A report from a local resident in the same comments section of the above DailyKos diary post reads:
I was there, and I got gassed (6+ / 0-)
I live less than 1/2 mile away from the convention. I was on my way home when I saw the protesters appear. I followed them and was tear gassed.
They first appeared, to me at least, at Dayton and John Ireland Avenues in front of the St. Paul Cathedral. For a few hours the police and riot cops flanked them and forced them to march in certain directions. I personally witnessed the group blockade a number of streets. There appeared to be somewhere between 100 and 125 of them. They also pushed with them at least two dumpsters full of garbage on two occasions, emptying the contents out on the street as they went and both times overturning the dumpsters in the middle of the street to block police vehicles. They also grabbed trash cans, road signs and sandbags along the way to throw at police and block streets. I also witnessed them break out windows on at least three police vehicles, slash the tires of a limousine, throw a number of empty glass bottles at police officers and police vehicles and throw sandbags and a street sign off of a freeway overpass.
It appeared to me that the police were using excessive force, but to be fair these were not peaceful protesters.
I am familiar with this kind of protester and find myself greatly infuriated with those who come to protest violently. Shameless vandalism is the easiest way for us on the left to be marginalized and the easiest excuse for politicians to ignore our morally righteous calls for an end to war, torture, violations of civil liberties, impeachment, and restoration of the rule of law in America.
It is not excusable for anyone to lose control and break anything under police repression.
Anyways, I put together this small aggregate quickly for those to get an update on the police and protests in St. Paul. I am not in the Twin Cities yet and most likely will not be until tomorrow. I will be there from Tuesday to Friday.
I hope to be doing news coverage right in the middle of all this while also helping friends with a film they are putting together.
If this is not the plan, I will redact my statement that I am planning on being there.
For now, I applaud the courageous and morally righteous who are standing up to the Gestapo-like state-sponsored police force by continuing to protest and taking time to go to the St. Paul area and observe so journalistic accounts of the situation can be posted here and all over the web.
Hope your Labor Day goes well.
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