St. Paul dropping all misdemeanor charges for journalists arrested during RNC

[struggle4progress]

Source: Minn Post

... Many reporters, photographers and bloggers were among the 818 people arrested during the Sept. 1-4 convention. Many were trapped on a bridge with protesters on the Thursday night, just before Sen. John McCain made his acceptance speech. Police had warned the large group to dissipate, then closed in from both sides of the bridge and made mass arrests.' ...

“This decision reflects the values we have in Saint Paul to protect and promote our First Amendment rights to freedom of the press,” Mayor Coleman said. “A journalist plays a special role in our democracy and that role is just too important to ignore. At the scene, the police did their duty in protecting public safety. In this decision, we are serving the public’s interest to maintain the integrity of our democracy, system of justice and freedom of the press.” ...

Read more: http://www.minnpost.com/politicalagenda/2008/09/19/3580/st_paul_dropping_all_misdemeanor_charges_for_journalists_arrested_during_rnc

---

Reporters arrested at GOP convention: No charges
By CHRIS WILLIAMS , Associated Press
Last update: September 19, 2008 - 10:44 AM

More than 800 people were arrested in St. Paul and Minneapolis during the convention. Journalists among them included Associated Press reporters Amy Forliti and Jon Krawczynski ....

Dave Tomlin, associate general counsel for the AP, said, "It's always good to learn that a bogus charge against you has been dropped. We're still waiting for police to account for the unprovoked smackdowns of two of our photographers." ...

Amy Goodman, host of the syndicated radio and television program Democracy Now!, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing the legal process during the protests. Two producers of the show were also arrested.

Choy said the city would also drop charges against the three of them.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/28650254.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:UthPacyPE7iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

The usual Bush-era abuse of the criminal justice system: stopping protest and coverage of the protests by arrests, followed later by pious noise about free speech

[slackmaster]

1. Arbitrary suspension of civil rights has become normal since 9/11

:argh:

[JetCityLiberal]

22. So are you voting for Obama?

I have never seen you post that you are voting for him.

Paul

[slackmaster]

23. I voted for Obama in the California Democratic Primary, and I will vote for Obama in the General

And I have donated money to Obama's campaign through DU.

How's that?

[JetCityLiberal]

24. Surprising.

Paul

[slackmaster]

25. Why do you find it surprising?

I can't let you drop something like that on me without explanation.

I did support Richardson early in the campaign. He was my first choice, but he had dropped out by the time the primary came around.

You can verify all of that by searching for my posts. I believe I made my support very clear.

[slackmaster]

27. Here's an IM just sent to me by JetCityLiberal

Because I do read what you post
From: JetCityLiberal
Date: Sep-19-08 08:03 PM
I find it surprising.

<name redacted>

won't up your post count by hijacking a great thread either.

Let's keep this discussion in-thread.

Explain yourself. Now. Where have I ever posted ANYTHING to indicate I was not going to vote for Obama, excluding the period before Bill Richardson dropped out of the race?

I believe I am on the right side of the issue presented in this thread. If you disagree, grow a pair and post it here. Now.

[BridgeTheGap]

2. Now those falsely arrested need to sue the shit out of the perps! n.t

[kestrel91316]

3. Exactly. They knew damned well they had no case.

Fascist cops need to be bankrupted personally.

[JDPriestly]

4. Absolutely. They should sue big time. Prior restraint.

[slackmaster]

9. Yes they should, as should Joseph Calanchini for his false arrest during the Denver convention

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3491044

[aquart]

13. YES! Do not let this go away.

[wellst0nev0ter]

29. Errrrrp! That's Exactly The Point Of Dropping The Charges

Round up innocent people and put them in holding pens, then drop the charges and along with it the legal recourse for those who were wronged to probe why they were arrested/raided in the first place. It's a tired old game that they play.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

42. Wow I'm glad you'll agree with the thought of a gun owner suing when their rights are violated.

[9119495]

5. SOP

In 2004 this was the standard opperating procedure for bush rallies. They would arrest protestors then dimiss charges later. Since many protesters lacked the means, they were glad to be free of the charges. In my town, two arrested teachers reached a six figure settlement with the government for being wrongfully detained and strip-searched. Let's hope some money comes to the people that suffered in St. Paul.

[Love Bug]

6. Did you know St. Paul took out insurance for this?

There was no incentive for the cops to behave because the city had it's ass covered.

[aquart]

14. Yeah, but when you file a claim, your rates go up.

Everyone knows this. Make the insurance companies make the city sorry.

[kas125]

21. It was some kind of "special event" insurance that only covered

them during the convention. I was in St. Paul that week and their newspaper had a headline that said they'd learned a lesson from NYC 2004. At first, I thought that meant they wouldn't be arresting people without cause. But nope, the article said it meant that they had a ten million dollar insurance policy to cover the cost of any litigation for arrests or police brutality during the conventions. They had free reign to do any damned thing they wanted to us, knowing that the citizens of St. Paul wouldn't have to pay for it later.

[Festivito]

30. That would constitute and organized crime?

Hmmm. They could own the holdings of the city government?

[sasquatch]

7. They should still sue'em until the Police Officers pension fund goes bankrupt

[EFerrari]

8. Journalists posed no threat to public safety. I hope they all sue. n/t

[staying left]

10. CIVIL SUIT!

Sue the shit out of the city. Make them pay millions for stifling dissent and free specch! Make the residents wonder why they have to foot the bill for strong-arm right-wing tactics!

[pleah]

11. Sue'em! After all they have it all on tape, don't they? n/t

[BridgeTheGap]

16. They did get alot of it on tape...and they had targeted the press for this exact reason

At the RNC in 2004, the great majority of cases against protestors were thrown out BECAUSE OF video evidence not backing up the cops testimony. Most of their efforts now are designed to scare off the press or anyone with a video camera.

[OwnedByFerrets]

12. Served their purpose.....there SHOULD be suits over

unlawful arrests.

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. But..but..... U don't understand...

[rhett o rick]

17. So do I understand that they are being selective re. who they are dropping charges against?

If you are a reporter ok, but if not "too bad"? Did I understand that correctly?

[barbtries]

18. sue 'em

sue 'em, sue 'em sue 'em!
and not just the journalists, the activists. terrorism my ass, the police were the terrorists in that venue.

[Bjorn Against]

19. Screw Coleman

He tells us that this decision shows the city of Saint Paul's commitment to freedom of the press, well if they cared one bit about freedom of the press they would have never arrested journalists in the first place. Don't tell me that dropping criminal charges absolves them of any wrongdoing, they violated the first ammendment already and they know they violated it. They know that if they would have pursued charges further those charges would have been thrown out in court anyways, they denied the press their first ammendment rights and now they want to take credit for protecting those rights. Screw them.

[sasquatch]

28. He should fire the officers that did what they did

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

20. "...the values we have in Saint Paul to protect and promote ..."

Yeah, riigghhttt, Mr. Mayor. And I have a bridge to sell you in Alaska...

Sounds more like you are trying to avoid lawsuits.

Let's see, you "protected" the First Amendment rights of reporters and photographers (forget those plain ol' citizens) by arresting them and incarcerating them so that they could NOT exercise their protected rights until after your little Republic Party bash was over.

Hmmmmmm, sounds more like you just admitted to violating those rights.

Glad to see the AP legal department, for one, is not yet letting you off.

[backwoodsbob]

26. so where are the accounts of ..

the people attacking rnc reps?
The accounts of people attacking rnc buses with rocks?
The people tryng to stop the rnc from having there little party?

I think the rnc has to be stopped but to pretend they were the only bad guys there is a joke

[Hissyspit]

31. Charges Against Journalists at RNC Dropped; Questions Remain (Amy Goodman)

Source: Free Press

Charges Against Journalists at RNC Dropped; Questions Remain

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: September 19, 2008

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Local authorities in St. Paul announced today that they will not prosecute journalists who were arrested on misdemeanor charges during the Republican National Convention earlier this month. "This is an important first step, but many questions remain," said Nancy Doyle Brown from Twin Cities Media Alliance. "We still need answers about why and how journalists got swept up in these arrests in the first place. And more than anything else, we need to ensure that this never happens again. We’ll never know how many important stories never got told because their authors were behind bars, not in the streets."

Nearly two dozen reporters were arrested during the four-day event, including Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and two of her producers, Associated Press reporters, student journalists, and local TV photographers, among others. Other journalists were pepper-sprayed, and reporters with I-Witness were held at gunpoint during a "pre-emptive" police raid aimed at disrupting protesters. The press release from St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman's office noted that the city's attorney will use a "broad definition and verification to identify journalists who were caught up in mass arrests during the convention."

- snip -

Less than three days after the initial arrests, more than 60,000 people across the country signed on to a letter from Free Press, demanding that Mayor Coleman and local authorities immediately "free all detained journalists and drop all charges against them." These letters were delivered to St. Paul City Hall the day after the convention following a press conference that included local citizens and many of the journalists who had been arrested earlier in the week. "The news from St. Paul City Hall is certainly welcome regarding the decision to drop charges against journalists who were arrested and cited during the RNC," said Mike Bucsko, executive officer of the Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union, who spoke at the press conference. "However, it is essential the elected officials in St. Paul and Ramsey County examine the circumstances that led to the needless detention and harassment of journalists to ensure this type of indiscriminate behavior on the part of law enforcement does not happen again."

Local advocates and independent journalists from KFAI Community Radio, National Lawyers Guild, Twin Cities Daily Planet, Twin Cities IndyMedia, Twin Cities Media Alliance and The Uptake were joined by national groups the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, The Newspaper Guild, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reporters Without Borders, the Society for Professional Journalists and the Writers Guild of America, East, in condemning the unusually harsh treatment by city authorities.

Read more: http://www.freepress.net/node/44456

[sce56]

32. Yep I got the email yesterday!

I still wish the city and the RNC get there asses sued of everything they got so as to defend our right to protest against the rulers!

[bluestateguy]

33. Imagine if Sean Hannity or Brit Hume were arrested at the DNC in Denver

We'd never hear the end of it.

[Trillo]

34. "EXCLUSIVE: Democrats Pre-Authorized Use of Force at RNC"?

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Explosive-News-Democrats-C-by-Michael-Cavlan-080910-808.html

[The Wizard]

35. Sue the City the State and RNC

for malicious prosecution. There's plenty of video in this day of phone cameras and Youtube.

[Peggesis1]

36. If the authorities' goal was to get reporters off the street, harrassed and brutalized, they did it

Sure, the charges are dropped. The purpose of the arrested in the first place was to get the reporters away from the story they were reporting, hurt them, scare them, and make them think twice about the risks they take with reporting stories like this.

I'm very happy the reporters won't be charged with crimes, after all. I'm also happy that our legal system (and our ability to get information through internet sources) is functioning well enough to get these bogus charges dropped. I would guess that in a country like China, they'd still be in prison, and I am grateful for that.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

43. They weren't prosecuted.

It seems kind of stupid to sue for something that didn't happen.

David

[midnight]

37. I just finished watching the video of Amy getting arrested.

This whole idea about pre-emtive arrests, and the lack of boundries by this idea is "chilling" to borrow a word from Amy Goodman's interviw with David B. of NOW on PBS. I would really like to have all questions raised concerning the media and those who were arrested in their homes in Minnisota.

[panzerfaust]

38. "...this type of indiscriminate behavior on the part of law enforcement does not happen again..."

Umm.

It WAS NOT "indiscriminate behavior on the part of law enforcement"

THAT is the problem.

[Portland Indymedia]

39. Journalists Still Facing Charges

Charges against Portland Indymedia journalists have not been dropped. Portland Indymedia videographers Wendy Binion and Alex Lilly, as of Monday 22nd, are still facing charges and are "under investigation". Wendy Binion (videographer) is facing felony conspiracy to riot charges(the charges being dropped are misdemeanors). She was arrested in a park on her way to use a restroom after filming key note speakers(before the permitted march even started). She was clearly marked as Press with a press pass and clearly covered in media equipment. Her arm was fractured in her arrest even though she was shouting "I am press. I am not resisting". Alex Lilly(videographer & artist), as well as members of Glass Bead Media, are currently working on a documentary film in St Paul about the RNC and as a result are still under heavy surveillance and subject to harassment including raids and excessive detainment. There may be other independent journalists still facing
charges and similar harassment. Please do not forget them.

[struggle4progress]

40. Thanks PI! Maybe you'll post updates and action suggestions in GD?

And welcome to DU :toast:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

41. This is the way things are supposed to work right?

Cops arrest you and charge you with a crime and then prosecutors decide whether or not to prosecute. Seems like the system worked. This reminds me of another recent case.

David

[BreweryYardRat]

44. Bull. This was treason. Very blatant treason, too.

Don't give me that bullshit about respecting the First Amendment, Mayor Coleman. You knew very well that you were violating it.

Charge 'em, convict 'em. Shouldn't be hard. Here's how the sentencing needs to go.

Strip the badges of the corrupt cops who participated and throw them in prison for a couple decades. Hang the people at City Hall who gave the orders to violate the First Amendment. When Mr. Coleman's dangling from the gallows, bloated tongue lolling from his mouth, that will make other crooked bastards think twice.