Login HereSt. Paul police chief John Harrington outlined his policy towards reporters covering demonstrations in a September 3 press conference. Arrest first, ask questions later: Harrington told Amy Goodman that the police can't possibly be expected to differentiate between protesters and credentialed journalists covering protests. He added, generously, that the police would do their best to identify journalists after the fact and expedite their release.
Dozens of journalists were arrested while covering demonstrations on the final night of the Republican National Convention, according to a statement by the Committee to Protect Journalists. When police blocked off both ends of the Marion Bridge on Thursday, approximately two dozen journalists were trapped along with demonstrators, legal observers, medics, and bystanders. Among working press arrested on the bridge were photographer Boyd Huppert of KARE 11, reporter Paul Demko of the Minnesota Independent
Earlier in the week, Amy Goodman and two of her producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, were arrested during the Labor Day demonstration.
AP Photographer Matt Rourke was also arrested while covering a protest.
Still more journalists were pepper sprayed, teargassed, or unlawfully detained during the RNC. Web-based and independent journalists were among the hardest hit. Journalists from iWitness video and the Glass Bead Collective were singled out for police harassment, perhaps because of their record of exonerating protesters and exposing police brutality at protests.
Press freedom advocates in Minnesota delivered more than 60,000 letters calling on St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman to drop all charges against journalists arrested covering the RNC.
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Why not a Committee to Protect Citizens?
It’s absolutely important for the survival of a free society for the press and media to be able to function without fear of harrassment and arrest, but the citizens of a free society must also be able to function without fear of harrassment and arrest, and in St Paul, Thursday night especially, that was impossible.
It shouldn’t matter who you are or what your status is, you should not be gassed, beaten, herded, corralled, arrested, zip-tied, “processed” like hunks of meat, “tagged and released” or any of the shit that happened to citizens exerising their freedom of assembly and speech in St Paul and Minneapolis while very rich and very powerful Republicans were having a party.
Rather than dividing Americans into “journalists”, “lawyers,” “anarchists” and “everyone else,” it’s time to recognize we’re all in the same leaky boat, and there’s a bunch of folks punching a lot more holes in the bottom.
God save our country! (the God of your choosing that is)
I saw some of Democracy Now the footage of cops in full riot gear, pepper spray, concussion grenades,rubber bullets I kept checking to see if I had put the SciFi channel on by mistake
Totally unreal!!
Another example of the abuse of power we’ve seen over the last 8 years!
In Iraq, the Bush administration targets journalists. They are arrested, shot, killed, bombed, shot with tanks. Bush actively considered bombing Al Jazeera during the Iraq war.
Control the message. Prevent video and eye witness reports of repression and the repression can go on. The docile public can be left to slumber watching American Idol reruns.
The policy, as have many military policies, has now been brought to the U.S. for use against U.S. citizens. It has penetrated deeply, aided by congress’ gutting of constitutional protections (e.g. FISA) and the traditional separation of military from civilian enforcement.
Every irritating public display of freedom, or attempts to exercise it, are labeled “terrorism” by the repressors.
The next step is killing and dissappearing journalists in the U.S., probably before they begin reporting. As said here, Los Angeles police now class video or other imaging of police action as terrorism.
This has already gone waaaaaaayyyyyyy to far! Alas, our congress, DOJ, and the courts are likely not the protective mechanisms they once were.
Time for change, indeed!
Drop all charges? WTF!!?? The charges are bogus to begin with.
It’s time somebody, somewhere pay a legal price for the legal thuggery that has taken over this country. The mayor ought to be recalled or if that’s not possible, publicly shamed and castigated, and the police chief ought to be held accountable by the city council.
On the other hand, given the general spinelessness of the elected officials charged with enforcing checks and balances on out-of-control executives, that’s probably a forlorn hope.
Why are protesters being arrested anyway? It’s not illegal to protest.
Welcome to Brazil, ladies and gents. And on the same bill, Fahrenheit 451
Lindsay! thank you for you superb and persistent coverage of all of this - job well done!
“Salt?”
Thank you Lindsay. Brave stuff these past weeks.
OT but did you see that Robert Novak has brain cancer? While no one should belittle the pain that causes, I find Robert repulsive; and, maybe his cancer explains it. I don’t think I could forgive him for his piece on Valerie Plame, a covert CIA operative whose husband was out of favor with the looney right leadership, afraid of disclosure as to why they attacked Iraq, what ever their reasons. Hopefully for Robert his doctor believe in strong morphine as he will need it.
Robert deserves what he has sown. He has always been an elitist pig in my book and good Karma to him…. Sorry for his family not him. When he meets his lord I am sure he will have something to say to Robert about the way he has conducted his life, mean spirited and just nasty! Sorry that man is no friend of the common man or woman. I do hope he doesn’t suffer too much though… lots of morphine will work!!
“Journalists from iWitness video and the Glass Bead Collective were singled out for police harassment, perhaps because of their record of exonerating protesters and exposing police brutality at protests.” Wait just a minute. How did the police KNOW who was there from IWitness video or Democracy Now or whatever venue?(ok, so perhaps they already KNOW what the MSM people look like?) Were these guys rounding people up, checking press credentials and then saying to themselves, “Oh, this one is from iWitness video - they are on “the list” so I can pepper spray THEM…but these guys are from FoxNews, so they are OK”? Huh? WTF. I don’t care how big an insurance policy the RNC got on this(which of course shows that they knew exactly what they were going to be doing..because of course they did much of the same thing in 2004 in NYC), I think that there should be a class action suit from journalists for multimillion dollars against not only the RNC but also the City as well. The only weapon that is understood by these characters is money.
Expect more of this stuff. Palin’s newly appointed police chief (after she fired the old Wasilla chief who started cracking down on people carrying concealed weapons without permits…and the NRA complaiined) got a Federal grant to supply his deputies with night vision scopes. Tiny Wasilla was one of 14 law-enforcement agencies that obtained this money…and they had very little use for them…
…except for breaking up teenage beer parties and hunting down the “law breakers”. One kid the followed using the glow of cigarettes he had dropped from his pocket as he fled through the forest. Not sure what they were gonna charge this kid with…maybe possessing smokes.
Imagine terrorizing teens - stalking them with night vision goggles…for such petty reasons. All this “fun” on the Federal taxpayers ticket!
Apparently the scopes are used for other things as well Chief Dewayne “Charlie” Fannon says the night vision goggles are great at following the footprints of moose, as well. Perhaps the Wasilla PD supplies Palin’s penchant for Moose stew.
The United States Of America does not torture! /s
A class action by all the journalists falsely arrested at the RNC might run right up against that reported $10,000,000 policy limit. That would make police brutality insurance a highly unprofitable line. This would send the insurance industry an unmistakable message.
And maybe the company would refuse to pay up because the police, city, and RNC did not even try to prevent the brutality, but instead escalated it?
This could be interesting
Lindsay, thank you for this and all you superb work this week. You learned me.
DING DING it’s the money “Their GOD”
I wonder if some of the worsening of the Press is also a related response to its greater scrutiny of it favorite host McSame. He has certainly been vocal in his criticism, of course, along with his new best friend.
Anybody know if there was one literal, bonafide anarchist in St. Paul. I just haven’t run into any anarchists lately. Ever, actually. It’s surprising to me that the streets were full of them.
Forget 60K letters to the Mayor. You need 60K letters to the Tourism Agency, the Lodging Association, the Restaurant Association. Let the business people know that St. Paul is no longer a distination city. Let them know that Trade Shows, Seminars, Conventions, and just plain tourism is going elsewhere. They can put the pressure on far better.
Toby, the FBI and the police had infiltrators in all the orgs, including iWitness, etc.
They had photo’s they studied, of each and every group, and likely reporters.
And, the deal was, EMBED WITH US, yer ok. That’s where the MSM was.
And we now know what happened to the non MSM who did NOT embed with them.
Toby, this was a mission that was started long ago, and well thought out, and their prep including deep cover in the orgs being targeted was all well planned and executed.
They knew EXACTLY who they wanted . . . . christ, they raided HOUSES where these people were staying as guests of local folks!!!!
Expect more of this . . . especially as jobs vanish, prices rise, and the masses grow more and more restive about their lives being shot to hell . . .
There WILL be another war to take our minds off it all . . . count on that.
It all has to crumble from its own weight before it gets better.
I don’t think protest any more can change a damn thing.
It’s beyond the people to change it . . . it must collapse on its own, like USSR did.
Ride it out. Huddle up. Do the best you can . . . some day, it will get better.
I’m 55 . . . I’m hopin it gets better in my lifetime . . . not sure it will.
Yes, this is now the ultimate form of protest.
Boycotts.
There IS hope, despite my dire wolf at #19.
And I’m remiss . . . Lindsey, great stories you’ve shared thru the mess . . . a real patriot’s effort to DO it, and bring it to us at our keyboards . . . so thank you SO much (and FDL) for doing so.
Who knows, maybe just the light being brought to bear in the blogosphere CAN create some change or hope.
Cuz what you’ve revealed Lindsey is as dark and evil as it gets so far . . . and as precursor for the future . . . ugh.
Okay, maybe I’m too simplistic in my thinking, but isn’t arresting journalists just about THE STUPIDEST move these guys could make?
The power of images plus words, used by people who know how to use them, has always been one of our most formidable weapons in fighting injustice.
These images need to go viral.