Larry Leventhal

A year ago the Republican National Convention opened at the Xcel Energy Center. The St. Paul Police Department pledged that protesters and Republican delegates alike would be welcome on the city’s streets. The reality was that roughly 800 people were arrested, primarily in mass sweeps. The contentious four-day gathering continues to play out in the state’s courts through both criminal cases and civil lawsuits.

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.

Six of the eight defendants charged with plotting to disrupt the Republican National Convention with criminal acts were in court today. But hearings to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to justify the charges they face were postponed.

In the 1990s, Bloomington successfully waded into the murky constitutional waters that swirl around questions of free speech in privately owned places that receive public funds. In the 1999 landmark ruling  State v. Wicklund, the Minnesota Supreme Court said the state constitution’s freedom of expression clause did not apply inside the walls of the Mall [...]