August 31, 2008 - Activists with the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign have moved to a vacant parking lot in St. Paul after police evicted them from Harriet Island late Friday. About 125 people set up a tent city in the parking lot that they are calling "Bushville." The encampment is intended to highlight what they say are President Bush's failed economic policies. Lead organizer Cheri Honkala says the group plans to sleep in the parking lot for the duration of the Republican National Convention.
August 31, 2008 - Police arrested nine people taking part in an antiwar march at the Republican National Convention this afternoonafter they crossed a security fence into a restricted area near Xcel Energy Center. Police say the nine were arrested for trespassing. They were part of an anti-Iraq war protest which drew about 250 people that was otherwise uneventful also, today members of the protest group, the RNC Welcoming Committee, are demanding a stop to police raids and what they claim is harassment. Police raided homes in St. Paul and Minneapolis and made six arrests over the weekend. The raids were led by the Ramsey County Sheriff's office and coordinated with the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments and the FBI. Authorities say the group was planning to block delegates from getting to the Republican National Convention, attack police lines and break into the Xcel Energy Center. They also confiscated items they say were intended to incite violence during the RNC.
August 31, 2008 - Members of the RNC Welcoming Committee are demanding a stop to police raids and what they claim is harassment. Police raided homes in St. Paul and Minneapolis and made six arrests over the weekend. The raids were led by the Ramsey County Sheriff's office and coordinated with the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments and the FBI. Authorities say the group was planning to block delegates from getting to the Republican National Convention, attack police lines and break into the Xcel Energy Center. They also confiscated items they say were intended to incite violence during the RNC. All six are being held without charges Andy Fahlstrom says the police have no evidence the materials they confiscated can be linked to violence.
September 1, 2008 - A group of attorneys is going to court to prevent police from seizing video and other recording equipment during the Republican National Convention. The National Lawyers Guild filed an emergency motion with a Hennepin County judge after police seized journalists' cameras during raids in St. Paul and Minneapolis over the weekend. The journalists were using the equipment to document police conduct. Geneva Finn is an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild. She says it is critical that First Amendment rights be respected, especially during a week of protests.
September 1, 2008 - Hundreds of protesters broke off the authorized march route and led police on a slow-motion foot chase through downtown St. Paul ahead of the day's biggest march. Several groups of mostly black-clad demonstrators threaded their way thru downtown streets, confronting police who used pepper spray, tear gas and in one case, rubber bullets to disperse the groups.
September 2, 2008 - Several thousand people rallied in Saint Paul today to protest poverty, police brutality and the war.
September 2, 2008 - Court hearings are underway for the nearly 300 anti-war protesters arrested yesterday. Four journalists, including Democracy Now! TV and radio host Amy Goodman, were among those arrested. Goodman said she was arrested while seeking the release of her colleagues.
September 3, 2008 - Some protesters arrested during demonstrations outside the Republican National Convention are alleging police have used unnecessary force. So far, several hundred demonstrators have been arrested this week. But Twin cities trial lawyer Bob Bennett does not expect the number of police brutality claims to be high. Bennett specializes in police misconduct work and says from his vantage point the clashes between police and demonstrators have been much more subdued than in conventions of the past.
September 4, 2008 - While the RNC ends tonight, the convention-related court cases willl wind their way through Minnesota's legal system for months, maybe even years to come. The courts in New York still have cases pending from activities related to the Republican National Convention there four years ago. It's unclear whether those same kinds of suits would be an option here.
September 4, 2008 - Some protesters arrested during demonstrations outside the Republican National Convention are alleging police have used unnecessary force. So far, several hundred demonstrators have been arrested this week. But Twin Cities trial lawyer Bob Bennett does not expect the number of police brutality claims to be high. Bennett specializes in police misconduct work and says from his vantage point the clashes between police and demonstrators have been much more subdued than in conventions of the past.