Republican National Convention

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.

Andrew Clark Darst, a key informant in the conspiracy case pending against the RNC Eight, has been found guilty of three criminal counts related to a January altercation in Minnetrista. Hennepin County District Court Judge Daniel Mabley ruled today that Darst is guilty of a gross misdemeanor charge of damage to property, as well as two counts of misdemeanor assault. The 30-year-old Minnetrista resident was acquitted on two burglary counts.

The St. Paul city attorney’s office is not faring too well in prosecutions stemming from the Republican National Convention in September. Of 672 initial cases turned over for potential misdemeanor prosecution, roughly 85 percent have been dropped due to insufficient evidence. And none of the few cases that have made it to court have resulted in a conviction.

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.”

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.

Nearly 800 people were arrested. Pepper spray, flash-bang grenades and tear gas were repeatedly used to disperse crowds. Store-front windows were smashed and vehicle tires slashed. If nothing else, the four days of the Republican National Convention certainly succeeded in bringing some excitement to normally sleepy streets of downtown St. Paul. Today, before a sometimes rambunctious crowd, a seven-member panel led by former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Luger presented an 82-page report on policing during the Republican National Convention to the St. Paul City Council.