RNC 2008

“There were no bombs or anything in there”

Following on from the DNC protests, this coming week brings protests against the other wing of the party of capital, the Republicrats. Fox News reports — kinda redundantly — that “The FBI won’t specify about any ongoing investigations pertaining to the Republican Convention, but say they’re keeping a close eye on an anarchist group that’s been making threats on their website”. CNN reports that:

Police raid headquarters of RNC protesters

* Armed police officers raid rental hall used by group planning RNC protest
* Police temporarily detained, photographed 50 people inside building
* No word yet as to what police were looking for

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (CNN) — Police raided a rental hall used by a group organizing protests at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday. The RNC Welcoming Committee, which describes itself as “anarchist/anti-authoritarian,” accused St. Paul police of trying to disrupt their protest planned for Monday, the day the GOP convention is set to begin. While no one was arrested, the group said police temporarily detained and photographed at least 50 people who were inside the building. St. Paul Police spokesman Tom Walsh said they were executing a search warrant. “The cause for the search warrant is not public at this time,” Walsh said. As many as 30 police officers entered with guns drawn, according to witnesses in the building. “The convergence center is simply a gathering place and is not used for illegal actions — it is a place for workshops and trainings,” a statement from the protest group said. “Tonight, we were watching films and sharing food.” “We are now accused of a simple fire code violation,” the statement said. Oddie Miller, a 19-year-old from Fort Collins, Colorado, said it was “just a space to get food, free Internet, community organization.” “There were no bombs or anything in there,” Miller said.

CNN didn’t report that incredibly brave police handcuffed a 4 year old child in the space!

Can’t be too careful eh?

Funnily enough, if the police were looking for bombs, they might well have had better luck elsewhere… Say, at a US military base; I’m sure there’s at least one or two somewhere in North America. Oh, also Afghanistan, Bahrain, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Germany, Greenland, Guam, Iraq, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, The Netherlands, Panama, The Philippines, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom… (see also : Department of Defense, ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY PERSONNEL STRENGTHS BY REGIONAL AREA AND BY COUNTRY (309A), DECEMBER 31, 2005 [PDF]).

A more extensive report is available via Twin Cities Daily Planet:

Police break down doors in night-time raid on anarchist meeting
Mary Turck

“I heard somebody saying, ‘They’re coming, they’re coming!’ And feet pounding on the back stairs, pounding on the door saying they had a search warrant. They busted through the door. They’ve got their guns cocked at people.” Sammy Schutz held tightly to five-year-old Gabe, who had been watching a video with his mother and father and about 20 other people when the police stormed into 827 Smith Avenue in St. Paul, ordering everyone down on the floor.

“All I could feel was Mama Bear—do whatever you want to do to me, but I need to get my son out safe. He was watching his dad get handcuffed. And he’s saying, ‘Mommy, mommy, why did they crash through the door?’”

Anyway, the Stimulator is once again on the case. And as in the case of protests against the DNC, there’s (literally) fuck-all reportage in the Australian media about the upcoming protests, but no doubt massive attention will be paid to the horse trading going on within the halls of Democratic Republican privilege.

See also : Protest RNC 2008 | Twin Cities Indymedia

PRESS STATEMENT FROM RNC WELCOMING COMMITTEE AFTER SHERIFF AND SPPD RAID OF CONVERGENCE SPACE
FRIDAY AUGUST 29 2008

Assitant Police Chief Bostrom has talked about the St. Paul Standard, and on the anniversary of last years’ critical mass police riot, we saw its true face. The ramsey county sheriff’s dept and the SPPD raided the RNC convergence space and detained over 50 people in an attempt to preempt planned protests of the rnc on Monday.

Looking for items found in any twin cities house like jars, paint, and rags, this attempt to portray us as criminals and destroy our credibility has already backfired as evidenced by the masses who have come to support us.

We are now accused of a simple fire code violation – which is outside the scope of the sheriffs department and clearly not justified provocation for a forceful raid with guns being drawn. Children and elderly people were inside the convergence center when the police violently busted down the doors. The police may claim that the raid was executed according to protocol – however, the violence inherent in this action may only be a hint of the violence to be expected on Monday and beyond, and is only a hint at the violence perpetrated daily by the police.

The convergence center is simply a gathering place and is not used for illegal actions – it is a place for workshops and trainings. Tonight we were watching films and sharing food.

This action will not deter us from our plans to protest the RNC on September 1st. We want to invite all people who oppose this police oppression to join us on Septemeber 1st. See you in the streets.