Comments on: Duluth Democrats condemn Gaertner’s prosecution of RNC Eight

By: Nachman

Nachman — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:31:40 +0000

“Another problematic aspect of the RNC 8 case exists in its application of the “Bush Doctrine” theory of “pre-emptive” raids and detentions conducted before enough factual evidence existed”.

Miss Rowley, after all your years in law enforcement – you still don’t know about probable cause?

Did you even *read* the search warrant?

By: Nachman

Nachman — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:25:33 +0000

“The Duluth DFL and the Duluth Central Labor Body don’t necessarily endorse the Welcoming Committee’s tactics or worldview, but their members understand that the prosecution of organizers for the actions and alleged actions of others is a threat to our very right to organize”.

Organize *what*? Riots? DestRuction of property? Interference with the political rights of citizens who are Republicans? The Duluth DFL disgraced itself with this resolution, no doubt introduced and passed with the help of leftists and Green-Dems in the party.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:38:51 +0000

So Michelle Gross,

We know what you are against, and passionately so. that is to be commended. Are you also for people, gathering bomb-making materials and making bombs? I suppose they were just preparing for an Independence Day celebration. Is destruction of property and interruption of security and other legitimate city services admissable dissent too?

By: Paul Demko

Paul Demko — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:58:12 +0000

Thanks for posting the “Stop Choi Stop” link. I knew that was out there, but couldn’t track it down immediately when I was assembling this post.

So Run Choi Run: 374 member. Notables: St. Paul City Council members Lee Helgen, Kathy Lantry, Russ Stark and Melvin Carter, Wellstone Action executive director Jeff Blodgett, House Majority Leader Tony Sertich, plus a lot of DFL activists.

Stop Choi Stop: 167 members. Notables: Southside Pride publisher Ed Felien and Minneapolis City Council candidate Charley Underwood, plus a lot of people who don’t live in the Twin Cities.

Bottom line: Choi’s got a lot of powerful people on his side.

By: Michelle Gross

Michelle Gross — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:30:24 +0000

This was not a matter of responsible action by law enforcement to prevent a crime. This was the heavy-handed action of the state to round up and jail protest organizers whose only “crime” was to organize housing, food and other support for activists coming into the Twin Cities to protest. These eight young people spent the entirety of the RNC (and beyond) in jail so Sheriff Fletcher and the rest could justify their expenditure of $50 million in armaments and policing as well as their outrageous tactics of bombing, brutalizing and indiscriminantly arresting thousands. Gaertner’s prosecution of the RNC 8 validates Fletcher’s actions and must be condemned. I laud the Duluth DFL for seeing this case for what it is “policing” their own.

This country’s legal system is supposedly predicated on the notion of innocent until proven guilty. Pre-emptive arrests upend that notion and institute a kind of law enforcement based on alleged thought and association.

I was out with my organization doing copwatch (documenting police behavior) throughout the entirety of the RNC. The ONLY violence I saw was on the part of the police. This prosecution is an attempt to validate that violence.

To view some of the extensive film footage of police violence that was captured during the RNC go to http://www.terrorizingdissent.org

Michelle Gross
Communities United Against Police Brutality

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:43:29 +0000

Coleen,

Thanks Coleen for the enlightening comments; I’m an expert in very few things and haven’t really been following the case (or the coverage of it). The “terrorism” aspect was always an overreach. But as our current Commander-in-Chief would say, “on the other hand” some are quick to label the destructive minority of Pro-Life activists as terrorists. In any case, she rightly dropped that part.

I don’t think it is useful to apply the label “Bush Doctrine” to pre-emptive action. It is pre-emptive action, simply. Such labelling adds no value for the reader and demeans the writer. Any law enforcement group that does not use pre-emptive action when they have intelligence that indicates it would be effective is negligent. The FBI and CIA certainly know this from recent experience.

By: Coleen Rowley

Coleen Rowley — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:31:35 +0000

I disagree with you, Mark, that the legal lines are clear. Since 9-11, the lines between peaceful protest, non-violent civil disobedience and violent acts of terrorism have been very blurred and muddied. The Minnesota Patriot Act which is still the law in Minnesota makes property damage as little as $1000 considered to be “in furtherance of terrorism”. You can also see evidence of the blurring in the many leaked “Homeland Security Intelligence Documents”. Their pre-RNC “Highway Watch” document contained charts and diagrams listing and targeting mainstream (non-violent) peace groups.

Another problematic aspect of the RNC 8 case exists in its application of the “Bush Doctrine” theory of “pre-emptive” raids and detentions conducted before enough factual evidence existed.

Gaertner should be credited at least with dropping the original “terrorism” charges and hopefully she’ll support repeal of the Minnesota Patriot Act. But the damage was already done, long before Gaertner instituted this prosecution, as a result of the terrorism labeling, the pre-emptive police actions and mostly right-wing media hype/threats. This was what served to chill the honorable non-violent dissent at the RNC.

By: Stop Choi Stop!

Stop Choi Stop! — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:45:52 +0000

Don’t forget the Stop Choi Stop group also on facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=77416718207&ref=ts#/group.php?gid=77416718207

By: Stop Choi Stop!

Stop Choi Stop! — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:44:05 +0000

Don’t forget the Stop Choi Stop group also on facebook

By: Joel Kilgour

Joel Kilgour — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:33:52 +0000

The Duluth DFL and the Duluth Central Labor Body don’t necessarily endorse the Welcoming Committee’s tactics or worldview, but their members understand that the prosecution of organizers for the actions and alleged actions of others is a threat to our very right to organize. Besides, a case that relies on political literature and common household items as evidence should spook any Minnesotan, anarchist or not, who happens to have a point of view and a curtain rod.
I think it’s fair to say that Duluthians in general were shocked by the police state atmosphere in St Paul and view these prosecutions as political: a way to justify that $50 million security state and abridgment of civil liberties.
It should be noted that the Duluth DFL passed 2 RNC-related resolutions that day. The 2nd supported Amnesty International’s call for an independent inquiry into civil rights abuses during the convention.
The full text of the RNC 8 resolution can be found here:
http://northlandantiwar.blogspot.com/2009/05/dfl-resolution-in-support-of-rnc-8.html