280 people, including Amy Goodman, arrested at RNC
Well, the fun just keeps on coming up in Minneapolis-St. Paul. By fun, I of course mean the evisceration of any notion of freedom of assembly in the United States of America. 280 people were arrested yesterday during a police action outside the Republican National Convention that included the use of rubber bullets, tear gas and pepper spray. Among them were prominent independent journalist Amy Goodman, host of the radio program Democracy Now!, two of her producers and an Associated Press photographer, who were all covering the melee. All were released last night. Watch the video of Amy Goodman being arrested above. You can watch a clip of Democracy Now!’s coverage of their own arrests below.
Tellingly, 120 charges are now pending following 280 arrests. This showcases the favorite tactic of the police: make an illegal arrest, remove unsightly protesters from the area for “security” purposes, and then release those people when they are safely out of earshot of anyone watching/listening. If that doesn’t stifle free speech, I don’t know what does.
Here is the transcript of the video above:
DENIS MOYNIHAN: Release the accredited journalists!
AMY GOODMAN: Where’s the reporters? Sir?
POLICE OFFICER: Ma’am, get back to the sidewalk.
DENIS MOYNIHAN: Release the accredited journalists now!
AMY GOODMAN: Sir, just one second. I was just running from the convention floor.
DENIS MOYNIHAN: You are violating my constitutional rights. You are violating their constitutional rights.
POLICE OFFICER: Sidewalk now!
AMY GOODMAN: Sir, I want to talk to your superior—
POLICE OFFICER: Arrest her?
AMY GOODMAN: Do not arrest me!
POLICE OFFICER: You’re under arrest.
POLICE OFFICER: Hold it right there. You’re under arrest. Stay right there. Back up. Back up.
POLICE OFFICER: Everybody, you cross this line, you’ll be under arrest, so don’t do it.
CROWD: Let her go!
DENIS MOYNIHAN: Amy, we are going to get you out of here very soon.
AMY GOODMAN: This is outrageous.
DENIS MOYNIHAN: Yes, we have people working on it.
AMY GOODMAN: Nicole has a bloody nose. And I think that Sergeant McKinty said he—they won’t put me on [inaudible] if Nicole’s not there.
Tell St. Paul and RNC officials that this oppression will not be tolerated!
I’m also happy to see that the storm troopers up north are keeping hydrated with their camouflage camelbaks. I wonder if those are police issued or if they were provided by the RNC? I’m sure it gets pretty sweaty in all that swat team gear and they have been running all over the city oppressing free thinkers.
Just think, this is all happening at a convention that is barely even occurring. What would have happened if Herr Bush and Herr Cheney had actually made their scheduled appearances? I shudder to think.
So, what else can I say? You must watch the video above, but better yet, watch all the footage (and read a full transcript) from this and the other unconstitutional arrests of these journalists over at Democracy Now! (permalink)
Thanks for posting the footage…that shows all we need to see. Amy Goodman voluntarily ran up to the cops and then voluntarily resisted their instructions to get back on the sidewalk. It boils down to simply following instructions. If you don’t, then you face the consequences. But why take responsibility for your own actions when you can just place the blame on someone else (the police in this case). Now she can “exercise her right to assemble” w/ her fellow morons in jail. Haha.
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Well, Mr. “The Truth” (since you seem to want anonymity, I’ll respect that out of friendship for now), I am glad that you are at least being exposed to the ideas on this blog. If I understand your worldview correctly based on this comment, Americans are to “do as they are told”?
I think that is rather antithetical to what it means to be an American. It is almost cliche to raise the spectre of the founding fathers, but this goes to the core of this country so I’ll do it. They certainly didn’t do what they were told. They spoke truth to power back then and Amy Goodman is speaking truth to power today.
I don’t know what video you watched, but the two shown above clearly show her asking the cops a question and then immediately being arrested. She posed no threat to them, she brandished no weapon and in fact she was wearing all the credentials required (and provided) by the Secret Service, having just run from the convention floor.
While I respect your right to express yourself and your opinions, I certainly do not respect your opinion on this matter.
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The top video shown above also clearly shows her ignoring the cops request to stay back and running through/attempting to run through the human barricade they set up. Apparently, the weapon she was brandishing was ignorance. If you don’t want trouble, then you don’t try to run through a police barricade, especially when given a chance to adhere to their first request. Either she’s just plain crazy, lacks common sense, or both. The cops didn’t know what kind of threat she posed, which is why they requested her to stay back. Refusing, she tried to push trough and was delt with accordingly. How can you not see that?
As far as “doing as they are told,” to a certain extent, yes, you should. This is why we have laws and figures of authority. You learn this from an early age. Do what you’re told and you’re rewarded. In the elementary years it was staying up late, an extra treat or buying something nice at the store. If not, then you were grounded or punished. As you grow up, do as you’re told and you get a bonus at work, respect from others and a life of freedom. Don’t do as you’re told and you could get fired, shunned or thrown in jail.
Had she not tried to bum-rush the cops and simply ask her question, I’m sure she would have been handled differently. Much like the THOUSANDS of protesters who conducted a successfully peaceful protest and did so by avoiding jail time that same day. These same protesters freely expressed their opinon in the right way and were even commended by the police. But, she chose to ignore the requests and FORCE her way through the police. You are correct on one front…her credentials were issued by the Secret Service and entitled her to be on the convention floor. However, that didn’t mean anything OUTSIDE the convention and just b/c you have a pass that was issued by them, doesn’t mean that pass is good for you to think that you actually are the Secret Service and ignore requests from law enforcement. It’s like someone having a suite pass for a footgall game and expecting to be able go to the front of the line after the game at Chili’s.
What truth is Goodman speaking? Even the founding fathers probably had measures in place to prevent past Amy Goodmans from trying to run into the room to stop the signing of the Bill of Rights. But, in your world, I guess the Amy Goodmans would be allowed to run around, ignoring authority freely, causing chaos for everyone. Luckily, we have measures in place to prevent “Loony” Goodmans from running around…psych wards.
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Ok, “The Truth”, I just watched the video for the hundredth time to make sure I wasn’t making this stuff up. I’m not. I don’t know what you are seeing that constitutes a “bum rush” of the cops, but she was standing still and then the cops dragged her across the police line. She did not cross their line of her free will. She was pulled by the cops. So get that straight.
Thanks for solidifying your worldview. I’m not going to dissect that here, but it fills in the gaps in the conversation to know where you are coming from.
As to her credentials, they actually do entitle her to be where she was, both inside and outside the convention. As Goodman herself points out in my subsequent post, the press are the eyes and ears for the rest of us that can’t be in Minnesota this week, so they need to be on the front line of the protests, convention, wherever, bringing us the reality of the experience. Police know that and are trained to deal with that. These cops chose to make these illegal arrests and, if you watch the second video here, the cops are the ones that “bum rushed” the protesters and journalists.
As to your use of the incendiary term “loony”, I just don’t get that. Goodman has done nothing untoward and was merely seeking and demanding the rights of her colleagues when she was illegally detained. The video proves that. Where is the loony? If you are going to call yourself “The Truth”, I suggest you bring some facts to support your argument. In this case, you have been weighed, measured and found wanting.
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Haha. When the cop tried escorting her away, that’s the point when she should have walked away. But, alas, she didn’t. She turned back around and went after it again … her crucial mistake. Measure this.
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I don’t know what video “the truth” is watching but there was no reason to arrest her. how could it hurt to just listen to her questions and ignore her? she didn’t cross any line, she was pulled over the line.
“the truth” would you have been threated by her? would you say the cops are protecting and serving the people in that video?
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