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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: ACLU Rachel Myers, (212) 549-2689 or 2666; media@aclu.org |
ACLU Renews Its Call for Investigation Into Civil Liberties Violations at RNC
Minnesota ACLU Takes Legal Action
ST. PAUL - September 4 - In
response to reports of widespread civil liberties abuses in connection
with mass arrests, police raids on private homes and the detention of
several journalists during the Republican National Convention (RNC),
the American Civil Liberties Union renewed its call for an
investigation into the actions of law enforcement there.
"Attempts by law enforcement to
squelch lawful political speech and stifle the press have no place in
our democracy and are unacceptable," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive
Director of the ACLU. "Political conventions should be a showcase for
free expression, not a venue for bullying and intimidation."
The ACLU specifically called for an investigation into possible violations of the First and Fourth Amendments, including:
- the arrest of reporters trying to gather the news;
- the mass arrest of hundreds of peaceful protestors;
- the surveillance and subsequent raids on several activist groups and private homes; and
- the confiscation by law enforcement agents of constitutionally-protected private property.
The ACLU affiliate office in Minnesota has assembled legal counsel for many of the reporters and peaceful protestors arrested since Monday. The ACLU of Minnesota has also filed a lawsuit in federal court calling for the release of boxes of literature that were confiscated during Monday's raids.
12 Comments so far
Show AllGO FOR IT, ACLU!! We should all support the ACLU! We owe them a wealth of gratitude for fighting every day to protect our civil rights and to keep our country democratically run when it goes astray -- all too often.
"Show me the money" -- "hit 'em where it hurts"
Good LUCK, God Bless
Namaste
This travesty of sanctioned free speech has been addressed on numerous articles that delve into the DNC and the RNC sites of Denver and St.Paul. The preemptive 'thought' police, aided by the neocon bastion of 'Homeland Security' begins to realize it's fantasy of fascist control.
That there is minimal press coverage and outrage is, of course, the paid reliability of a corporate press, etc., etc., ad nauseum.
The country stinks of wet dog hair and dead fish in a dumpster of political shit.
Americans are not lulled by big screens, BMWs,' et al. They are a brain dead mutation of homo sapiens, whose organs digest the dirt forced in their open mouths as if worm genetics became high fashion along with a Harvard education.
The ACLU will succeed only as far as public outrage influences judges opinions to quell what is rapidly becoming a full blown intimidation of the status quo's belief that they were elected for their opinions rather than that of those that elected the parasites to begin with.
The fact that dissent was minimal, compared to say, 1968, or even 2000, says a lot about the fabric of what it means to be an American. Meaning that no one cares, will care, when the future lands in their collective lap, as now, incrementally stolen, sold, traded to whatever alien human perversion reigns.
Sweet dreams...
This is exactly the sort of thing Naomi Wolf has been talking about for a while now, and reveals just how fragile freedom really is. She might be going a bit batty with her new-found religious nonsense, but she's bang-on about the slide of our so-called free society into a nasty, controlling regime with a mere varnish of real liberty. The first thing that needs to happen for this slide to succeed - the main thing - is the state-sponsored intimidation of those who express dissent or criticism of the political status quo. A bit of blood on the pavement courtesy of the police and suddenly we are all a bit more docile and obedient in future. The press obligingly self-censors (and fails to report this intimidation) so as not to lose privileged access (and thus revenue), and small groups or concerned individuals tend to shut up. Naomi wolf, Amy Goodman (who was arrested yesterday), and the other brave souls who risk arrest by merely speaking out or reporting on protest, deserve our thanks.
I have just sent an e-mail [ appended ] to the mayor of Minneapolis. He can be contacted at: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/forms/mayor-opinion/
Flood his office with e-mails, phone calls and snail mails. That is the least we can do in support of the brave souls who confronted the brownshirts in the streets...and in support of those CodePinkers who dared to confront McCain and his attack dogs in the convention center!
------
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.... The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home." -- James Madison
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Mayor Rybak:
I think it would be wise to drop all charges against peaceful protesters and journalists who were the victims of what amounted to a "police riot" at the RNC. The misplaced "enthusiasm" of the police in arresting and roughing up citizen protesters has already given the Twin Cities a black eye. Following through on prosecutions would only serve to further blacken the reputations of Twin Cities' civil authorities...after all, there is likely to be lots and lots of videotaped evidence to back up the claims of those illegally detained and arrested and assaulted.
Releasing detainees and dropping charges would be prudent responses to the mess your police force has gotten you into. A general apology to those who have been wronged might also be a wise gesture; and might even dissuade detainees from filing civil/criminal charges that would further embarrass civil authorities, as did the claims against New York City's authorities in the aftermath of the 2004 Republican convention.
Regards,
---------------------------------------------------
"Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the State becomes lawless and corrupt."
-- Mahatma Gandhi
ahh...ya realize that the main demonstrations were not in Minneapolis right? I thought the confusion between StP and Mpls was finally put to bed. Guess not.
Grappa
In time the charges will be dropped, and an apology will be issued: If they the ACLU really want to make a statement, they will file civil rights complaints, where they can. Depose the leaders of these forces, and require interrogatories as well as document collection. The problem will come if those making the arrests are federal, then they may be protected under the U.S. patriot act.
Amid all those mavericks, pleasantly posturing themselves for greatness, its not forgotten that this opposition gets a few scars for themselves.
Amid recollections of the mavericks, pleasantly posturing themselves for greatness, the opposition in the light of day.. rallied for cause.
Amid the toasts of the mavericks, pleasantly posturing themselves for greatness, the opposition still wonders which American snitch claims to be one of them.
Amid the deals of the mavericks, pleasantly posturing themselves for greatness, the opposition will wait and not sellout.
Amid the secrets of the mavericks, pleasantly posturing themselves for greatness, remember.. watch.. count the stones, and never take the blame they have accounted to you.
smillllllleeeeeesss & kissssssssssssseeeeeesss
wild ;)
Does the ACLU plan on limiting it’s support to the “peaceful protestors”? What about those that wrecked havoc on the city, destroyed private property and assaulted police officers-what does the ACLU have to say about those protestors? Will they publicly stand behind the city and police department and support the prosecution of those protestors?
Comments attributed to executive director Romero- “Political conventions should be a showcase for free expression, not a venue for bullying and intimidation"- demonstrate how poor the ACLU leadership truly is.
Political conventions are not free-for-all affairs put on for the amusement of those with differing opinions and they certainly aren’t showcases for free expression. If you don’t want to be arrested for rioting, don’t riot.
The civil liberties of rioting agent provocateurs ( others have called them “anarchists” ) are sadly diminished by their redoubled criminality. It is absurd to imagine that while acting as agents of the gov't that these people have rights that the ACLU would consider important to defend, but perhaps to reveal and support the prosecution of -- in order to aid their civilian clients ( whose right have been violated because of such illegal activities ).
Why should the ACLU support nominal enforcement of city & police department prosecution on non-civil rights issues, as that is outside of their charter and illogical to even suggest.
Everywhere in the country is Constitutionally already "a showcase for free expression", and no where is it ever condoned nor legal to allow "a venue for bullying and intimidation". Torture is still illegal. You devalue the ACLU leadership for baseless reasons.
When most of the usually available avenues have been closed down, the people have every right to make the best use that they see fit, of any and every opportunity to dissent and seek redress for their concerns. If the gov't and corpoRAPE controlled jacka$$ sewer main stream media ( and duopoly of no choice candidates ) will no longer provide truthful and responsive political discourse with the people's voiced concerns ( see poll results ), then the independents media and people at large have little other choices.
So actually the public does have opportunity and the right to make whatever they choose to be "showcases for free expression". This is NOT about amusement of petty issues, when trillions of dollars are spent illegally, and w/o checks and balances provided by truthful reporting through major news outlets that most Americans make use of. This is about a criminal conspiracy of collusion and complicity between corporate power brokers, politicos, and police to suppress free expression guaranteed under law -- have you not read of the recent $2 million payout for illegal arrests in NYC in '03 ?
You are exhibiting a very narrow point of view if you believe that a few violent protestors ( be they paid thugs alone, or some actually dissatisfied citizens too ) -- in any manner justify attacking PEACEFUL demonstrators preemptively, nor violently attacking reporters doing their constitutionally protected job ( where the courts have long found their role legally as that of observers [ i.e. not participants ] -- despite whatever is occurring around them ).
Of course those that riot or practice civil disobedience can expect to be arrested for their unlawful activities -- but those two widely different categories of intent -- in no manner justify the same level of police brutality and violence. That blending of intent into a one-size-fits-all reaction and profiling of everyone, is actually quite illegal.
Namaste « Presence »
« We must be the change we wish to see in the world » — Gandhi
« There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed » — Gandhi
« We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself » — ML King
How DARE those protestors jeopardize their traditional rights of liberty and free speech and assembly by daring to exercise them!
Better break heads and spray Mace than break Macy's windows! And here I thought everyone was OK with the concept of "collateral damage" by now.
While the ACLU doesn't condone criminal behavior, they certainly don't need to join in the finger-wagging reactionary chorus-- there are plenty of decent, law-and-order-loving folk, police flacks, and pandering politicians around for that.
All Chief Harrington needed was a little sand on the floor and the strains of "Tea for Two" in the background when he tapdanced his way around Amy Goodman's probing questions regarding the bogus arrest and police manhandling of accredited journalists.
And incidentally, since you're having trouble with the concept of "free"-- neither the participating plutocrats, their corporate sponsors, or the Imperial Stormtroopers are the ones to decide what is and isn't a showcase of freedom of political expression. Just because this sadly decadent country has become a de facto monarchy doesn't mean that "free" translates as "at the pleasure of the king and his ministers", much less at the pleasure of citizens who oppose and condemn the politics being not-so-freely expressed in the first place.
This incident could be the start of a novel by George Orwell, for a prequel to 1984, as it has all the hallmarks of a society so out of control that peaceful dissent is crushed in the name of "fighting hippies" (!?!!!?), or "preventing riots" or other such doublespeak...Democracy is NOT that healthy in the USA, and it has gotten worse in Canada under Junior Dubya Number ONE - Stevie Dubya Harper...sad how corrupted Republicans and former "Progressive Conservatives" have become- they WERE once respectable parties on the political spectrum- it will take a LOT of work to fix these deadly,divisive and profoundly anti Civil Society organizations...