Columbus, GA – “Shut Down the S.O.A.! Shut Down the S.O.A.!” rings in the ears of everyone the 12,000-plus protesters, students, faith activists, and also the sales clerks, waitresses, workers, U.S. and Latin American soldiers at the School of the Americas, Fort Benning, in Columbus, Georgia, Nov. 17-19. Far away in Colombia the leaders of trade unions, student organizations, peasant associations, and human rights groups also think quietly about and discuss, in out-of-the-way places, the need to shut down the S.O.A.

St Paul, MN – The St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, has voted to endorse the Labor Day mass anti-war march planned for the opening day of the Republican National Convention. The event will begin at the State Capitol at 11 am on Monday, September 1.

St. Paul, MN – Standing in front of the Minnesota State Capitol Building Aug. 13, organizers announced that the city of Saint Paul has issued a formal permit for the Sept. 1 anti-war protest set to mark the opening day of the Republican National Convention.

St. Paul, MN – Anti-war, low-income, labor and student activists have mounted a new legal challenge to Saint Paul’s policy of curtailing protests at the Republican National Convention. The lawsuit, filed in Ramsey County District Court by attorney Bruce Nestor of the National Lawyers Guild, seeks to open up additional areas for protest at the Republican National Convention.

Minneapolis, MN – The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War hosted a Rock Against the War benefit concert here, July 24. More than 100 people packed the Triple Rock Social Club, listening to the bands The Usual Suspects, Truthmaze, Bad Accident, and Death Ray Scientific. The show was co-sponsored by Substance, a non-profit bookings and promotion group devoted to merging independent art, music and social justice activism.

St. Paul, MN – Standing in front of the Xcel Center, the Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee held a press conference July 23 announcing plans for a massive demonstration on Sept. 4, the final day of the Republican National Convention. Plans for Sept. 4 include a rally at the State Capitol at 4:00 pm followed by a march to the Xcel Center. Individuals and groups will then demonstrate their opposition to the war in Iraq and the wars at home on immigrants, workers, low-income families, people of color and the queer community. Demonstrators will utilize creative and diverse tactics to resist war and injustice under a banner of, “No peace for the war-makers.”

Minneapolis, MN – On July 16, Federal Judge Joan Ericksen, a Republican appointee, denied a motion for a preliminary injunction that would have ordered the city of Saint Paul to grant the permit originally requested by the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War for a national demonstration on Sept. 1. Her ruling made no modifications to a permit issued by the city that would restrict demonstrators to a route along Cedar Street and require them to end the demonstration before the Republican National Convention begins.

Chicago, IL – People around the country are making plans to travel to Saint Paul, Minnesota on Labor Day to march on the Republican National Convention. In Chicago, buses have been reserved and tickets are going on sale, reports Joe Iosbaker, a local anti-war activist who is helping to coordinate for the local Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. “The chartered buses will leave Chicago at 3:00 a.m. on Sept. 1. We have to leave at that hour to be at the rally in Saint Paul at 11:00 a.m.”

St. Paul, MN – A lawsuit for damages totaling $75,000 will be filed in Federal Court, July 2, by attorneys representing Mick Kelly. Kelly is an organizer for the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. Kelly was arrested outside the Xcel Center June 5 while passing out leaflets at an Obama rally. He was promoting the Sept. 1 anti-war march at the Republican National Convention. Police placed him under arrest, then he was searched, put in a squad car and taken blocks away to the old police headquarters where he was cited for soliciting and peddling.

Minneapolis, MN – With the courtroom packed and many waiting in the hallway, attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union presented a case in federal court, July 9 on behalf of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. The Coalition is seeking a preliminary injunction requiring the city of Saint Paul to a issue realistic permit for the Sept. 1 anti-war march.