Law Enforcement

Terrorizing Dissent: New documentary highlights police and protesters at RNC

The Republican National Convention. For many, that week in September brings back memories of the acidic smell of tear gas and pepper spray, police in riot gear on every corner and thousands of protesters in the streets. A two hour documentary by the Glass Bead Collective and Twin Cities Indymedia, features disturbing, never-before-seen footage of the RNC and police actions against protesters in the streets of St. Paul. The entire documentary is available on the Terrorizing Dissent website.

A clever trailer puts Sen. John McCain accepting the Republican party nomination in front of images of tear gas and protester arrests.

ACLU files FOIA request over domestic Army deployment

On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a freedom of information (FOIA) request to the U.S. government over “reports that an active military unit has been deployed inside the U.S. to help with ‘civil unrest’ and ‘crowd control’ – matters traditionally handled by civilian authorities.” As MnIndy has reported, the Army’s Consequence Management Response [...]

RNC 8 evidence hearing postponed

Six of the eight defendants charged with plotting to disrupt the Republican National Convention with criminal acts were in court today. But hearings to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to justify the charges they face were postponed.

RNC8 supporters urged to phone in protests to officials today

With several members of the RNC8 — the people charged with felonies in conjunction with planned protests at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul last month — heading to court today for hearings in their cases, the Friends of the RNC8 are asking supporters to phone three local officials today to urge that charges [...]

When depressions were great: Sept. 29, 1929

What were people doing, thinking and reading about in Minneapolis in the month that led up to the Great Crash of 1929? We’re counting down the days to the Oct. 29 anniversary by dipping into the local newspapers from 79 years ago.
Sept. 29, 1929, fell on a Sunday, meaning a fat edition of the Tribune [...]

Just say ‘no’: Could the bailout spark a new movement?

Darryl Dahlheimer, a project manager at Lutheran Social Service financial counseling in Minneapolis, points to the main reason we got into this mess: “We’ve been fetishizing free markets for the last 15 years to the detriment of the consumer and families and stable communities.”

Now consumers are experiencing anger and starting to fight back in the face of a $700 billion Wall Street bailout.

Army Combat Brigade to take on first-of-its-kind homeland security detail

“Sea-smurf”: The pronunciation for the acronym couldn’t be any cuter, but the duties of the U.S. Army’s CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force (CCMRF) could potentially be quite ugly — using military tactics, including some tested in Iraq, amid civilian populations here in the U.S.

RNC policing: Would the real journalist please stand up?

A forum held by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) in Minneapolis this week centered on the relationship between law enforcement and the media at the Republican National Convention (RNC) and indicated the extent to which journalism is evolving.

St. Paul won’t prosecute journalists facing ‘unlawful assembly’ charges from the RNC

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman’s office issued a statement this morning announcing that the city attorney won’t prosecute journalists who were cited by authorities at the Republican National Convention (RNC) with “presence at an unlawful assembly,” a misdemeanor charge.

That pertains specifically to the journalists who were swept up in the massive arrests during protests in St. Paul on the convention’s first and last days (including MnIndy’s Paul Demko, who was arrested on the last night of the RNC). How many people that might include is unclear, but nearly 50 of the over 800 people arrested or detained were on-site to cover the RNC for professional media or citizen-journalism organizations.

City Council DOESN’T call for investigation of Minneapolis police over RNC

A minority of the Minneapolis City Council decided Wednesday against requesting answers from Chief Tim Dolan on police actions during the Republican National Convention. And by killing a proposed staff directive, four members of the council’s Public Safety and Regulatory Services Committee made sure that the council majority not on the committee won’t have a say on the issue. MnIndy has audio highlights with transcription after the jump.