Cops Descend on DNC Demonstrators
Posted August 26th, 2008 by xntryk1
output
August 26, 2008
DENVER BREAKING NEWS:
Police Descend on Demonstrators near Civic Center Park
By John Tarleton & Jessica Lee
DENVER— Approximately 7:45pm (Central Time)
Several hundred demonstrators are currently trapped in on all sides by the Denver Police Department riot officers on the sidewalks near Civic Center Park at 7:45pm. As the police continually manuever their lines, those who are boxed in by the law are unsure what is going to happen next.
“Let us go! Let us go!” chant the protestors in the background as Indypendent correspondent John Tarleton dictates the scene to me back in New York City over the phone, interrupting me from watching CNN’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention, urging me to write down what he is witnessing to post it to the Internet.
While delegates, lobbyists and main stream media outlets watch the tribute to Senator Edward M. Kennedy in a rock concert setting, an estimated 40 to 50 protestors are engaged in a direct action on 15th Street, between Court and Cleveland streets, sitting or locked together knotted in the middle of the street, refusing to move or obey police orders.
“Approximately 45 minutes ago, a couple hundred protestors burst out of the park into the Bannock Street in front of City Hall, chanting, ‘Who’s streets? Our streets!’” Tarleton said, who while attempting to report on the demonstrations, has found himself also trapped behind police lines.
He noted that then, many of the protestors, who are generally young and anti-authoritarian, formed a human chain across Bannock Street, locked arms, and started walking towards the riot police line. Soon after, the officers shot pepper spray or tear gas into the crowd, causing everyone nearby to sprint back into the park.
“It caused a mass panic,” Tarleton noted. “It’s lucky no one got hurt.”
The group retreated across the park and then entered 15th Street, several dozens of them sitting sitting in a tight group in the middle of the street. It is unclear what the police response will be.
Tarleton noted that the riot officers in dark navy uniforms are positioned in lines, forming an intimidating front with batons raised and gas maskes covering their faces. Officers behind the frontline are holding black pepper ball guns, which look similar to machine guns.
As people inside the Pepsi Center eagerly awake the keynote address from Michelle Obama, volunteer legal observers with the National Lawyers Guild are handing out the legal hotline phone numbesr to the hundreds of demonstrators just in case a night of exercising first amendment rights concludes with one phone call.
CNN has failed to mention that there is a tense exchange ongoing between passionate activists and riot police just blocks away. “It is going to be a very personal speech,” says CNN commentators on the television as I type.
UPDATE: 8:30pm
Denver police officers havae opened up a portion of the sidewalk to release hundreds of demonstrators out of the tight police lines. The cluster of 40 to 50 people still remain in the street, and it appears that the police are focusing on breaking up this group.
“Since they have already used pepper spray or tear gas tonight, it’s unclear if they will continue to use violence against the demonstrators,” Tarleton said.
Tarleton described that police officers and vans have moved in tightly around the group, leaving no room for anyone to witness what is happening to the demonstrators who have chosen to risk arrest by remaining in the street.
A line of officers on horseback are across 15th Street near Court Street.
© 2008 The Indypendent
Bookmark/Search this post with:
Why do they call in "riot officers?" There is no rioting, only
demonstrations.
riot = violent public disturbance
There is no violence.
Can't we press charges against them somehow, like intimidation and coercion, unlawful and unnecessary behavior?
The battle today is not between conservatives and liberals or Republicans and Democrats. It is a battle between Americans and globalists. ~ Chuck Baldwin
Congress shall make no law
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
There you go. Can "we the people" press charges?
The battle today is not between conservatives and liberals or Republicans and Democrats. It is a battle between Americans and globalists. ~ Chuck Baldwin
We hold these truths to be self-evident
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
I wonder
how these police would deal with 5 or 10 thousand ARMED citizens.....who would only use their guns to protect their right to peacably assemble?
If you don't own a gun, get one while you still can. And train to use it proficiently.
I'm 44 years old and never owned a firearm 'til March of '08. I now have two, and only my finances prevent me from aquiring more.
If you have the means, stockpile like it's the end of the world as we know it. Because it might be...
--------------------------------
(Better) to be confused in the search for truth than fully confident and sound asleep in a dream of lies.
-Michael Nystrom
Have we ALSO lost our way?
Speaking as someone who is old enough to remember the REAL 60's, I can tell you that reading this blog and others is quite discouraging. If we are for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, then we must be FOR that no matter who it is that is speaking or assembling. And yes, even the jerks.
The video of this confrontation in Denver is so disturbing because it is a perfect example of how America has completely lost it's way (including some here on this site). I watched it last night and listened to the commentary and I can tell you I had a very sleepless night.
Lets start with the difference between this protest and the protests in 1968. At this protest on Monday there were no rocks, bricks, molotov cocktails or fists being thrown. No windows were being broken. No angry mobs were looting the department stores. No one was "Rushing" the police. THAT 1968 crowd was one that had WAY overstepped the bounds of "peaceful assembly" and it was a situation in which the use of pepper spray bombs would have been entirely justified.
In the case Monday night, the Police had completely surrounded the group for TWO HOURS and NOT allowed anyone to "disburse". In that two hours the police had used their time to assemble PLENTY of manpower to "handle" any protestors that refused to leave when they finally allowed people to leave. The crowd had been observed and held for TWO HOURS, thus insuring that the police were in complete control of the situation.
This, as opposed to the riots of 1968 was a PEACEFUL protest, that was under control, and was being choreographed to insure a low to zero probability of getting out of hand. If the protestors refused to leave, the police had every right to arrest them for trespassing or assembling without a permit or whatever laws of the march had been broken. And they had PLENTY of manpower to insure that those arrests were done with professionalism and very little "muscle".
But I SAW THE FILM. The Police calmly, while the group was standing there surrounded, put on their brand spanking new gas masks, and just HAD to use their brand new toy.....the pepper spray gun.... that the government (Santa) had given them for this week. They shot the gun at a STATIONERY, UNARMED, CONFINED group that they had had under control for TWO HOURS...... just for fun!
What has happened in America is that the people have been effectively "divided" into so many different groups hating each other, and have been so effectively IMMUNIZED to police brutality, that many aren't seeing the problem here. These policemen who probably used to be nice guys, have been given all these "new toys" but don't have the JUDGEMENT needed to know when and where those toys are appropriate. And this is JUST FINE with the NWO crowd who want to intimidate the public AND gain public ACCEPTANCE of this unreasonable behavior.
These policemen have been so "pumped up" to become RIOT officers that they are psychologically messed up.... which is what we see in the other video of the policeman knocking the woman to the ground. He is ANGRY and OUT OF CONTROL, and has NO superiors who are going to discipline him for this behavior. And then to my HORROR I find bloggers on many sites cheering this on! Because we all know that in TODAYS America, a difference of opinion SHOULD get you arrested!
WAKE UP people. We have to be CONSISTENT with our beliefs in liberty and the Constitution. If these protestors in THIS situation were able to be gassed for NO REASON, and we don't see a HUGE problem, then how in Hell are we going to explain freedom to the uneducated masses!
Whew! I feel much better now. But folks, this is a serious TEST of just how committed we are to the Constitution and to Liberty. Please be sure to DISCIPLINE yourselves to consistency in your beliefs or we are all lost.
Yes, and the two things
Yes, and the two things below happened, and they, too are horrific. Now the only thing it seems we have are Lawsuits. Can enough outrage be manifested in Denver at the Mayor office? The City Council? Month after month? NO, probably not. But we have the right idea now. We BECOME the enemy. We get on the city councils, we become the mayors. They can not alter every single election in the time it takes for us to do this. Send money to the delegates!! They are making progress, meeting the right people, they can run for offices and WIN. Wake up to what we are doing and must continue to do. Protesting, never worked. It just brings attention, but is spun off into the wrong kind.
Denver cops arrest ABC News producer...
...for taking pictures of senators, big donors: http://tinyurl.com/5p8fg9
Denver cops slam female protester to the ground
http://www.youtube.com/wa...
If it was China, they'd all be killed
or taken to prison for life.
----
Don't blame me if there's no voice for liberty opposing McCain and Obama in the Presidential debates. I donated to Ron Paul Libertarian, Bob Barr's campaign.
So at least we've got that
So at least we've got that goin' for us.
Yawohl!
We muzt devend ze Homeland againzt das thought-terroristz!
----
The Antidote to neoCon Koolaid: www.dvds4delegates.com
"We really do have...a once in a lifetime opportunity to take the Republican Party back to where it was." -Kent Snyder, 1959-2008
Here ...
is the video on this.
Join PyraBang the patriot search engine.
Thanks for posting this
video, airborne...
...the right to peacefully assemble...
...walking down a street, unarmed is not considered a peaceful assembly??
If the street is supposed to be open for traffic
then no.
----
Don't blame me if there's no voice for liberty opposing McCain and Obama in the Presidential debates. I donated to Ron Paul Libertarian, Bob Barr's campaign.
Your tax dollars at work...
http://tinyurl.com/6mh3ge
You are aware of course that
You are aware of course that these troublemakers come from a group called "Recreate 68" and their sole purpose is to stir up people and cause a riot atmosphere, so screw 'em. They should get their heads bashed in just to give them a hard lesson on being responsible for your actions in public.
So freedom of speech and
So freedom of speech and expression only applies if they are protesting over something you agree with?
I Love Protesting and Freedom of Speech
I spent four days outside the Democratic Convention in NY in 1992 doing the Jerry Brown thing. I even made a videotape of the event which I call "Let Them Speak: Views Outside the Democratic Convention 1992." It was a hoot. Funniest part was after spending four days in the streets and heading home, I found out that convention passes had been sent to our local Brown office which I could have used to get into MSG, but they hadn't arrived before I set off to NYC.
That being said, who in their right minds would want to "Recreate '68?"
RFK gunned down, the Democratic nomination going to the anemic Hubert Humphrey and the election of Richard Nixon.
Better they try to recreate 1789 or 1776.
That's what I'm saying.
That's what I'm saying. "Recreate 68" is an anarchy-first group of people hell-bent on creating a riot for no purpose other than to give themselves something to do. That's disgusting.
After reading this post I
After reading this post I need to hear some RAGE!
http://www.youtube.com/wa...
You know what I think?
I don't care what affiliation they are, or how far left they lean. This relation to our cause is what makes us the United States of America. We can all have our differences, but in the end there is some common ground we can stand together on. And that ground is usually what matter more then anything else.
These men and women stand with us today, united in a common cause. We are tired, we are angry, and were not taking shit anymore. And I could care less how bad it looked that they formed hands and marched towards the police, they were unarmed. The fact that they felt the need to respond with tear gas is a serious wake up call. Those cops were COWARDS. Little boys and girls all dressed up in uniforms and they were scared. They were faced by a small group of people with nothing more then unity and voices and it sent the establishment whores into a panic grasping for their weapons. Thats the power of the people united.
No matter what they do to those protestors from here, they already lost in my eyes. Anything further they do will only cause a reaction making matter worse for them. Those cops need to just walk away right now. But they won't do that. They will continue to bully out of fear and eventually the history changing event your all praying for will take place.
I wish I had a front row seat and five good friends with me.
- Matt
If only a local station
If only a local station covered it, perhaps more people would come off their asses and out of the house and into the streets to join them. What would the cops do if instead of 90 it was 5000.
Man, oh man....please continue to keep
us posted (eccentric one).....cute nic, by the way...
I admire their (those protesting) courage...