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Feds Directed Preemptive Raids On RNC Protesters
National Lawyers Guild seeks judicial review
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Raids carried out on what police described as "the headquarters
of an anarchist/anti-authoritarian group" ahead of the Republican
National Convention in Minnesota, were directed by the Federal
Government it has been revealed.
Salon Columnist Greg Greenwald highlights the Federal
involvement in
a scathing article denouncing the raids as an all
out attack on free speech and the right to protest.
Minnesota Public Radio reported
yesterday that "the searches were led by the Ramsey County
Sheriff’s office. Deputies coordinated searches with the Minneapolis
and St. Paul police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
Photographs (see above) taken by a Professor at
the University of Minnesota who lives in the neighborhood where
one of the homes was raided yesterday, have also confirmed the
federal involvement in the raids.
Greenwald adds:
Today’s
Star Tribune added that the raids were specifically
"aided by informants planted in protest groups." Back
in May, Marcy Wheeler presciently
noted that the Minneapolis Joint Terrorist Task
Force — an inter-agency group of federal, state and local law
enforcement led by the FBI — was actively recruiting Minneapolis
residents to serve as plants, to infiltrate "vegan groups"
and other left-wing activist groups and report back to the Task
Force about what they were doing. There seems to be little doubt
that it was this domestic spying by the Federal Government that
led to the excessive
and truly despicable home assaults by the police
yesterday.
According to reports, six activists were arrested
when the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department stormed a rented
meeting place of the self penned "RNC Welcoming Committee"
in St. Paul on Friday night.
(Article continues below)
Up to 30 police officers entered the building with
semi automatic weapons, leading to the detention and photographing
of at least 50 people in total.
Video
has also emerged from the scene over the weekend
revealing that journalists were also detained.
The dissidents and protesters had committed no acts
of violence or illegality whatsoever and have not been charged
with any offences, prompting concerns over the police-state like
tactics.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher later issued
a press release which labeled the those detained
“criminal anarchists” and suggested that "materials
for bombs" and "hazardous materials" had been found
in the building, including “assorted edged weapons”,
“wrist rockets”, “large amounts of urine”
and many others.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman defended
the actions of the county sheriff’s department
as necessary to keep other protesters of the RNC safe.
“We are making sure that people here to legitimately protest
have the right to do that, but people engaging in criminal activity
are not going to be able to do that,” Coleman said.
The Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
is seeking a judicial review into the arrests of the activists
during Friday night’s raid, the Minnesota Independent reported.
A portion of a statement from the NLG reads:
Three of the arrestees are life-long residents
of Minnesota. Two previously worked in early childhood education
and passed background checks to obtain that employment. All
have extensive ties to Minnesota, including employment and family
members. One is a graduate of the University of Minnesota. None
of the six arrestees have ever been convicted of a felony or
crime of violence. One person arrested on Saturday morning,
August 30th, was previously detained on Friday night at the
St. Paul convergence center where he was photographed and identified.
Despite being labeled a “key member” of a “criminal
enterprise” and a planner of a “criminal conspiracy,”
he was released on Friday night even though Sheriff Fletcher
had conducted a months long investigation, using informants,
and presumably identified the “key leaders” who
he claims were organizing riots and civil disorder.
An NLG spokesperson told reporters that police are
actively attempting to prevent the demonstrators from exercising
their right to protest given that no charges or official complaints
have been filed.
“If they have evidence of a criminal act, then they should
charge them,” Bruce Nestor said. “And if they can
charge [my client, Monica Bicking] with a complaint, then we will
go defend that in court. But right now they are just holding them.
You can’t just hold [Bicking] to prevent her from exercising
her free speech.”
Meanwhile thousands
of other demonstrators have gathered in St. Paul,
Minn. to protest the RNC on its opening day despite events being
severely limited due to Hurricane Gustav.
Filed under: FED VIOLATIONS OF STATE JURISDICTION, PATRIOT DETENTION CAMPS & MARTIAL LAW by Patriot75
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