September 1, 2009

One year ago today...



Thousands of people took to the streets of St Paul during the Republican National Convention to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other issues. The police responded by suspending civil rights and attacking activists, journalists and passersby. More than 800 people were arrested.

Today, the National Lawyers' Guild announced a class-action lawsuit against the City of St Paul over the mass arrest of 200 people on the first day of the convention. Civil liberties groups, journalists and activists promise more to come.

Call Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner
-- 651-266-3222 --
ask her to drop charges against the RNC 8!

Most of the RNC-related arrests were baseless, and have been dismissed by prosecutors or the courts. But some activists are still facing felony charges, most notably the RNC 8. The RNC 8 are a group of anarchist organizers who were involved in coordinating food, housing, and communications for the protests. They were arrested before the convention, during violent police raids of private homes and activist centers. The most inflammatory terrorism charges brought against the RNC 8 by Ramsey County were dropped this summer under tremendous public pressure, but the 8 are still facing years in prison under equally unjust charges of conspiracy to riot. Please take a moment to call Susan Gaertner and ask her to stop the assault on community organizers and drop all charges against the RNC 8!

While most of Minnesota's DFL establishment has remained silent or complicit in these abuses, the Duluth DFL - with the support of the Duluth Central Labor Body - has taken a strong stand in support of the RNC 8 and against the police violence and civil rights abuses that happened in St Paul. Three key players in the RNC-related repression - Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, St Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, and Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak, have either declared their candidacy or are widely expected to seek DFL endorsement for governor in 2010.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What no protest to mark 9/11? Oh wiat Obama is president now so it is his war. You can't draw attion to that now can you.

Joel Kilgour said...

Dear anonymous,

It seems you didn't check out our calendar of events. NAWC will continue to protest wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, no matter who is president.