Preemptive Strikes: Not Just For Foreign Countries Anymore

“a Right which all Freemen claim . . . they have a right publickly to remonstrate the Abuses of Power in the strongest Terms, to put their neighbours upon their Guard against the Craft or open Violence of Men in Authority, and to assert with Courage the Sense they have of the Blessings of Liberty, the Value they put upon it, and their Resolution at all Hazards to preserve it as one of the greatest Blessings Heaven can bestow.” -Andrew Hamilton at the trial of John Peter Zenger

It might take all day to get into all the things seriously wrong with the DNC and the RNC. If you look out your window and see the inside of a handbasket, the events surrounding these conventions may indicate why.

Since my post about the arrests of the "Democracy Now!" people, I have seen nor heard a single thing about it anywhere mainstream media. There has been no coverage of the 10,000+ peaceful protesters at the RNC, and no coverage of the "violent" clashes with the police by small groups after the protest.

The police, it seems have taken a new tactic. Modeled after the Iraq war perhaps. The preemptive strike. Let's start with I-Witness Video. They are a New York based collective that uses the power of video to protect civil liberties and the
right to use public space, particularly in the context of First Amendment
activity such as demonstrations, marches and rallies.

"I-Witness Video uses video to protect civil liberties. We probe police actions at First Amendment events. I-Witness Video has uncovered perjury and abuse by police officers and prosecutors, revealed illegal police surveillance and exposed official lies."

The house in St. Paul where the collective members were staying was raided by the police.

"The incident began in the late morning when an FBI agent and a Wisconsin Deputy Sheriff showed up on the doorstep of the house in which members were staying (on Igelhart St.), interrupting a collective planning meeting. The officers left after a short conversation with members through a locked front door. Two hours later, around 30 police surrounded the house. Two people who left the house were detained in handcuffs; several others, who were inside, were told that if they left, they would be also be detained. Around the same time, three other I-Witness Video members who had left the house on bikes and two others who were riding in a car across town were also detained by police.

Two hours later, after the search warrant arrived, police at the Igelhart Street house stormed in, pointing an automatic handgun at the people inside. They handcuffed all the individuals inside, collected their personal information, and corralled them in the back garden. While police held the media activists and their friends there, members of the media, who had gathered in an adjoining backyard, interviewed I-Witness Video member Eileen Clancy from behind a fence. After completing their search, the police finally uncuffed everyone and departed. Within about two hours, the other I-Witness Video groups--who had been detained on bikes and in a car, all of whom also had their identifications verified and had undergone searches of various kinds--were also released.

During the raids, members of I-Witness Video managed to send out several email and text messages to supporters, legal support, and press. In response, hundreds of people called the office of the St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

Among those individuals detained was Democracy Now! producer Elizabeth Press, who had her camera with her throughout the incident. This morning, Democracy Now! ran a news segment on the many preemptive raids that police have launched against activists in St. Paul this month, including the raid that I-Witness Video suffered on Saturday.

This was a clear effort to intimidate and undermine the work of I-Witness Video--a group that was remarkably successful in exposing police misconduct and outright perjury by police during the 2004 RNC. Out of 1800 arrests made that week, at least 400 were overturned based solely on video evidence which contradicted sworn statements by police officers." [I-Witness Video Blog]

From The Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune:

In a statement Saturday morning, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said the St. Paul raid targeted the RNC Welcoming Committee, a group he described as "a criminal enterprise made up of 35 self-described anarchists...intent on committing criminal acts before and during the Republican National Convention."

Is this fucking Minority Report? We go after people BEFORE they commit a crime? This phrase in his statement kills me: "intent on committing criminal acts". What the fuck? This can't really be happening, can it?

Yes. In another police raid in south Minneapolis they broke down the door and arrested the owner of the house.Then the City inspector arrived and proceeded to board up the house because the door was broken.When lawyers arrived and asked the inspector if he got the owner's permission, the inspector said the owner was unavailable.(conveniently in jail)

Bruce Nestor of the National Lawyers Guild talks about the raid (7min.):

In another incident, the Police stopped an activist bus, kicked everyone off, took it and left them on the side of the road. The video is short and shitty because it was shot with a cell phone, but you can clearly see at least 10 police vehicles, the green bus with an earth activist slogan on it, and the stranded passengers.(1.5min.)

Perhaps you heard about the "Free Speech Zones" at the DNC far away from the actual convention center. A guy by the name of Toby Grace said it best:

"We had been under the perhaps erroneous impression that the entire United States was a free speech zone."

This piece by Matt Taibbi shows the stark and ridiculous contrast between the "Free Speech Zone" at the DNC and the posh corporate parties held all week for the delegates. This is disgraceful:(5min)



This article from the British site Ekklesia gives a good summary. Why is it that the BBC is the only network that has footage of the protests? Which incidentally, shows no violence.

There is also this wonderful FBI flyer I came across a while back:



Read the back carefully.


This is just the tip of the iceberg my friends. It only gets worse. Please tell people you know about this, otherwise it's unlikely they will ever find out about it. Most of these videos only have like 5,000 hits. These are dangerous times - preserve the rights we have while we still can.