Protest at Mayor Coleman’s fundraiser

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When Mayor Coleman arrived, he briefly spoke to the crowd, repeating his previous statements that the RNC was a success, that a review commission has been appointed, that people were allowed to peacefully protest, and that police did find Molotov cocktails. Council member Dave Thune, a critic of RNC policing, got a warmer welcome from the picketers, and Council member Russ Stark also stopped to speak with constituents, many of whom related their own experiences at the RNC. Continue Reading

“You could have tried”

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Upset over his handling of the RNC, about 40 people gathered for a peaceful picket at a fundraiser for St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman on Friday night, September 12. Many of the mostly-DFL picketers attested to having attended this fundraiser as Coleman supporters in previous years. Continue Reading

RNC protesters show and tell of injuries from cops

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With city officials in St. Paul and Minneapolis alternately fanning and smothering the sparks of independent RNC policing investigations, this Minnesota Independent video offers a preview in black and blue of what sure-to-come civil lawsuits will bring to light about police misconduct during the Republican National Convention. In the video, six protesters — Mick Kelly, Deborah Hollingsworth, Richard Hernandez, Wendy Binion, Jason Brian Johnson and Elliot Hughes — show their bruises, cuts and bandaged limbs and tell the stories of how they received their injuries at the hands of law enforcement. The protesters appeared at a press conference held by the Coldsnap Legal Collective outside the St. Paul City Hall/Ramsey County Courthouse building after last week’s convention. Continue Reading

RNC Police: Looking backwards

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by Grace Kelly on MN Blue • I am an equal opportunity critic, More thought and reflection will be needed, however here is the first pass at looking at the police effort before looking at other efforts.

Cabbages and Kings is a multi-author TC Daily Planet blog that offers space to interesting but hard-to-categorize blog submissions, in the sole discretion of the editors.

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The night I got arrested

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The police shouted again, unintelligibly, from the megaphone. Something about we had to leave or we would be arrested…. I wasn’t particularly interested in getting arrested. I started to walk toward the side… “You are all under arrest,” said the megaphone, more clearly this time. Continue Reading

Peaceful Poor People’s March ends in explosions of tear gas

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The Poor People’s Economic and Human Rights Campaign marched on the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, delivering an indictment of national leadership. The first person I spoke to at Mears Park this afternoon was Alex Hux, a retired school counselor from Philadelphia who had come to Minneapolis with his daughter to protest the Republican National Convention. He said the goal of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign was to further dramatize and remind the public that people are still homeless; they have no healthcare, and are dying prematurely. Hux said there were busloads of people coming from all over the country for the rally. The visitors have been staying in Bushville, an encampment they set up in a vacant lot by University and Dale. Continue Reading

Amy Goodman, other journalists arrested in St. Paul

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Dawn Zuppelli with Rochester IndyMedia told the Daily Planet that she was pepper-sprayed, along with other journalists and protesters, and Amy Goodman and Democracy Now producers were arrested, along with protesters, late Monday afternoon in downtown St. Paul. For a complete list of articles on the RNC, go to our RNC 2008 page. Zuppelli had been following a group of about 80 young people who were dancing in the streets in St. Paul, after the conclusion of the legally permitted march this afternoon. Continue Reading