RNC

The Duluth Central Labor Body, which represents roughly 17,000 workers, has unanimously passed a resolution opposing the prosecution of the RNC Eight (pictured). The measure also calls for repeal of the state law under which the defendants have been charged with criminally conspiring to disrupt September’s Republican National Convention (RNC). Describing the prosecutions as “politically [...]

David Guy McKay pleaded guilty this morning — again. The Austin, Texas–based activist acknowledged producing eight Molotov cocktails and conspiring to violently disrupt the Republican National Convention in September. McKay initially attempted to plead guilty to the three felony counts Monday, but his admission of guilt was rejected by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Davis. The reason? McKay continued to insist that a government informant, Brandon Darby, was partly responsible for producing the incendiary devices.

Andrew Clark Darst was a key FBI informant in building a case that eight activists criminally conspired to disrupt the Republican National Convention. But criminal charges subsequently filed against Darst have raised questions about his credibility.

Let the litigation begin. Eight lawsuits have been filed in U.S. District Court claiming civil rights abuses by police officers during events surrounding the Republican National Convention in September. The civil suits accuse officers of physical and sexual abuse, illegal searches and seizure of property, and wrongful detainment. Says one of the lawyers handling the cases, “This is just the beginning.”

Testimony from a witness for Norm Coleman was stricken from the court record today when the three judges in Minnesota’s election contest trial agreed with Al Franken’s side that Coleman lawyers should not have shared notes with her during a break. As seen and reported on The UpTake, it was a dramatic blow for Coleman’s [...]

The RNC Eight, accused of a criminal conspiracy to wreak chaos during the Republican National Convention, are unlikely to go on trial for at least another six months. But the battle to shape public opinion on the high-profile case has been taking place since the moment of their arrests on the eve of the St. Paul convention in early September. At a hearing Tuesday, the judge said she ‘won’t tolerate any games’ by the prosecution or defense.

FBI whistleblower-turned-activist Coleen Rowley is on a roll. She rips into the City of St. Paul’s report on Republican National Convention law enforcement in a new commentary column, and Tuesday she will join others from Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) in filing formal complaints with Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher over RNC policing tactics. And Rowley’s inquiries into what she suspects was overbroad surveillance during the RNC are starting to bear fruit — of a sort.

Court dates arrive this week for the eight Republican National Convention protesters who were preemptively charged with terrorism felonies, according to the support group Defend the RNC8. The motion hearings — postponed due to a judge switch — find the RNC8 in a news context that recently became more favorable to their cause: most charges were dropped [...]

Charges will not be filed against 323 people who were arrested on the Marion Street and Cedar Street bridges during the fourth day of the Republican National Convention, the St. Paul city attorney’s office announced today. Local civil rights activists say the failure to press charges is the latest evidence that many RNC arrests were frivolous.

At two Minneapolis events today, independent journalist Will Potter is discussing what he calls the “green scare”: “Corporations and politicians are labeling activists ‘eco-terrorists’ and national security threats,” a descriptor at his Web site reads. “Think red-baiting, with a green twist.” As he tells Tom Elko in an audio interview at Sky Blue Waters, post-9/11 [...]