The first week was hard on the team of independent journalists from the Twin Cities, New York City, and beyond. We faced police harassment and worked long hours. Our reporters were arrested, tear-gassed, pepper sprayed, and threatened with police dogs.
Two of our Twin Cities Indymedia reporters were arrested while shooting events on Friday night and one now faces two bogus felony "assault" charges, despite his 100% peaceful arrest. One of the two cameras that reporters were carrying was smashed and the footage stolen by the police. The other camera and footage is still being held by the police.
Our video shorts released on You Tube during the Summit saw hundreds of thousands of views and the documentary, Democracy 101, premieres tonight at the P.S.1 MoMA gallery in New York City and in Pittsburgh, PA. Many of the iconic images of the G20 were shot by members of our reporting team and would not have become public knowledge otherwise.
This acted to ensure mainstream media coverage of police actions and to mobilize students who were targeted at the University of Pittsburgh to challenge the police who entered their dorms and arrested students who were merely observing the events on their campus.
The team was not expecting to remain in town this long but remained to train reporters from Pittsburgh Indymedia, finish the documentary, and assist local activists from the Thomas Merton Center to get the message out about police brutality during the Summit.
The press conference, coordinated by the RNC '08 Report and team at the Center on the Monday following the Summit, saw many members of the mainstream media attend, received wide coverage on local TV, radio, and press, and was distributed to newspapers and electronic media around the world via the Associated Press wire service.
Watch the press conference here:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoqRWYVrg6Y
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA6z7bWdNFQ
Over the last 10 days, we were faced with a challenge and met it. Now we need your help. The team returns to the Twin Cities today on a shoestring travel budget having set freelance work aside for the duration of the Summit.
The RNC '08 Report is a voluntary independent media project that is used by RNC arrestee legal defense teams, journalists covering the RNC (and now G20) aftermath, and activists working to challenge excessive policing.
With funding, we can afford to set aside time to build the project and expand our work with activists around the country in order to support them in the ongoing struggle against police brutality.
Please support the RNC '08 Report project and our work with independent media. Every dollar helps, especially this week.
Donate now by credit card via Paypal
"In the wake of the "9.11 changed everything" overreaction (and repressive mentality), the RNC '08 Report has contributed immensely to the effort to restore the contours of free speech rights and other constitutional protections vital to the healthy functioning of our representative democracy."
-- Coleen Rowley, 9/11 FBI whistleblower and lecturer/writer on Civil Liberties and Effective Investigation
"The RNC '08 Report, since its inception in September 2008, has been supporting our Chapter's efforts to protect and defend the First Amendment rights of the thousands of people who came out in protest of the Republican National Convention held in Saint Paul, September 1st-4th 2008. The RNC '08 Report is an outstanding example of how the efforts of ordinary citizens can playa crucial role in defending the First Amendment freedoms to publicly associate and petition the government for redress of grievances."
-- Bruce Nester, Minnesota Chapter President of the National Lawyers Guild
"The RNC '08 Report has been a great resource for us, as it has provided us an easy way to access all the available information published on the incidents before, during and after the Convention. Due to Nigel's work, we are able to easily search the website and find articles, pictures, and videos that relate to specific arrests or incidents without having to stress our own limited resources. The RNC '08 Report also provides us with links to various independent sources, hard-to-find government reports, and videos or images that may be overlooked or lost without this type of archival website. The RNC '08 Report has been there to chronicle everything.... Nigel's work will continue to help us inform future activists and those concerned with civil liberties about what happened when the Convention came to St. Paul, and what they may need to prepare for if a National Security Special Event comes to their town."
-- Melissa Hill on behalf of the Community RNC Arrestee Support Structure
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