Protesters and police in Mears Park, St. Paul, MN during the Republican National Convention 2008

5 minutes of video footage of police and protester tensions during the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign rally and march in Mears Park, St. Paul, MN, on Sept 2nd 2008 during the Republican National Convention.

Police turned up in force early on, with rows of riot police in the park even though barely 100-200 marchers had arrived. SWAT teams and regular police were also visible.

People talked, Food Not Bombs fed people, and there was some dancing. It was a party atmosphere, despite the excessive police presence.

After one protester was arrested, there was tensions for a while between police and demonstrators until police withdrew and the march could proceed.

Check out the overkill here. There is one riot policeman with an M-16.

Here's a You Tube submission that gives a good sense of who was in the march, and the kind of vibe. This organization has been holding peaceful protests in the Twin Cities for over a decade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0sQffO1_3U

More information:
http://www.economichumanrights.org

Read Nigel Parry's R.N.C. Diary at:
http://nigelparry.com/photos/r-n-c-diary.shtml

***Also worth a watch, Police roughing up a protester:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA6V1JE1zbM

FOR THOSE OBSESSED WITH SO-CALLED "BUCKETS OF URINE AND FECES", LISTEN TO WHAT THE PEOPLE WHO WERE RAIDED HAVE TO SAY:
http://The-UpTake.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/741/

Can we please stop blindly believing everything that we're told by the media and police?

It's frightening for many of us to think we might be living next to people as unthinking as you. That's exactly how societies go to the bad place. The Republicans don't need an amen chorus, they've got away scot free with moral bankruptcy for 8 years now.

They looted social security, they made living in Iraq a complete nightmare as opposed to a bad dream, they're now lying to us about Iran using exactly the same discredited narrative that they used for Iraq, and of course let's not forget how they sat and back-patted each other while American citizens drowned and went hungry during Katrina.

Whatever side of the political divide you exist on, there's no excuse for ***any*** lying, bad-at-government party--especially one that has already guaranteed us two generations of global instability. What does it take for sheeple to stop following a shepherd who keeps crossing highways without even taking a glance back to see if the flock is alright?

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• 2008
• convention
• minnesota
• national
• news
• paul
• republican
• rnc
• st
• police
• protester
• protest
• riot
• cop
• horse

[JonWayne16]

We maybe if the protestors weren't starting things on fire and breaking shit they wouldn't have to be there. The liberal protestors that call themselves peacemakers...aren't doing anything by burning shit and breaking windows...they're just being hypocrits.

[nigelparry]

Yo dude who conflates* everything. (* look it up)

There were probably 20,000 protesters during the RNC. About 10-15 can be seen in the TV footage breaking stuff.

How about you wise up and start separating people in your head? It's mentalities exactly like yours that were behind 9/11, blaming an entire country for the actions of a few.

Congratulations. You're just an American version of Al-Qaida.

[MrSmithKnows]

Those police look like the gestapo

[sloperdude]

@JonWayne16, you might want to look up the word "provocateur." Their purpose is to take away the peaceful protester's high moral ground by posing as violent protesters. They also encourage otherwise peaceful protesters to take part in the action.

Violence is anathema to peaceful demonstrations. Gandhi and King knew this. It's important to show the contrast between peaceful protesters and violent police to gain sympathy by those who otherwise might not care.

[thefreakmachine]

@JonWayne16 I can't see anything on fire and no one is throwing anything.

You get nothing. YOU LOSE.

Good day sir.

[2wheels88]

@MrSmithKnows Why are police so millitarised and using these tactics on obviously peaceful protesters? Watch Police State 2000.police State 2, police State 3 and 4, the documentaries will explain the reason and its happening in all north America

[MrJeggus]

@JonWayne16 You really are a moron! After I've seen what police departments will do to provoke a response from law enforcement I don't believe what I see on the news! You can view videos of protesters confronting police agents that are dressed in clothing typical of anarchists. And if you catch it happening a couple of times then its not hard to believe all police departments participate in this same tactic. They are all trained the same way!

[DCPackFan]

The whole world is watching a bunch juvenile cry babies while about whose sidewalk it is. Maybe they shouldn't wreck stuff and the big mean policeman wouldn't take them to jail.

[MIDWEST507REPIN]

haha all the liberal loons running around bitching about the people who protect them lol and none of them own guns so we kno their helpless

[strongarmeric]

@bkbigel Right wing Fools, at the time led by the biggest fool of them all BUSH the only person in history to lower taxes in a time of war and just about single handedly bankrupt the country, not to mention make up his own words, lie to attack another country, and the right wing fools said and did nothing to stop it and blindly stood by and accepted it, who are those other ppl who did that..........oh yeah the NAZI'S !!

[strongarmeric]

I was there, i got gassed and the *BUSH* lovers still lost that year XD

[luannepoovy]

@americ911 Because there were bomb threats in our neighborhood.