RNC Welcoming Committee

Assistant St. Paul Police Chief Matt Bostrom is likely to challenge Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher in 2010. Bostrom filed campaign papers with the Ramsey County Elections office today and will begin raising money for the contest. The challenger already boasts an impressive array of supporters: U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, Ramsey County Commissioners Victoria Reinhardt [...]

In the days leading up to the Republican National Convention, a series of police raids led by the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office resulted in the arrest of eight people for allegedly conspiring to disrupt the political gathering. On Wednesday the individuals were each charged with a single count of “conspiracy to commit riot in the [...]

At 11:30 this morning, members of the RNC Welcoming Committee and allied groups met in South Minneapolis’ Powderhorn Park for a community meeting to regroup after law enforcement raids last night and early this morning. MnIndy’s Andy Birkey was there.

The following statement was issued by the Ramsey County Sheriffs Department in regards to last nights raid on the RNC Welcoming Committee’s convergence space in downtown St. Paul:

On August 29, 2008 at 9:15 pm the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the St. Paul Police Department, executed a search warrant at 627 Smith Ave So. [...]

In a video report from Submedia.tv, individuals caught in Friday night’s raid on the RNC Welcoming Committee’s “convergence site,” describe how they went from watching a movie to lying face down, handcuffed, with guns pointed at them.

MnIndy RNC reporter Jeff Severns Guntzel is at the Minneapolis Food Not Bombs house, which was raided by police this morning. Facts are still coming in, but Guntzel says that at 8 a.m. neighbors near the home, located at 2301 23rd Avenue South, reported hearing a loud bang followed by yelling. A single police squad car was parked out front. When Gunztel arrived he saw eight or nine officers enter the house in what he says is apparently a joint operation between officers of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s department and Minneapolis police. According to one witness, the action is related to last night’s raid on the RNC Welcoming Committee’s “convergence space.”

Look for updates after the jump.

With the Twin Cities set to host massive protests, an influx of media and thousands of Republicans and supporters, local corporate media are looking to fuel fears that things could get out of control. One activist group being targeted — they say, unfairly — is anarchists. They state that their plans do not include violence [...]