Ramsey County can hold the arrestees for 36 hours on probable cause, a timeline in place often used to gather evidence before formal charges are filed. However, weekends and holidays are not included in the 36-hour hold, which means all six of the activists arrested for “probable cause” could be held until Wednesday afternoon.

Bruce Nestor of the NLG told MnIndy that the timing of the arrests, and the subsequent holds without judicial review, were intended simply to halt protest activity. He says Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher has been conducting an investigation of the members of the RNC Welcoming Committee, an activist group planning protests at the RNC, for some time. If there was any evidence of conspiracy to start a riot, as Fletcher alleges, then they need to produce it, Nestor says.

“If they have evidence of a criminal act, then they should charge them,” he says. “And if they can charge [my client, Monica Bicking] with a complaint, then we will go defend that in court. But right now they are just holding them. You can’t just hold [Bicking] to prevent her from exercising her free speech.”

Fletcher has already issued a press release calling the arrestees “criminal anarchists” (see press release below), though no formal charges against the six detainees have been issued. Nestor says Fletcher’s office is using the language as intimidation and a smear campaign against those exercising their right to protest.

Below is the press release from the NLG. Below that is the press release issued yesterday from the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department regarding the raids.

PRESS RELEASE – PRESS RELEASE

National Lawyers Guild Seeks Judicial Review of Preventative Detentions Ordered by Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher

August 31, 2008 – The Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild is seeking prompt judicial review of the preventative detentions of six citizen activists ordered by Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher.

Monica Bicking, Eryn Trimmer, Luce Guillen Givins, Erik Oseland, Garrett Fitzgerald, and Nathanael Secor, are all currently being held on “probable cause holds” in the Ramsey County Jail after being transferred late last night from the Hennepin County Jail. In Minnesota, a probable cause hold can be ordered by a police officer without a prosecutor or a judge reviewing a criminal complaint. Due to the arrest occurring on a weekend holiday, all six citizens can be held until Wednesday, September 3, 2008, without the filing of a formal charge.

Three of the arrestees are life-long residents of Minnesota. Two previously worked in early childhood education and passed background checks to obtain that employment. All have extensive ties to Minnesota, including employment and family members. One is a graduate of the University of Minnesota. None of the six arrestees have ever been convicted of a felony or crime of violence. One person arrested on Saturday morning, August 30th, was previously detained on Friday night at the St. Paul convergence center where he was photographed and identified. Despite being labeled a “key member” of a “criminal enterprise” and a planner of a “criminal conspiracy,” he was released on Friday night even though Sheriff Fletcher had conducted a months long investigation, using informants, and presumably identified the “key leaders” who he claims were organizing riots and civil disorder.

All six arrestees appear to face maximum charges of a gross misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a fine of $3,000. Absent death or use of a firearm, a criminal charge of “Riot” in Minnesota is a gross misdemeanor. Minn. Stat. §609.71. A charge of “civil disorder” is a gross misdemeanor and requires proof that a person made or instructed another to use a firearm, explosive, or incendiary device to cause civil unrest. Minn. Stat. §609.669. Property damage in Minnesota under $1,000.00 is also a gross misdemeanor. Minn. Stat. §609.595.

Despite the incendiary and alarmist language used by Sheriff Fletcher, there is no evidence that the common household items and tools seized in the pre-emptive house raids were intended to be used to cause death or civil unrest. No judge or prosecutor has reviewed the allegations made by Sheriff Fletcher.

In light of the fact that none of the arrestees appear to face felony charges, their extensive ties to Minnesota, and their lack of any serious prior criminal record, attorneys for the National Lawyers Guild are seeking to have a Ramsey County judge review the detentions on Sunday, August 31, 2008. This would be an informal review at which a judge could dismiss the charges or set conditions of release. Media updates will be provided if such a review is held.

From Ramsey County:
________________________________________________________________________________
CRIMINAL ANARCHISTS ARRESTED AND EQUIPMENT SEIZED DURING SEARCH WARRANTS THROUGHOUT MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL ________________________________________________________________________________

On August 30, 2008 at 8:00 a.m. the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, supported by the Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, executed search warrants at the following addresses:
2301 23rd Ave South, Minneapolis, MN
3500 Harriet Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
3240 17th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN

These search warrants were a part of an ongoing investigation regarding serious criminal acts involving key members of the RNC Welcoming Committee.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher stated, “This investigation pertains to actions of the RNC Welcoming Committee. The “Welcoming Committee” is a criminal enterprise made up of 35 anarchists who are intent on committing criminal acts before and during the Republican National Convention. These acts include tactics to blockade and disable delegate buses, breaching venue security and injuring police officers. They have recruited assistance in their criminal conspiracy from other anarchists groups throughout the country. Through their plans and actions they have exhibited a blatant disregard for the law and the safety of others.”

During the searches a number of items were recovered, some of which included:

Materials used in creating “sleeping dragons” (pvc pipe, chicken wire, duct tape)
Large amounts of urine (including 3 – 5 gallon buckets of urine)
Wrist Rockets
Assorted edged weapons including a machete, hatchet and several throwing knives
Gas mask and filter

Empty glass bottles
Rags
Flammable liquids

Homemade Caltrops (devises used to disable buses in roads)

Metal pipes
Axes
Bolt cutters
Sledge hammers

Old tires (for burning)

Repelling equipment

Kryptonite locks
Empty plastic buckets cut and made into shields
Material for protective padding
An army helmet

Five persons were arrested this morning for probable cause conspiracy to riot, conspiracy to commit civil disorder and conspiracy to damage property. Those arrests are as follows:

At 2301 23rd Avenue South, Minneapolis, one individual was taken into custody:
Nathanael David Secor (DOB: 1/29/82)

At 3240 17th Avenue South, Minneapolis, three individuals were taken into custody:
Garrett Scott Fitzgerald (DOB: 2/28/83)
Eryn Chase Trimmer (DOB: 7/18/85)
Monica Rachel Bicking (DOB: 6/23/85)

And Erik Charles Oseland (DOB: 4/11/87) was taken into custody at an undisclosed location.

These individuals are being held at the Hennepin County Jail.

A portion of the property recovered will be on display at 2:30 PM today at the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office – 425 Grove Street – Media will enter security check-point on Grove Street and be directed upon arrival.
Any further information can be received through Holli Drinkwine at the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office (651-248-6653).

“It was a rifle barrel that was in a hutch on the stairwell landing,” he says. “It was really old and rusty, and it was here since we moved in. If you shot anything out of it, you would probably kill yourself. Plus, the rest of the gun is missing! What could anyone do with that thing?”

Alex says the raid and gathering of gear like computers and digital cameras was part of a larger mission by Ramsey County and the Minneapolis Police Department to sqaush protests at the RNC. “These are all amazingly kind people who are just trying to fight something unjust,” he says. “What of these things is evidence to incite a riot? It’s absurd.”

As for the throwing knives, homeowner Monica Bicking’s attorney says they are legal, and that no one had any intention of using them against anyone. “I can guarantee you no one was planning on using throwing knives at the demonstration. No one thinks that is a way to create attention for the issues. This is a political protest, and the issues at hand are most important. I challenge [Ramsey County Sheriff] Bob Fletcher to show me one instance in the last 20 years where anyone has used throwing knives at a demonstration. It’s ridiculous.”

The 37 caltrops found in the garage of the home, nail-like devices used to stop traffic or puncture wheels, are also not evidence or conspiracy to commit a riot, Nestor says. “Did they have some devices to try to block traffic? Maybe so,” Nestor asserts. “But does that mean they should be arrested on conspiracy charges? Not at all. This was intended to halt the protests.”

Twenty-three-year-old homeowner Bicking remains in Ramsey County jail on probable causes alleging conspiracy to riot. No formal charges have been made, and Nestor says the police are holding her and others as a means to impede the RNC peaceful protests scheduled for Monday, and they’re using intimidation tactics to incite fear in others by calling those arrested “criminal anarchists.”

“The timing of this is another example of motivation behind the raid,” Nestor says. “This has been an ongoing investigation. If they have evidence of a criminal act then they should charge them, not hold them for 36 hours, which for in this case is four and half days.” The MPD can hold suspects for up to 36 hours before charging them with a crime, but the 36-hour hold does not include weekends and holidays. That means Bicking could remain in jail without any formal charges filed until Wednesday afternoon.

At least one person, the neighbor of Bicking who is a longtime Powderhorn resident and says the tenants are good kids who care about issues, isn’t intimidated by the sweeps. She created a homemade sign this evening for any officers driving by. Using a marker and paper, she placed it over her Barack Obama yard sign: “We are NOT intimidated,” it reads.

More on 17th Avenue raid here.

After the police raid this morning at 3240 17th Avenue in South Minneapolis, in which the homeowner, 23-year-old Monica Bicking, and two other people were arrested for “conspiracy to riot,” city inspectors came in at about 11:30 to board up the two-story home. City officials, including Tom Deegan, manager of the city’s problem properties unit, were on hand along with Casterjon, the private contractor in charge with boarding, to close up the home for what Deegan calls “code violations.”

Bicking’s lawyer, Bruce Nestor, asked for more specific reasons for the boarding and attempted to halt the boarding process until he got them, but he was thwarted by officials and police. Deegan says he will release specific reasons for the boarding to the Joint Information Center (a partnership with MPD and SPPD) later today.

Alex, who only wants to go by his first name, was at the house during the raid. He moved in to the home, along with Bicking, two weeks ago. He says that along with the other three roommates, they had invited around 30 people to stay at the home during the RNC so that friends from all over could be involved with protests. They had no intent of causing a “riot,” and were part of a peaceful protest mission. Still, Alex says electronic equipment and anything that could be used to make molotov cocktails was confiscated from the home. The police even took cans of paint out of the garage. The Minneapolis police conducted the raid after a warrant was issued by Ramsey County as part of a joint powers agreement in place between the two cities for the RNC.

After the police spent hours loading a truck full of electronic equipment and other property from the home, officials from the city’s problem properties unit showed up to board up the home. Alex says he was told it was because there were too many people sleeping in the attic. “We had a bunch of mattresses on the floor, because we had people staying with us,” he says. “And now they’re saying Monica’s house will be shut down for that. She’s in jail now. She’s not here to defend herself. It doesn’t make sense.”

Neighbors were angry that the city was boarding the home, too. One neighbor yelled to police officers, “We have a crack house next door that you do nothing about. But then you’re going to board up the home of these kids! This is pure propaganda and you should be ashamed of yourselves!” Indeed, the home next door did have a number of visible code violations: tall grass and weeds, trash in the yard. Neighbors said they call about problems with the home all the time, and nothing is ever done.

Yet along with being unable to enter her home, Bickling will have another rude awakening when she’s released from jail: The city charges $6,000 to homeowners for boarding up properties. Often these are charges for abandoning properties, a result of the foreclosure crisis. But in Bickling’s case, all that anyone, including the roommates and Bickling’s lawyer, were told before the plywood went up is that the home had “code violations.”

UPDATE: City officials halted the boarding process in the early afternoon and told remaining tenants that the back door, which was kicked in by police before the raid, would have to be fixed by 6 p.m. this evening or the home would be boarded. Ostensibly, the home was to be boarded for “code violations” this afternoon. But now the city is telling one roommate the entire home would be boarded in order to secure the property from trespassers who could now enter the home through the back door, which was broken by officers.

A woman staying at the home who did not want to be identified said that the roommates planned on fixing the door by 6 p.m. City officials also told her that at some point soon, the homeowner would be responsible for fixing a bedroom door upstairs, which was also kicked on by police officers this morning.