In all, 672 cases went to St. Paul city attorney John Choi and on Friday, three out of every four have been closed.
Nearly 400 people were rounded up on the Marion Street Bridge, handcuffed, and booked in the biggest mass arrest of the RNC. But almost all of those protestors will face no charge.
To date, not one of those arrested has been charged for the protest and the cases of only 20 people there remain under investigation.
"Whenever we don't have the evidence, we shouldn't be proceeding to prosecute individuals," Choi explained.
In addition, of the 672 cases sent to his office for the four-day RNC, at least 501 have been, or will be, declined or dismissed—which counts of 75 percent of the cases.
But Choi told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that does not mean those arrested were innocent or that police did anything wrong.
"It is my opinion that they had probable cause to make the arrests," he said.
Pete Panos, spokesman with St. Paul Police said the department is frustrated. In the Marion Street Bridge incident—officers struggled for nearly three hours to make the arrests.
"Is it frustrating for us? Of course it is. We think all the cases have merit. But we got done what we wanted to do," Panos said.
Choi also said he will re-file charges against 14 people who initially had their cases dismissed. In all, 54 people have pleaded guilty to RNC-related incidents in St. Paul or Ramsey County or paid a fine.
Another 97 people have been charged for a protest in downtown Minneapolis on the third night of the convention.
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