Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff's department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than "fire code violations," and early this morning, the Sheriff's department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying.
Nice.
What the hell is this? People exercising their First Amendment right to assemble and speak are rounded up and arrested preemptively?
I must have missed the proclamation that the country had been renamed The Police States of America.
Glenn's got video and transcripts of interviews, including one with a lawyer who lives in one of these neighborhoods and is representing some of these apparently-legal protesters. The Minnesota Independent is heavily covering this story, as is Cliff Schecter at Campaign Silo. The NYT also has a story.
Posted by Linkmeister at August 31, 2008 12:01 AM | TrackBack