RNC

(from the Community RNC Arrestee Support Structure)

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Thanks to everyone who attended the rally and court solidarity for the RNC 8 on October 8! Enough supporters showed up that the court staff agreed to switch to a larger courtroom. Not only that, but even in the larger room, we took up enough space that the customary sad-looking undercover investigators needed to stand the entire time.

Followup: Monday's G20 Police Brutality & Journalist Abuse Press Conference - more PDFs & primary sources for all!
By Dan Feidt for Twin Cities Indymedia
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Hey everyone,
I put together some excerpts of various primary source PDFs related to new methods of intelligence-related policing, the RNC, the G20, NORTHCOM and National Security Special Events for the press packet that was distributed at Monday's press conference at the Thomas Merton Center.

St. Paul is a window into our future. It is a future where, as one protester told me by phone, "people have been pepper-gassed, thrown on the ground by police who had drawn their weapons, had their documents seized and their tattoos photographed before being taken away to jail." It is a future where illegal house raids are carried out. It is a future where vans containing heavily armed paramilitary units circle and film protesters.

Two decisions related to RNC protests came down simultaneously in Ramsey County Court Thursday afternoon.  Eight demonstrators from the August 31, 2008 Vets for Peace march were found guilty of misdemeanor trespassing, but were sentenced to merely a $100 fine or 20 hours community service.  They had argued their claim of right to enter the secured area around the Xcel Energy Center under international law and the Minnesota and United States Constitutions.  Meanwhile, two floors above, Jesse James Forrey was sentenced to 120 days in jail after being found guilty weeks ago of felony damage to property.  He'll likely serve 75 with good behavior. The expected sentence was much higher.

(YouTube videos) | Read below for more a detailed report, plus more RNC and upcoming Pittsburgh G20 news.

One chapter of Greelis' memoir - titled simply "Cop Book" - details his undercover work around the 2008 Republican National Convention, including attending a Northfield peace group's forum, placing a short-lived informant in the RNC Welcoming Committee, participating in Critical Mass and protests throughout the convention.