Residents of the houses where the warrants were served denied having any unlawful or dangerous materials.
A report by Minnesota Independent indicates:
The RNC Welcoming Committee issued a press release noting that four individuals were arrested in the raids: Monica Bicking, Eryn Trimmer, Garrett Fitzgerald, and Nathanael Secor. The press release also notes that “Search warrants for 2 of the 3 raided houses listed only one name apiece, each of individuals not present at the houses and, thus, not arrested.”
Here are some responses from the Minnesota Independent site's commenters:
jhonny Welcome to the new fascist america. Check your civil liberties at the door please. Americans are now being treated exactly as the Iraqi people have been by our contracters and military. The next step is for the govt. to start contracting these raids out to NGO's like Blackwater. They will of course have sweeping powers far beyond our police forces and when deaths occur (and they will) the whole establishment media and pundit class will rally around the killers blaming the victims for having the audacity to challenge the STATE.
pat "This is America, come out with your hands up"
The last thing heard from the Philadelphia Police Commissioner, Gregore Sambor, by the Philadelphia political non-conformist group MOVE in 1985 before the police fired 10,000 rounds into the home killing 11 including 5 children and then burning down 61 urban homes to cover their actions.
Don't ever forget, because this is America:
"This is America, come out with your hands up"
"This is America, come out with your hands up"
"This is America, come out with your hands up"
"This is America, come out with your hands up"
"This is America, come out with your hands up"
Firedoglake.com is giving this story excellent coverage:
The History of Breaking Up Protests Before They Can Happen, How Cops Have Spent Years Squashing the Right to Assembly and Free SpeechRNC Stasi Sweeps: A Bob Fletcher Special?
When word first hit about the raids committed by uniformed officers against various sites in Minneapolis and St. Paul, it was really bizarre and confusing. Why were the cops staging raids against people like Food Not Bombs? Why did they shut down the RNC Convergence Center and take all their computer gear? What the hell were Ramsey County sheriff's department people doing invading houses in Hennepin-fricking-County?
