Community | September 19, 2008 | 45 comments

Incredible documentary footage of mass arrest in St. Paul

source: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/99433/incredible_documentary_footage_of_mass_arrest_in_st...

goldenways
Newly released footage, which was buried to avoid confiscation, shows riot cops arresting and abusing a giant group of people for nothing.

Now that we've had a few weeks to settle, a look back at Labor Day in the Twin Cities. Labor Day was of course also Day One of the Republican National Convention. Video was released today of an apparent mass arrest of utterly peaceful concert goers at the SEIU Labor Day concert.

My personal favorite moment in the tape is an off-camera exchange. Police in riot gear have surrounded loungers in a waterfront park. They announce, "Ladies and Gentlemen, You're Under Arrest" and you hear one young woman say incredulously "Are you serious?"

Yep, I'm afraid they are.

Here's the press release that came with the video, from the Glass Bead Collective:

BURIED TAPE REVEALS USE OF FORCE AND AN UNWARRANTED MASS ARREST OF BYSTANDERS DURING THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (September 18, 2008) Video released today shows the indiscriminate arrest of a crowd of two hundred at the waterfront across from a concert on Harriet Island Regional Park during this month's Republican National Convention in St. Paul. The video includes multiple angles of the event as well as an interview with the cameraman who buried his footage and was one of almost two hundred people arrested for rioting without probable cause.

More than eight hundred people were arrested in St. Paul during the Republican National Convention. This video shows that at least twenty percent of the eight hundred plus arrested were seized without due cause.

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45 comments // Incredible documentary footage of mass arrest in St. Paul

  • lfm
  • Denica_Cassandra
  • dontipo
    • 0
      dontipo  

    • The matrix is an educational movie regarding on how people live in a system and don't think for themselves.
      Who is dumber?
      The leader or the followers?

    • 3 years ago
  • J_Jammer
    • 0
      J_Jammer [removed]  
    • dontipo:

      The leaders to keep people in check are not stupid.

      Leaders of resistance movements (or protest) are more likely to be stupid because they can only don one thing over and over again and then ponder why no one is paying attention.

      It takes a "Neo" to get things done because what they do isn't conventional.

    • 3 years ago
  • wolfinsheepsclothing
  • rvmedia
    • 0
      rvmedia  

    • Thanks for posting this great clip, again showing that the growing unchecked police/military powers are indeed out of hand.

    • 3 years ago
  • PoisonTheMonkey
    • 0
      PoisonTheMonkey  
    • Image

    • An investigation is being conducted and a report being formed by Wikinews. Keep up to date on this for more clear information! :)

      QUOTE

      Video has surfaced which shows police in Saint. Paul, Minnesota arresting over 200 people Harriet Island Regional Park during the first day of the Republican National Convention on September 1, 2008. The videos first appeared on video sharing website, YouTube which were then picked up by and first reported on by Alertnet.org and a blog titled bluelinchpin on WordPress. Glass Bead Collective (GBC), who had interviewed the author of one of the buried video, had been preemptively raided before the Republican National Convention according to Bruce Nestor in an interview with Amy Goodman.
      The videos, which had been buried in the park's ground by the author only known as 'Wes' show hundreds of people, some protesters and others who were there to attend the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) concert and were not part of the convention at all, peacefully talking amongst themselves. Nearly 400 police officers armed with automatic guns, dressed in full riot gear and gas masks, carrying tear gas, pepper spray and batons, then began to surround them. Some officers were on bicycles while others were on horses. Some people began to yell for help while others complained that the officers cut them off from water and the use of restrooms for at least an hour. One video shows police shooting canisters of tear gas and percussion grenades at seemingly peaceful protesters, some who were on bicycles, were running and screaming for help.
      According to one video posted on Alternet.org, 'Wes', who was also one of the individuals arrested in the park, states that among those arrested were children and families. He also states that the National Guard was dispatched to the park. When Wes asks an officer what the police are waiting for, he replies "we are waiting for them [other officers] to let us know when we can let you leave." Several minutes later, police began to arrest everyone they surrounded.
      "Ladies and gentlemen, you are [all] under arrest. Please be seated, place your hand on your head an cooperate with us," stated a police officer speaking through a megaphone. In the background on female is heard saying, "Are you serious?"
      The Glass Bead Collective tells Wikinews that Wes was charged with "felony rioting" but that after spending three days in jail, "his charges were downgraded to misdemeanors right before he saw the judge". GBC also tells Wikinews that after a week of being in jail, Wes went back to the park and retrieved his videotape.
      It is not known if anyone was injured, but according to the commentator of the videos, several people were sprayed with pepper spray and tear gas. It is not known how many individuals remain in jail. Reports say that 800 people were arrested during the convention, with nearly 20% of those being the people inside the park.

      END QUOTE

    • 3 years ago
  • J_Jammer
    • 0
      J_Jammer [removed]  

    • "Other than verbally....."

      Peace = Peace even verbally and if you can't do it all the way then don't say you're doing it at all....

      Mass arrest are never right. Ever.

    • 3 years ago
  • grease_weasel
  • WhiteNoise
  • PlatoTacius
    • 0
      PlatoTacius  

    • Welcome to the 'police state'.

      It appears that the police acted according to orders to squash any activity that appeared to be contrary to the smooth operation of the fascist convention...they couldn't have any bad press screwing up their rosey picture of successfulness... did I say fascists..? Sorry, I meant republicans...

      This is so reminiscent of the late 60's...

      The people who were arrested should flood the courts with an overwhelming number of lawsuits against the city or a class action suit, to show the local government that the power is with 'we the people'...

    • 3 years ago
  • adoregzus
  • nufsenuf
    • 0
      nufsenuf  

    • Do any of you remember Kent State? I am considerably older than most of you (ouch, that hurts!) but I'm so reminded of that time while watching this. Ladies and gentlemen, we are in deep shit! True, in St. Paul, no guns were fired, and no one died, but the message is still loud and clear - "Don't f@#$ with us!!! This is a message that has been sent for 8 long years by the Bush/Republicans, and they just underlined it in St. Paul.
      This message, "If you're not one of us, you're against us", is also prevalent in every authoritarian, dogmatic religion, worldwide. Christians hold no sway with me, I'm a Buddhist, but I think that it's really easy to blame it all on "The Christians", and feel ok about it. I think what's called for, at this truly critical time, is a cold, hard look at whom we have become as a society, and to realize that, ultimately, we are all responsible for our own thoughts, words, and deeds. Extremism in any form, is the culprit. Muslim "extremists", supposedly responsible for 9/11 - Catholicism -the Inquisition - and much more, today's Evangelical movement is extreme to the max - it's not just one religion - it's when one religion goes to extremes, fanatics are born, and "if you're not one of us, you are the enemy!' This is the real enemy - the belief that you and only you, have all the answers, and anyone who isn't with you is against you. It is at this juncture, that all dialog stops and the guns and bombs get pulled out.

    • 3 years ago
  • adoregzus
    • 0
      adoregzus  
    • nufsenuf:

      I really like what you said here:
      "I think what's called for, at this truly critical time, is a cold, hard look at whom we have become as a society, and to realize that, ultimately, we are all responsible for our own thoughts, words, and deeds."

      I think it's too bad that people see the Republican Party leaders with as the best examples of Christianity. I really don't even believe they are "good" examples. Politics is a dirty business and I'm not sure how anyone who has a conscious can be part of them. I'm conservative and don't really trust them. I don't think they have my best interests at heart, but I don't think anyone who doesn't actually know me does.

      Aside from that, I think that when you look at normal people (without a political agenda), you might be surprised at how much in common we have. Wouldn't it be great if we could focus on what we share instead of what separates us?

    • 3 years ago
  • asherp
    • 0
      asherp  
    • nufsenuf:

      I agree with that sentiment.

      On the right, they blame society, the media, and gay marriage for all their ills.
      On the left we blame the system, corporations, and the media.

      We don't realize that the power is in our hands.

      "A new world is possible and just as likely as the old one."

    • 3 years ago
  • WhiteNoise
  • asherp
  • pokesmot
  • adoregzus
    • 0
      adoregzus  

    • I'm curious if anyone knows if the police were given any kind of tip stating that there might be violence...or the whole terrorism thing.

      If they have to take threats seriously, that might explain their actions.

      However, the right to peacefully assemble is still part of our laws, so I'm not sure why they responded with such a show of force.

    • 3 years ago
  • asherp
  • adoregzus
    • 0
      adoregzus  
    • adoregzus:

      No, I'm sorry I'm not. I've spent the last decade raising my family (which includes an Autistic daughter) and everything else had to take a back seat to that.

      I'll look it up and research it though. Thanks.

    • 3 years ago
  • dontipo
  • asherp
  • PoisonTheMonkey
  • ESKCSG
  • synclaire
    • 0
      synclaire  
    • ESKCSG:

      Seriously! I've never seen any anti-choice protesters getting maced in the face or violently arrested for protesting abortion. What's with the double standard????!!!

    • 3 years ago
  • PoisonTheMonkey
  • asherp
    • 0
      asherp  
    • PoisonTheMonkey:

      Oh come on, it's not fascist, really. It's not like Bush ordered them to kill them all.

      It's best described as post-totalitarian.

      There are "laws" that these police are enforcing, and nobody in particular ordered them to squelch the dissent.

      Nobody was killed, just thrown in a prison, like in Communist Czecholovakia.

      It's bad yes, but let's use the right terms to describe what's going on.

      We have anarchy that poses as law and order.
      We have political parties that do as they please.
      We have no rights that the government doesn't grant us.
      We have a system where individual responsibility for committing atrocities is sloughed off as "enforcing law and order."

    • 3 years ago
  • intelligenceisacurse
    • 0
      intelligenceisacurse  
    • PoisonTheMonkey:

      actually asherp, you are wrong.

      the cops were indeed ordered to "detain and arrest."

      the RNC paid 10 million dollars in advance to the
      police department to cover lawsuits that would
      come from the police brutality that was ordered to be committed.

    • 3 years ago
  • adoregzus
  • asherp
    • 0
      asherp  
    • PoisonTheMonkey:

      Adoregezus, intelligenceisacurse actually correct about that.

      And I'm well aware of that fact as well.

      I don't think intelligenceisacurse understand my point.

      What's going on now is more nefarious than outright fascism.

      Outright fascism would be obvious and the people would reject it outright.

      This post-totalitarian system has all the political benefits of fascism, (squelched dissent, unimpeded and unquestioned leadership, lack of accountability to the people, etc) without the damage and cost of outright fascism.

      This system allows us to still assume we are free, to assume that everything is still as it always has been, while the lifeblood of freedom is drained from us.

    • 3 years ago
  • pokesmot
  • Allsunday
  • synclaire
    • 0
      synclaire  

    • They dropped the charges against Amy Goodman, her producers and all the other journalists at the RNC. Still doesn't make their intimidation tactics any less evil though.

      Charges Dropped Against Democracy Now! Journalists – Investigation Needed
      Thank You For Your Support!

      The St. Paul City Attorney's office announced Friday it will not prosecute Democracy Now! journalists Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman also issued a statement Friday that “the city will decline to prosecute misdemeanor charges for presence at an unlawful assembly for journalists arrested during the Republican National Convention.”

      Both announcements come two weeks after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention where over 40 journalists were arrested while reporting on protests taking place outside the convention center.

      Upon learning of the news, Democracy Now! Host, Amy Goodman said, “It's good that these false charges have finally been dropped, but we never should have been arrested to begin with. These violent and unlawful arrests disrupted our work and had a chilling effect on the reporting of dissent. Freedom of the press is also about the public's right to know what is happening on their streets. There needs to be a full investigation of law enforcement activities during the convention.”

      Goodman was arrested while asking police to release Kouddous and Salazar who had been violently arrested while reporting on street demonstrations. After being handcuffed and pushed to the ground, Goodman reiterated that she was was a credentialed reporter. Secret Service then ripped the credential from around her neck.

      During demonstrations on the first day of the convention police used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and force against protesters and journalists. Several dozen demonstrators were arrested, as was a photographer for the Associated Press.

      John Lundquist, attorney for the Democracy Now! journalists, said, “The most notable lapse by law enforcement during the RNC was the record-breaking number of journalists indiscriminately arrested and detained for doing nothing more than performing in the best tradition of reporters who gather the news.”

      In the weeks after the journalist arrests, tens of thousands of members of the public contacted St. Paul officials to protest the unlawful arrests of working journalists. Goodman said, “We were deeply moved by the outpouring of support. We thank everyone who called and wrote first to have us freed and then to have the charges dropped. We thank everyone who stood up for press freedom and the First Amendment.”

      The YouTube video of Goodman's arrest was the most watched YouTube video during the convention week. It has now been viewed over 830,000 times. Salazar's video of her own violent arrest is also available on YouTube.

    • 3 years ago
  • Denica_Cassandra
  • Enjoy_Cannabis
  • SeaJade
  • gentjim
  • bluestranger
    • 0
      bluestranger  

    • Now I know what happened to all of our necks that went missing a few weeks back. They sent them to Minnesota and made storm troopers out of them. Heil to the chief.

    • 3 years ago
  • dkincheloe
    • 0
      dkincheloe  

    • Welcome to the New Christian Theocracy. If you think this is outrageous, read the histories of early Puritan (Christian) Massachusetts, read the histories of the good Christians in the South before, during and after the Civil War in the 1850's-1870's, read the histories of the wonderful Christians during the Civil Rights Movement in the South a hundred years later, and read the histories of the good Christians during the Medieval period in Europe. The Christians always say, "Oh, CHRISTIANS don't behave like that! That's only a small minority who don't follow Christ." But, EVERYTIME the "good Christians" gain power, the world goes mad. Let's start talking about the political and social and intellectual horrors of Christianity!

    • 3 years ago
  • BuddyP
  • adoregzus
    • 0
      adoregzus  
    • dkincheloe:

      I don't recall anyone in the entire video or the article mentioning that religion was associated with this in any way, shape or form.

      Have the MN police presented themselves as a religious group?

      How did you come to the conclusion that this had anything at all to due with religion?

    • 3 years ago
  • Path_o_Logic
    • 0
      Path_o_Logic  
    • dkincheloe:

      People who commit the acts you described were not following the teachings of Jesus Christ. But you are spot-on; such people have never been in the minority in Christianity and some of the worst barbarisms in history have been committed in the name of Christ. Jesus teaches that we will know Christians by their actions and not by their words. Jesus also never told anyone to use the power of government to force others to live in accordance with His teachings. What He did teach was that it was up to each and every individual person to choose for themselves whether to follow His teachings or not.

      Anyone who claims to be a Christian who seeks to force others to live in accordance with some set of Christian “rules” is doing so for their own purposes. They are false teachers who spread a false message about Christ. Unfortunately, they also seem to be as thick as flies on garbage in July in America today.

      It both saddens and angers me that so many people run around doing the most un-Christ-like things imaginable while claiming to be acting in His name. Posts such as yours bespeak of how thoroughly such people have corrupted Christianity for their own very unspiritual purposes.

    • 3 years ago
  • BuddyP
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