KEY RESOURCES FOR JOURNALISTS WRITING ABOUT THE RNC, DNC OR OTHER NATIONAL SPECIAL SECURITY EVENTS NSSEs)
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Key tags: Impact on Local Businesses | Arrest of journalists | Undercover Agents, Informers, and Agent Provocateurs
Golden Oldies: Broken promises | Citizen media targeting | Mass arrests | Real danger to public safety | Leah Lane incident | Media thanks police
 There are 1352 documents on this website... See anything missing? Check out our progress log. Art, Posters & Flyers: Short Story: "Solidarity"  It was midday when we carried our anger out of doors, off the buses, off the trains, out of our cars, from bikes, and the soles of our sneakers. They were waiting there. They were waiting there because we had prophesied our own arrival on Twitter, on our profiles, from the rooftops of our lungs. We're coming. We can't hold back any more. We're taking the capitol. We'll see you at the summit. They wore riot gear, and so did we. Theirs was made from plastics and kevlar. Ours was made from flannel and dye. They had shields; we had signs made from paper and marker and middle fingers. Their helmets had blast guards. We dipped our bandannas in vinegar, yet they could still see our faces. No analogy armed us against their tear gas, concussion grenades, rubber bullets, guns, guns, guns, but, in beginning, there was the word, and the word was with us. We shouted the word. We were the word. [Read more] Text: Nearly two-thirds of RNC host committee spending went to companies outside Florida TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Host Committee raised most of its money for the Republican National Convention outside of Florida, and most of the companies that got that money were based outside the state, too. Of $52.4 million that the committee spent to support the convention, $11.5 million — or about 22 percent — was spent in the Tampa Bay area, according to the committee's financial report to the Federal Election Commission. [Read more] Maps & Graphics: Security spending for the 2012 Republican National Convention The city of Tampa is receiving a $50 million federal grant to pay for security around the 2012 Republican National Convention. So far, officials have detailed plans for $46,520,490 worth of security expenditures. From a 16,000-pound armored SWAT truck to segways, cotton uniforms and pay for 3,500 law enforcement officers, we offer a visual breakdown of how the Tampa RNC security spending is being spent. [Read more] Text: Police Dodge Suit Over RNC Protest Crackdown Protestors who were arrested at the 2008 Republican National Convention cannot sue St. Paul, Minn., and its police officers, the 8th Circuit ruled. [Read more] Video & Audio: Settlement Reached over Arrest of Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! Producers at 2008 GOP Convention A final settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit challenging the police crackdown on journalists reporting on the 2008 Republican National Convention and protests in St. Paul, Minnesota. Democracy Now! host and executive producer Amy Goodman, along with former producers Nicole Salazar and Sharif Abdel Kouddous, filed the lawsuit last year against the Minneapolis and St. Paul Police Departments, the Ramsey County Sheriff and United States Secret Service personnel. The lawsuit challenged the policies and conduct of law enforcement during the 2008 RNC that resulted in their arrests. They were among dozens of journalists arrested that week in St. Paul. The settlement includes $100,000 in compensation paid by the St. Paul and Minneapolis Police Departments and the Secret Service. The settlement also includes an agreement by the St. Paul Police Department to implement a training program aimed at educating officers regarding the First Amendment rights of the press and public with respect to police operations, including proper procedures for dealing with the press covering demonstrations. [Read more] Documentaries: "Better This World" Trailer & Full Length Documentary Highly-recommended documentary tells story of FBI informant Brandon Darby and protesters Bradley Crowder and David McKay Highly recommended. Must see. Two boyhood friends from Midland, Texas -- David McKay and Bradley Crowder -- fall under the sway of a charismatic revolutionary ten years their senior. At the volatile 2008 Republican Convention the "Texas Two" cross a line that radically changes their lives. The result: eight homemade bombs, multiple domestic terrorism charges and a high stakes entrapment defense hinging on the actions of a controversial FBI informant. A dramatic story of idealism, loyalty, crime and betrayal, BETTER THIS WORLD goes to the heart of the War on Terror and its impact on civil liberties and political dissent in post-9/11 America. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL LENGTH DOCUMENTARY FOR FREE ON PBS UNTIL OCTOBER 6TH, 2011 [Read more] Text: ACLU plaintiffs receive $27,000 for police raids during 2008 RNC The American Civil Liberties Union is pleased to announce that a settlement has been reached in a longstanding free speech case against the Ramsey County Sheriff’s office and others stemming from actions taken during the 2008 St.Paul Republican National Convention. [Read more] Text: Activists Get $50,000 for FBI & St. Paul Police Raid Prior to 2008 Republican Convention Preemptive, politically motivated raids are emblematic of police tactics used to suppress dissent St. Paul, MN -- Three activists and their attorneys won a $50,000 settlement today in a lawsuit that challenged an August 30, 2008 police raid on a St. Paul home in advance of that year's Republican National Convention (RNC). The plaintiffs in the case -- Sarah Coffey, Erin Stalnaker and Kris Hermes -- are giving most of the award to the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, the Institute for Anarchist Studies, and the formation of a national legal defense fund for political activists. The St. Paul house raid was one of several police actions taken against protesters days before the RNC began, including the search and seizure of a central political meeting space, which is also the subject of pending litigation. [Read more] Text: Judge orders ACLU literature seizure case to trial Federal District Court Judge Tunheim issued a ruling today in the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota's literature seizure case Demuth v Fletcher. In his ruling Judge Tunheim denied cross motions for summary judgment, but agreed to dismiss some of the plaintiff's claims. The core constitutional issues of the case still remain, and will be decided at trial later this year. [Read more] Text: FBI Snitch Claims NY Times Defamed Him A Texas man who claims he worked as an FBI informant during the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul says The New York Times defamed him in an article that claimed he was part of a conspiracy to bomb the meeting. In his federal complaint, Brandon Darby describes himself as a community organizer who worked as an undercover informant for the FBI during the convention. [Read more] Legal & Court Documents: Brandon Darby Vs. New York Times Petition of suit by FBI informant Brandon Darby against New York Times for claiming he had "encouraged" the McKay/Crowder molotov-making. [Read more] Text: Lawsuit seeking money damages for police violence at Republican National Convention to go forward Motion will be made to subpoena ‘Karen Sullivan’ - undercover FBI infiltrator in Twin Cities in anti-war movement Lawyers who filed the first lawsuit resulting from police violence at the Republican National Convention will announce their plan to move forward with litigation in the case of Mick Kelly. In a widely publicized incident, police, standing only feet away, shot Kelly in his stomach with a high velocity marking projectile at the demonstration organized by the Anti-War Committee on the fourth day of the RNC, Sept. 4 2008. [Read more] Text: Anarchist Ties Seen in ’08 Bombing of Texas Governor’s Mansion It has been two and a half years since an arsonist tossed a firebomb into the governor’s mansion in Austin and slipped into the night, but the Texas Rangers say they are finally closing in on the person responsible. [Read more] Text: Those 33 terrorist groups in Ramsey County? It was "a very big lie" Just weeks into the new Ramsey County Sheriff administration, we finally know why former sheriff Bob Fletcher ignored Minnesota Data Practices requests for the 78 Terrorism Information Briefs he boasted about preparing and disseminating since 2005. "They never existed," Randy Gustafson, the new public information officer for Sheriff Matt Bostrom, said in a telephone interview on January 19. "It is a very big lie." [Read more] Video & Audio: PSALM FOR ST. PAUL lyrics Music video Jared Paul, lead vocalist of Prayers For Atheists, was among the over 800 people who were arrested during the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN. More than 5,000 police officers, National Guardsmen, and agents from over 50 government agencies converged on the city to conduct mass arbitrary arrests, disrupt media coverage, and stifle dissent. With the help of Strange Famous Records, the Coldsnap Legal Collective, Minnesota ACLU, the Community RNC Arrestee Support Structure (CRASS), and donations from supporters around the country, Jared fought his case and all charges were eventually dropped. Jed I. Rosenberg directed this video. The additional protest footage was graciously provided by the Glass Bead Collective and Twin Cities Indy Media Center. The music was written and performed by Alan Hague (of PFA.) [Read more] Video & Audio: RNC8 Trial End Press Conference October 19th, 2010 concluding statements Four remaining RNC8 defendants take plea bargains for probation & $200 fines, three were exonerated. Statements from Betsy Raasch-Gilman, Mordecai Specktor and RNC8 defendant Garrett Fitzgerald. [Read more] Text: Sentencing Statement The following statement was read by Nathanael Secor before his sentencing at the plea hearing of October 19, 2010. [Read more] Text: Sentencing Statement The following statement was read by Max Specktor before his sentencing at the plea hearing of October 19, 2010. [Read more] Text: Sentencing Statement The following statement was read by Garrett Fitzgerald before his sentencing at the plea hearing of October 19, 2010. Without giving a reason why–representative of her childish behavior all along–Judge Teresa Warner refused to allow him to quote the passage from “The Lorax” in its entirety. [Read more] Text: Post-Hearing Speech After the hearing on Tuesday morning, October 19, members of the RNC 8 Defense Committee and defendant Garrett Fitzgerald addressed a large crowd of reporters and supporters. Here’s the text of Garrett’s statement to the crowd outside the courthouse on Kellogg Boulevard. [Read more] Text: Community, Solidarity, Resistance: The Conclusion of the RNC 8 Case and Some Lessons Learned More than two years after the 2008 Republican National Convention, it appears that the last legal and political defense work is finally reaching a conclusion. Two years of standing together, not always in agreement, but bound by our outrage against a state which systematically destroys our supposed rights. Two years of coming to understand that we are not exceptional and that these rights do not actually exist for anyone except the richest of the rich. Two years of standing and fighting together anyway, retaining our dignity and our strength in our own separate ways. [Read more] Text: Statement at the conclusion of the RNC 8 case I was a member of the RNC Welcoming Committee for 18 months, and I am proud to have worked with all of the defendants who are now known as the RNC 8 during that time. I would have been a witness for them, had they gone to trial, and I want to outline a few of the things I might have told their jury. [Read more] Text: Remaining Rnc 8 Defendants Accept Plea Agreements For Gross Misdemeanors Case Resolves with Community Service Sentence but No Jail Time The remaining four RNC 8 defendants announced today that they will accept plea agreements to resolve their over two-year legal and political felony battle. Rob Czernik and Max Specktor plead to one count each of gross misdemeanor conspiracy to riot. Garrett Fitzgerald and Nathanael Secor plead to one count each of gross misdemeanor conspiracy to destroy property. [Read more] |
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