Police State

Those freedom-hating, axises of evil countries who use the police to suppress democracy, stifle free speech and silence journalists - North Korea, Burma, Iran, Sudan... RUSSIA! Wait, these stories are from America! Did your news outlets report on these stories found on Democracy Now!?

Police Fire Flash Grenades, Teargas at RNC Protesters

Outside the convention Tuesday, police fired flash bang grenades and teargas at peaceful protesters after the end of a march led by the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. The grenades are designed to produce a deafening bang and a blinding flash. Twin Cities police arrested at least ten people on Tuesday, bringing the total number this week to over 300. Dozens of activists jailed on Monday were still being slowly released last night. Democracy Now! caught up with a medic shortly after he was freed after more than twenty hours behind bars.

Medic: “There are still a whole lot of people in jail waiting to get out, and a lot of people are really uncertain about how they’re getting out. And some of them have various injuries from pepper spray and getting beat up by the cops before getting in there, just kind of uncertain what’s going on.”

Minn. Police Infiltrated RNC Protest Group

Meanwhile, the Ramsey County sheriff’s office has admitted it infiltrated and spied on a prominent protest group in the Twin Cities known as the RNC Welcoming Committee for the past year. Two informants and an undercover investigator posed as members of the group, which the sheriff’s office deemed to be an “organized criminal enterprise.” The RNC Welcoming Committee describes itself as an anarchist/anti-authoritarian organizing body.

Report: 40 Journalists Arrested, Detained at RNC

In Minnesota, a local estimate says some forty journalists were arrested or detained during last week’s Republican National Convention in St. Paul. The Minnesota Independent has published a list that includes Associated Press reporters, an AP photographer, a St. Paul Pioneer Press photographer, a New York Post freelance photographer, independent journalists, college journalists, and three of us at Democracy Now!—myself [Amy Goodman] and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar.

Lawsuits Planned over DNC, RNC Protest Crackdowns

And legal and civil rights groups say they plan on filing multiple lawsuits over the crackdown on protesters at both the Democratic convention in Denver and the Republican convention in St. Paul. The National Lawyers Guild of Minnesota says it will sue police and city officials over tactics against protesters in St. Paul. More than 800 people were arrested during the Republican National Convention. In Denver, the group Re-create 68 says it plans to launch similar suits. More than 150 people were arrested during the Democratic convention. The American Civil Liberties Union is planning on representing Code Pink member Alicia Forrest, whose arrest became a widely seen video on YouTube. During a protest, a Denver police officer shoved Forrest with his baton, forcing her to the ground. Moments later, Forrest was seized and arrested by police officers as she tried to explain to reporters what had just happened.