.

9/4/2008 12:51:26 PM

now i did see that and THAT was fucked up

i would also like to know more about the back story for that code pink chick that got her shit caved in by that cop.

that was pretty fucked up too but without a back story...who knows, maybe that chick kicked the cop in the balls or something

9/4/2008 12:52:38 PM

Any idea why the FBI has a beef with this group? The article didn't really get into it. If this guys claims are true, aside from being fucked up this has been a tremendous waste of resources for 20 years now. Have the authorities adressed any of these claims? Not saying that the article is true or untrue, but it was written by the founder of the group and I would be interested in hearing the other side of the story.

9/4/2008 1:17:14 PM

It could be a case of a gross intelligence failure. Maybe the Fed thought the group was a part of a violent anarchist movement when it wasn't and thus screwed up badly. Maybe the group really was a violent anarchist movement and was simply just that good at hiding their activities. Or maybe the Fed just wanted to shake up protest groups, making them as an example to keep others in line or toned down. Plenty of possibilities.

9/4/2008 1:35:47 PM

I suspect the government just doesn't like anarchists. This is completely natural and not remotely surprising. Even a peaceful anarchist would be a threat to the established order. They don't trust us. We don't trust them.

9/4/2008 8:55:28 PM