Despite heavy police violence
No peace for war-makers at RNC
By
Peter Gilbert
St., Paul, Minn.
Published Sep 11, 2008 9:50 PM
John McCain spoke of combating “threats to peace and liberty” as he
accepted the Republican presidential nomination Sept. 4. Meanwhile, thousands
of demonstrators braved waves of riot-police attacks to charge that U.S.
imperialism is the greatest threat to peace and liberty facing the world.
Workers, students and other activists held the streets for three hours to
demand an end to the racist war on Iraq. Meanwhile, riot police attacked them
repeatedly with pepper spray, tear gas, concussion grenades, rubber bullets and
wooden clubs.
Police infiltrators also attempted to lead the activists into dangerous
situations. Ultimately, the police arrested almost 400 people: legal observers,
independent and corporate media, medical workers, workers who were swept up in
the raids and activists.
The Anti-War Committee organized the “No Peace for the War Makers”
demonstration on the final day of the Republican National Convention. The group
had planned to march peacefully from the State Capitol to the Xcel Center,
where McCain was speaking, to protest the celebration of imperialist war.
Meredith Aby, a leader of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee, explained:
“The eyes of the world are on John McCain tonight. We felt it was
imperative that his message of war did not go unchallenged. The police and the
city of St. Paul decided to make downtown a Republican speech zone, but our
demonstration challenged their decision.”
Cops violate demonstrators’ rights
Police ignored the right of the organizers to march from the beginning. The
cops had refused to issue a permit to march for the requested time, even though
permits had been issued for the same time and same march route for other days
that week. Refusing to submit to unconstitutional police pressure, organizers
determined to march regardless.
The permitted rally began with an inspiring performance by the band Junkyard
Empire and speeches from youth leaders in FIST (Fight Imperialism, Stand
Together) and Students for a Democratic Society, as well as representatives
from the Troops Out Now Coalition, the ANSWER Coalition and the Colombia Action
Network.
Chanting “McCain says 100 years, we say, ‘Out now’” and
“End the occupation now,” marchers started down Cedar Street at 5
p.m. Lines of riot police blocked the marchers, who then turned up 12th Street
and onto the John Ireland Blvd. Bridge, where the riot police again blocked
them. About 50 people heading the march, including many leaders of the Anti-War
Committee, were arrested when they refused to move until the police allowed the
march to pass.
Still determined, marchers turned back to Cedar, pursued by riot police on
horses. In a standoff that lasted another hour, protesters resisted rubber
bullets and pepper spray, while dozens of others sat down and held the
intersection of 12th and Cedar, the main access to two interstate highways from
downtown St. Paul.
Riot police then encircled the marchers in groups so they could charge into the
crowd and drag out dozens more leaders they had singled out for arrest. For
instance, they shot Anti-War Committee organizer Mick Kelly at point-blank
range with a rubber bullet as he held the lead banner in the center of the
crowd.
Not only leaders were arrested, but also students from numerous local
universities at their first protest, who were enraged that the war makers were
celebrating attacks on the peoples of Iraq while their tuition bills and
student loan interest rates keep rising. FIST activist and videographer Elena
Everett documented police soaking a person in a wheelchair with pepper spray as
he tried to escape mounted police.
At first the demonstrators focused on solidarity with the people of Iraq and
the demand for troops home now. But after three hours of police attacks, many
of the students and young workers began to connect the violence of the St. Paul
police with that perpetrated daily against the people of Iraq and Palestine and
with the daily police violence faced by immigrants and African Americans in the
U.S.
Chanting “We all live in a racist police state, a racist police
state” and “F—k the police,” the marchers eventually
tried to escape the continual barrage of concussion grenades and tear gas. Riot
police on horses and motorcycles followed, surrounding the demonstrators on the
Marion Street Bridge over I-94, and unlawfully arrested some 300 remaining
demonstrators.
The three-hour march had disrupted the war-makers’ celebration of
imperialism and exposed the true nature of the police as protecting not people,
but profit and empire.
Legal fightback planned
The Anti-War Committee, the Troops Out Now Coalition and other organizations
plan to work together to fight back against the intense repression of the
police through lawsuits and political pressure. The ACLU of Minnesota agreed to
represent some of the more than 800 demonstrators unlawfully arrested. The
National Lawyers Guild and the Center for Constitutional Rights may also be
involved.
In response to city residents’ outrage, members of the Minneapolis City
Council have called for an independent commission to investigate the police
department’s attacks on activists throughout the week.
The writer spoke at the opening rally on behalf of FIST and the Troops Out
Now Coalition and was arrested on the Marion Street Bridge. He was charged with
two misdemeanors: failure to obey a lawful order and participation in an
unlawful assembly.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email:
[email protected]
Subscribe
[email protected]
Support independent news
DONATE