Police raid RNC protest sites in Twin Cities
First of all, protesting is a loser’s game. It has no lasting impact on policy or public opinion. If you want to affect policy, you have to be organized, respectful, and these days demonstrate that you have at least one hundred thousand voters of the same consensus, whatever your cause or complaint.
Otherwise you are a non-starter politically. You may find that unfair, nonetheless it is how the game is played. The internet, the great equalizer of this day and age makes the dissemination of information and the gathering unto oneself of like-minders easier than ever.
As a blogger, I don’t begrudge anyone that would oppose the policies of their government. Open, unfettered debate is a right and a responsibility for every citizen. However, protesting and the disruption of a legitimate political process is an ineffective, wasteful, and frankly lazy way to express one’s opinion.
Our law enforcement is charged with protecting those that gather for the legitimate process as well as the protestors, putting them in a veritable squeeze play. Add the fact that an outbreak of violence at an event of the magnitude of the Republican Convention in Saint Paul is not out the realm of possibility.
If the protesters are obtuse enough to make their plans to exercise anarchy and disruption known, a preemptive strike by law enforcement should not be a surprise and in fact serves to dissuade those that would break the law by bringing harm to persons or property.
Ramsey County authorities raided several Minneapolis homes and a St. Paul building on Friday and Saturday as a pre-emptive strike against disruptive protests of the Republican National Convention.
Three 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.”
But that can’t be right. How could a group with such an innocuous name intend to bring harm to persons or property?
“These acts include tactics to blockade and disable delegate buses, breaching venue security and injuring police officers,” Fletcher said.
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.”
Not if they are breaking the law – any law. Even the RNC Welcoming Committee should be smart enough to know that.
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.
Terrorism. Don’t insult our intelligence.
You are not raising any issues. No one cares about you because you have marginalized yourself by the means you have chosen to publicize your cause.
“We will not be intimidated,” Honkala said.
Big words. Not smart.
Thune was especially critical of Fletcher for taking action within St. Paul city limits and because the raid apparently did not yield any dangerous materials, such as Molotov cocktails, bombs or other devices.
“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.”
Sounds like the cops cut the protesters some slack. Law Enforcement had a Warrant. Hey Thune, mind explaining what these items might be used for then?
Pioneer Press/Twin Cities.com (HT “Chuck”):
- materials to creating “sleeping dragons” (PVC pipe, chicken wire, duct tape), which is when protesters lock themselves together
- large amounts of urine, including three to five gallon buckets of urine
- wrist rockets
- a machete, hatchet and several throwing knives
- a gas mask and filter
- empty glass bottles
- rags
- flammable liquids
- homemade caltrops (devises used to disable buses in roads)
- metal pipes
- axes
- bolt cutters
- sledge hammers
- repelling equipment
- Kryptonite locks
- empty plastic buckets cut and made into shields
- material for protective padding
- an Army helmet.
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.
“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.
Violence? Reports (from a newspaper more likely to be sympathetic to the protestors than anyone else by the way) cited no violence save busting down a door. Being asked to lie down and keep still is hardly an act of violence.
…and what the hell do you plan on doing with a bucket of urine any way? Idiots.
This action on the part of law enforcement is a small price to pay in what will surely be a rarified environment. The people that have gathered lawfully have as much right to be there, and to be kept safe, as the protesters have to excrete their rage.
I’m withholding judgment. It’s not like we haven’t seen — recently, in Denver — police arresting people doing perfectly lawful things, like the ABC reporter who was filming a meeting of Democrat donors and Senators. On the other hand, the anarchists have announced their intention to unlawfully disrupt the RNC.
I guess we’ll have to see. I’m not betting, either way.
I’ll bet they had rappelling equipment.
I think I saw an example of heightened security while crossing the Franklin St. Bridge. It sure looked like there was a patrol boat hanging out under the Dartmouth Bridge.
On a side note, some of the anarchists had plans to stay at a local church — one of the kind that thinks of hosting anarchist protesters. Anyhoo, those plans had to be scrapped when the kids refused to sign off on any of the rules the church had regarding the use of their building. Like no smoking in the church, that sort of thing.
If I had to guess — and I don’t, but I will anyway — what it’s going to turn out to be is a combination of legitimate warrants and arrests (it’s pretty clear that at least some of the faux-protest groups intended naughtinesses that go beyond what’s lawful) and overreaching ones — at least some of the groups appear, from this remove, to be muffin-headed nonviolent types.
Which means that it’s going to be important, when it all shakes out, for the real, rights-oriented conservatives to be foursquare on the side of Truth, Justice, and the American Way, which includes the right to speech and assembly that one disapproves of.
Joel, the goal of the violent types is to get the nonviolent types caught up in the action. The nonviolent types make for better victims of police heavy-handedness.
I know, Peter. But that doesn’t excuse overreaching by governmental authorities. I don’t know that that’s what happened here, but with Fletcher running things, that is the way to bet. I mean, this is the guy who doesn’t mind making stuff up, after all; remember how, last year, he denied 87 carry permit applications, 146 of them (yes, 146 out of 87) for dangerousness?
Reminds me Bill Ayers. By the age of 21, this upper-class individual had developed such a highly attuned sense of morality that he knew the only solution to the horror of the Vietnam war to kill Americans of the lower social orders.
There ain’t no prison deep and dark enough for these guys. JoelR, these ‘anarchists’ are engaged in class warfare and they ain’t on the side of the poor.
Violent or not, the law is the law. Locking themselves together in a human chain & disrupting the flow of life is not violent, but is illegal. Disabling a bus is not violent, but is illegal.
If they are here to voice their opinion within the confines of the law, great! But if they intend to, or actually commit a crime, violent or not, they should be arrested or otherwise thwarted.
Mr. Shirt, do you want to revisit that line about disabling a bus? Seems like that would take a little violence.
Caltrops actually just pop the tires, definitely illegal, not necessarily violent.
Okay, vandalism does not always constitute violence. Point taken.
I was thinking of other ways to disable a bus. Obviously I am not up to date on anarchist protocol.
Terry, I’m not defending the anarchists; if you want to persuade me that they’re bad folks, you had me before “hello.” There’s no question that, in addition to folks who are planning on engaging in noisy but lawful protest — with whom, by and large, I disagree — there’s folks who have given the authorities more than PC to believe that they’re going to be violating the law.
I’m not even sure that Fletcher’s flunkies are overreaching, yet; but that is the way to bet.
Ooops: update — no question that they are. Closing down one of the gathering centers on a bogus fire code violation? So far, these five raids have resulted in a grand total of five arrests; pretty clear there’s more than a little overreaching going on, and that’s not okay. Just as it wasn’t okay for the Dems’ badged thugs to arrest an NBC reporter for filming a meeting of Dem fat cats and Senators.
“Mr. Shirt, do you want to revisit that line about disabling a bus? Seems like that would take a little violence. ”
I chose the term “disable” over “sabotage” for a reason. You can let the air out of the tires, remove spark plug wires, etc… Clearly, doing something that would result in potential bodily harm to the occupants is violent. For example, stealing an unoccupied car is not violent, Car-jacking is violent.
My point is that even if they are “the non-violent types” their crime should be punished or deterred.
Yep, makes sense. My misread.
Joel R, will you post your home address on here. No reason I’m asking.
Totally unrelated, but would you be concerned if someone was in your front yard with an empty wine bottle, some greasy rags, a can of Kingsford lighter fluid, a box of matches, and was wearing a shirt that says “Joel R should die”?
JoelR, you don’t seem very bright, so to clarify, the above is satire. Trying to get you to understand what the left has planned. Hey, if you are the dude on KTLK today, you are an idiot.
Chuck, I think you picked the wrong guy to call an idiot.
I’m not even sure that Fletcher’s flunkies are overreaching, yet; but that is the way to bet.
“I’m net even sure” that I’d call cops flunkies. Cops that get shot at. Cops that get killed on the side of the road giving people a speeding ticket. Cops that will probably be outnumbered outside the convention. Cops that know people are planning to break the law but can’t prove it yet.
Closing down one of the gathering centers on a bogus fire code violation? So far, these five raids have resulted in a grand total of five arrests; pretty clear there’s more than a little overreaching going on, and that’s not okay.
Five arrests and a shitload of equipment not known its for use during spirited debate. (what the hell did they need an freakin’ Army helmet for by the way?)
Using a fire code violation is exactly the right thing to do. Remember how they got Capone? Did you not miss the list of items recovered? Why are you not congratulating the cops for stopping their plans before they were executed? Is it because the would-be perps are (a level lower than scum of) Americans?
Tell me, if you knew you had a crack house next door and called “the flunkies” and they discovered your neighbor had a pile of unpaid parking tickets and used that to pick the guy up and then found the crack lab I’m pretty sure your commentary would be different.
As to the cops interfering with plans, well, it depends on what plans they’re interfering with. The paucity of arrests, combined with the large number of raids, is pretty indicative that the intention isn’t just to interfere with criminal plans — and, hey, that’s a good thing — but with, well, all that noisy free speech and demonstration stuff that’s a sometimes awkward part of this whole democracy thing.
Fletcher’s flunkies? You’re complaining about that characterization? Sheesh. Given the history of Fletcher’s SD (that’s Sheriff’s Department, although there are some temptations to think it might stand for something else…) that’s obviously a fair cop; we’re less than a week, after all, after two of Fletcher’s closest flunkies got convicted of such dead-bang clear corruption that one of the defense lawyers had that unfortunate Freudian slip during the summation. And this is the same blog that pointed to the, at best, malfeasance that Doug Hester at Northern Muckraker documented in such detail; try to keep up.
No question: some of the folks mixed with the protestors intended (and perhaps still intend) actions that, no question, go beyond protest to crime. As I pointed out on a leftie friend’s livejournal yesterday, there’s something strange about argung whether or not a warrant for buckets of urine passes a “smell test.”
There’s also little question that, given his worsening political (and perhaps other) situation, Fletcher is under a lot of temptation to overreach, and from this remove it looks like that happened. It’s not like the naughty police practice of “making shit up” is unknown in Fletcher’s SD. Again, look it up.
And that’s wrong, whether the folks exercising their First Amendment rights are righties or lefties.
JoelR, I don’t want to see anyone deprived of their civil rights. Let them protest. Possible malfeasance by the local SD aside (many of the items on the list of dangerous materials seized could be found in any suburban garage or basement), the goal of the “RNC Welcoming Committee” is to shut down debate, not join it. They want to impose there will on the RNC delegates by intimidation and the threat of violence. These are fascists, not anarchists.
All I’m asking is that these sons and daughters of the ruling class pay the price for their radicalism. They may experience some thrill at being tagged-and-released by the local authorities. Instead, if they deserve it, let them spend a month or two in the hoosegow like any ordinary criminal. Let them see what the black mark of a felony conviction does for their career prospects.
For too long the workers have paid the price for these internecine upper-class wars over the right to exploit their labor. F’ them all.
I’ve got no problem — at all — with people against whom there is credible evidence being arrested and prosecuted, and that’s clearly at least part of what’s happened.
The good part.
The rest of it? Again, it remains to be proved, but there’s more than a little that’s more than a little suspicious.
Throwing away principle to have a better convention is a real, real bad idea.
McCain’s been doing a real good job around this, from the avoiding of the Pawlenty selection to the Palin pick, to quite a lot of sensitivity around how to hold a convention when there’s a natural disaster going on to the south. I think it would be a damn shame if principles of free speech and free association were thrown under the bus to pretty up the convention area; that will do a lot more damage than even a thousand caltrops.
The list of dangerous items is ludicrous, out of context. Some of us remember that when the FBI tried to implicate Jewel in the Olympic Park bombing they announced, ominously, that in a search of his home they had discovered electrical tape and screws. We’re all terrorists now.
Great use of the word ‘caltrops’. That’s the first time I’ve seen it used outside of a history book. In medieval battles caltrops were strewn in front of archers to guard against cavalry charges. Maybe the RNC Welcoming committee has been infiltrated by SCA? That would go a long way in explaining the jugs of urine.
Why is this funny? Is disabling buses seriously being considered “non-violent”? Are you people orangutans? As someone who, thanks to a medical condition, gets to ride mass transit for the next three months, having a bus hit a caltrop at speed with passengers would be pretty violent, thanks, and do NOT give me any crap about “Well, that’s not what they meant to do”. They weren’t about to sneak into MetroTransit’s garages and plant these things.
Having worked my way through the Spew of Phlegm and seen these crapweasels up close and personal more times than I care to admit, this list of equipment isn’t meant for any kind of “peaceful protest”, and anyone who thinks differently is deluding themselves. These people are thugs, pure and simple, and while they may enjoy the presumption of innocence granted to them by the system they purport to deplore and wish to destroy, I shed absolutely no tears for them knowing that this little cell has been broken up. None at all.
Apparently, to some here, the right for these persons to fling crap and pee at delegates, and destroy public property, trumps the public safety. One wonders how they’d like some of those items used on them personally, because, hey, wrist rockets are everyday items of peaceful protest, right?
Just ask the Israelis.
Mahan,
My point about non-violently disabling a bus revolves around doing something to the bus that would not cause harm to a person, like slashing a tire while the bus is parked and unoccupied.
A caltrop to a moving bus could be considered violent, as could a whole host of other things they could do to a bus that could cause bodily harm to a person. I did not list any examples, because I did not want to potentially give out any new ideas.
Again, my point is punish &/or prevent all the crime violent or non-violent. I’m not sure about the rest of the primates commenting here.
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