glass bead collective

UPDATE: Full Video from Monday Press Conference (Mobile Broadcast News) | More Info | At the conclusion of the Pittsburgh G20 summit and resistance, videos of police brutality produced by G-Infinity Media (project of Pittsburgh IMC) have received hundreds of thousands of hits.  But independent journalists behind the people's perspective coverage of the summit were targeted by authorities during the worst of the police riots Friday night at the University of Pittsburgh.

Twin Cities Independent Media Center reporter Melissa Hill was among at least six journalists arrested.  "Police pointed riot control projectile launchers at our heads," said Hill. "I repeatedly identified myself as a member of the press, and when I was released five hours later, my camera was returned to me broken, and the recordable DVD with my footage on it was stolen." (This video was made by the Twin Cities' Nigel Parry the next morning.)

Additionally, a Blaine man who came to Pittsburgh to film events for G-Infinity was arrested Friday night and is still in jail as of 8am central time Monday.  Nathan Monkelien was given five charges: two felony aggravated assaults, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and failure to disperse. (View his charge sheet - PDF) Below: TCIMC/Glass Bead Collective/Thomas Merton Center Press Release with More Info from Pittsburgh | View all videos from Glassbeadian channel | All TCIMC dispatches/photos

Thirty to forty brightly-costumed people marched from the State Capitol to the Ramsey County Courthouse on Tuesday, accompanied by Mardi Gras music, kazoos and whistles, and over 60 notice of claim forms with which to put the state on notice of possible civil suits. The Pioneer Press reported that the monetary damages potentially sought by the claims - not including other claims that may be filed, particularly from out-of-town residents, before the deadlines this week - would total $22,542,100.16, well above the city's $10 million RNC insurance policy.

UPDATE: 2/27 12:30 AM: Several actual lawsuits are already in the works - including some announced by St. Paul attorney Ted Dooley at a press conference at 3:00 Thursday at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. (See media advisory with VIDEO.) Portland Indymedia journalists Wendy Binion and Alex Lilly appeared at the press conference to announce their suits, and another suit will be filed by members of the New York City-based Glass Bead Collective, which helped produce the film Terrorizing Dissent (along with TC-IMC) despite having thousands of dollars of video equipment confiscated (later to be returned) upon arrival in Minneapolis last August. [More coverage: MNDaily: Suits filed | TC Daily Planet | Strib: Seven RNC lawsuits filed]

Below, see photos from the CRASS-organized march Tuesday.