St. Paul, MN – The case of Mick Kelly, whose lawyers filed the first lawsuit resulting from police violence at the 2008 Republican National Convention on his behalf, was resolved in a settlement conference at the U.S. Courthouse here.

In a widely publicized incident, police, standing only feet away, shot Kelly in his belly with a high velocity marking projectile. Kelly was at the demonstration organized by the Anti-War Committee on the fourth day of the RNC, Sept. 4, 2008.

“This is a partial victory,” states Kelly. “Before, during and afterwards, the authorities attempted to quash dissent at the Republican National Convention. The settlement in this case indicates the police did something wrong. We had every right to speak out against U.S. wars at the Republican National Convention.”

Mick Kelly, one of the main organizers of the massive march and rally on the first day of the Republican National Convention, earlier prevailed in a separate lawsuit against the city of Saint Paul after his arrest for leafleting at a June 2008 Obama rally. He is also one of the Twin Cities anti-war and international solidarity activists whose home was raided by the FBI on Sept. 24, 2010.

While the exact dollar amount of the settlement is undisclosed, Kelly states that he intends to make a $5000 donation to the Committee to Stop FBI Repression – the organization that is defending the anti-war activists whose homes were raided on Sept. 24, 2010 and others served with subpoenas by the Chicago U.S. Attorney.

Kelly agreed to settle when the judge overseeing the case ruled against Kelly’s moves to subpoena a police infiltrator in the anti-war movement who went by the name of ‘Karen Sullivan.’ Officer Sullivan joined the Anti-War Committee in the months prior to the RNC and was present at the protest where the shooting took place. “We hoped to find out more about how Karen Sullivan, who helped target activists for FBI raids, was involved in the repression that took place at the RNC,” said Kelly.

#SaintPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #InJusticeSystem #ProtestRNC2008 #StateRepression #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #AntiWarCommittee #lawsuit #MickKelly #KarenSullivan #2008RepublicanNationalConventionRNC #RNC2008 #infiltration

Minneapolis, MN – At a March 4 press conference outside the Federal Building, lawyers who filed the first lawsuit resulting from police violence at the 2008 Republican National Convention announced their plan to move forward with litigation in the case of Mick Kelly. In a widely publicized incident, police, standing only feet away, shot Kelly in his stomach with a high velocity marking projectile at the demonstration organized by the Anti-War Committee on the fourth day of the RNC, September 4, 2008.

Mick Kelly, one of the main organizers of the massive march and rally on the first day of the Republican National Convention, earlier prevailed in a separate lawsuit against the city of St. Paul after his arrest for leafleting at a June 2008 Obama rally. He is also one of the Twin Cities anti-war and international solidarity activists whose home was raided by the FBI on September 24, 2010.

Law enforcement agencies failed to reveal the presence of an undercover infiltrator during the discovery process of Kelly’s 2008 RNC lawsuit. The existence of an undercover law enforcement officer who was active for two years in RNC protest organizations was first revealed in the course of communications between lawyers representing activists whose homes were raided by the FBI September 24, 2010 and Chicago Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Fox. The infiltrator, who went by the name “Karen Sullivan,” remained active in the Twin Cites peace movement until the September 24 raids, when she vanished.

Lawyers will ask the judge presiding over the case to reopen the discovery process and will move to subpoena “Karen Sullivan.”

The lawsuit is being pursued by attorneys Ted Dooley and Peter Nickitas, members of the National Lawyers Guild. Ted Dooley was one of the speakers at the press conference.

Dooley states, “By law, we should have been given all information about this ‘Sullivan’ character. She was present, and planning, at meetings prior to the RNC protests. And she was near at hand when Mick Kelly was shot at the September 4 anti-war demonstration. Kelly has an absolute right to discover what she knew, and when she knew it!”

Jess Sundin, one of the main organizers of the protest at the RNC and a leader of the Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee states, “There is a pattern of repression against anti war activists before, during and after the Republican National Convention. They sent in police agents to spy and used violence on protestors at the RNC. To top it off, they continued their spying and raided our homes and office on September 24, 2010. Many of us who organized the march at the RNC have received summons to appear in front of a Chicago Grand Jury. This is wrong and we are pushing back.”

#MinneapolisMN #InJusticeSystem #ProtestRNC2008 #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #FBI #September24FBIRaids #KarenSullivan

Josh Sykes, a spokesperson for Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Asheville, outlined the plans for the march.

“We will bring together thousands of people to oppose the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq,” says Sykes. “We will march to the site of the convention with a clear message: It is time to end the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and to bring the troops home now. We demand money for education, not occupation.”

Plans for a massive demonstration at the DNC are getting backing from around the country. Meredith Aby, a lead organizer of the massive protests that took place at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota, states, “We will charter buses from around the country to travel to Charlotte to protest the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq. We in the peace movement insist that politicians who support these wars are held accountable and we will travel from every point in the country to make that point.”

Demonstrators at the DNC will be raising the slogans, “U.S. out of Afghanistan and Iraq – now!” “Foreclose the war, not people’s homes,” “Bail out the people, not the banks and corporations!” and “Jobs or income now!”

Jeremy Miller, of Asheville SDS stated, “The wars and occupations need to come to an end. We are getting a great response from student activists around the country who want to come here and protest the war.”

#CharlotteNC #AntiwarMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #ProtestRNC2008 #SDS #DemocraticNationalConvention #DNC

Minneapolis, MN – Twenty protesters picketed outside the Twins game on July 18 to protest the proposal for Minneapolis hosting the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC). The DNC site selection committee was rumored to be inside and thousands of Minnesotans saw signs like “We say NO WAR Party” as they went into the stadium. Minneapolis is one of four cities in running to host the convention. The protest was organized by No DNC, a local coalition.

Two years ago St. Paul, Minnesota hosted the Republican National Convention. There were large anti-war protests every day of the convention. The police conduct during the convention was outrageous and the city is still in litigation for mass arrests and police brutality. The Twin Cities activist community will organize massive portests if Minneapolis hosts the DNC.

Dave Bicking explained to the crowd, “There are special reasons why we oppose this convention, because of the very policies that will be celebrated as they celebrate they reselect Obama for president. These are policies of war, of bank failures, I don’t need to go on…They [the Minneapolis city council]will be actively helping the security needed to repress freedom of speech in this city while hosting some of the worst war criminals in this country – people who are responsible for making the plans that are killing people around this world. We need to let the site selection committee know that there will be resistance, that there is resistance which is forming already and there will be continued resistance if they want to come and bring all their war policies to Minneapolis.”

Bicking is an anti-war and environmental activist and father to Monica Bicking, one of the RNC 8. She is still facing felony charges for “conspiracy” from 2008. Bicking is concerned there will be more police repression and trumped up charges if Minneapolis hosts the DNC.

Meredith Aby, an activist with the Anti-War Committee who helped organize protest on days one and four of the RNC in 2008 explained what will happen if Minneapolis hosts the convention, “The Afghanistan war is the Democrat’s war. They chose to escalate it. They chose to put the lives of millions of Afghans and tens of thousands of Americans at risk. They chose to stand by as video after video was released of massacre after massacre of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have blood on their hands and they can’t expect to come to our town, an anti-war town like Minneapolis, and get to party for four days without us telling them that this is criminal and immoral.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #ProtestRNC2008 #RepublicanNationalConvention #RNC8 #DemocraticNationalConvention #DNC #DNC2012 #NoDNC

The Republicans are desperate to turn around their decline, after losing big in the November 2006 congressional elections. More recently they lost three special elections, one each in Mississippi and Louisiana as well as the seat held by former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert of Illinois. The American people are frustrated by the Iraq war, worried about the economy and angry about corruption. The writing is on the wall. It may be in misspelled English, and it may be on the wall of a destroyed house in Iraq, but it is clear that the U.S. occupation is going down and taking the Republicans with it.

So up steps John McCain to receive the Republican crown. McCain is the war and occupation candidate. He is determined to carry forward the Bush agenda and is dedicated to the occupation in Iraq for “maybe 100 years.” “That would be fine with me,” McCain said at a January 2008 campaign stop. More recently McCain changed his tune with a plan to get troops home by 2013 – just in time for the next presidential election. We ask, “Who is he trying to fool?” McCain is more of the same – more war, repression, inequality and tax cuts for the rich. The same tired, worn out politics. Besides, have you seen this man when he gets angry?

On Nov. 4, 2008 we are calling for a vote against McCain. The stage is set to vote out the Republicans and to reject their reactionary agenda of war, immigrant bashing, rolling back the rights of women, racist inequality, discrimination against gays and lesbians and poverty. A vote against McCain will create better conditions for working class and oppressed people to make change in our society. Most importantly, we are calling for a vote against McCain because it will be seen as a referendum on the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Four years, let alone 100 years, is too long to wait.

Barack Obama is on track to be the candidate of the Democratic Party, the other party of big business. This is despite Hillary Clinton’s racist demonization campaign of Obama and his supporters – the distorted attacks on Reverend Wright and the ideas of Black liberation theology, ‘voter registration’ campaigns designed to confuse Black voters and turn them away from the polls and Hillary’s racist appeals to “hard working Americans, white Americans.”

While Hillary Clinton has sunk to her lowest, Barack Obama has risen to answer the attacks and prompted uncomfortable discussions at coffee shops, lunch counters and dinner tables across the country. The United States was built on national oppression: the seizure of land from Native Americans, the slave labor of Africans, the exploitation of immigrants from Asia and Latin America. The struggle against racism and for equality are not just struggles of the past, they continue today, as seen in the fight for immigrant rights, justice for Katrina survivors and against the harassment of Arab Americans and American Muslims.

The facts are plain; Obama parts ways, to a degree, with Clinton on the Iraq War, free trade agreements and racism. He has a message of hope with wide appeal. However, Obama operates well within the confines of the Democrats and their big business backers. That said, his election will create a better political climate for the anti-war, immigrant rights, labor and national movements. And no matter who is in the White House, it is important for progressives to stay active and to fight for an agenda that places the peoples needs first.

Say no to war, racism, discrimination and reaction! Vote against McCain!

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #CapitalismAndEconomy #ProtestRNC2008 #Editorials #2008Election #BarackObama #Elections

Chicago, IL – Members of Teamsters Local 743 are preparing to join the massive national march on Sept. 1 in Saint Paul, Minnesota to protest at the Republican National Convention. They see this march as part of the effort to defeat the Republicans this fall. This march will be the first time in 45 years that Local 743 is joining a national mobilization.

“There are a number of issues important to us in this year’s presidential election,” said Local 743 Vice President Larry Davis. He listed five in particular:

Employee Free Choice Act

This is a bill that would, among other things, stop employers from using attacks against pro-union workers to keep unions out. “All workers should have the right to join a union,” explained Davis.

Health Care for Everyone

“The United States is a very rich country and everyone in America should have health care.”

Fair Trade

“Globalization has pitted workers in the United States against workers in third world countries. Rather then drive down the standard of living of American workers, we should have trade policies that will bring up the standard of living in third world countries, as well as in America.”

Full Equality for Everyone

“All workers in America should be treated fairly regardless to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or where they were born. We believe in affirmative action. The next president needs to support affirmative action as well as enact an affirmative action program.”

End the War

“The human cost and the cost to America’s economy are far too great,” Davis concluded.

In 1963, the local was one of the unions that dared to stand for civil rights. They joined the March on Washington on Aug. 28 that year, where Martin Luther King gave his I Have a Dream speech. Then in 1966 and 1967, they were among very few unions that supported King and the civil rights movement in challenging racism in the city of Chicago.

In the later years, the local became a corrupt organization in which all workers – Black, Latino and white – were sold out to employers. But in 2007, the workers voted out the criminals that ran the union for many years. Now the union is reclaiming the proud tradition of marching with the movement for peace, justice and equality.

#ChicagoIL #News #ProtestRNC2008 #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #Teamsters #EFCA #TeamstersLocal743 #LarryDavis #MarchOnWashington

The material may give readers some insights into how government organized to suppress dissent at and what they are saying to each other. The material is marked “For official use only,” meaning it was not intended for public distribution.

#StPaulMN #Commentary #ProtestRNC2008 #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #PoliceBrutality

St. Paul, MN – A lawsuit resulting from a police home invasion before the Republican National Convention was announced here at a press conference in front of City Hall, Oct. 10. Notice was served on the city of Saint Paul that lawyers representing Mike Whalen will seek $250,000 in damages.

Whalen’s duplex on Iglehart Avenue was cordoned off by Saint Paul police working with the FBI and Homeland Security. Whalen, along with his tenants and guests were held at gunpoint for several hours. They were not allowed to leave and no one allowed to enter.

It has not been disclosed what prompted the raid. An FBI agent requested entry to Whalen’s home an hour prior to the raid. When denied entry, he apparently called the Saint Paul authorities who sent two dozen or so officers into the streets, alleys and entrances in and round Whalen’s home.

When these officers were told they could not enter without a warrant, they held the premises under armed guard while police tried to create a legitimate reason for the home invasion. After an hour or so, Officer Langfellow swore that Mr. Whalen had supported Irish Independence some 20 years ago, had co-owned a bookstore for a year with Sarah Jane Olson (also 20 years ago), had recently failed to put his address numbers on one half of the duplex and had received heavy boxes by U.S. Mail.

The sworn affidavit, supporting the request for a search warrant, also contained a straight-out falsehood about Whalen’s activities that day. A judge of the District Court found all this sufficient to issue the warrant – for the wrong address.

It might be noted that Whalen’s guests included journalists who are part of the growing people’s independent press movement, which documents and uses the web to publish reports of police abuse around the U.S. Some of these folks were raided again elsewhere and some were arrested as they documented the new face of Saint Paul, formerly known as ‘the most livable city in America.’

Mike Whalen is represented by attorneys Ted Dooley and Peter Nickitas, both members of the National Lawyers Guild.

#StPaulMN #News #ProtestRNC2008 #RepublicanNationalConvention2008

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call from the Twin Cites-based Anti-War Committee for an October 13 call-in day to demand that St. Paul officials drop the charges against RNC protesters.

Call In Day on Monday, October 13th: Hold Police Accountable for Brutality and Unlawful Arrests!

818 people were arrested during the RNC protests. Please call these officials to demand that all charges be dropped! Please forward this email to others to spread the word and print off the flyer and distribute it to others! This call-in day is organized by the Anti-War Committee (612.379.3899, info@antiwarcommittee.org, antiwarcommittee.org).

Call Mayor Coleman at 651.266.8510

Mayor Chris Coleman misled the public and allowed St. Paul to become a militarized police state during the RNC. Riot police lined the streets of the permitted march on Sept 1. On Sept 4, the city-sponsored “public viewing area” across from the Xcel Center was closed to the public. Throughout the week, protesters were attacked with pepper spray, tear gas, concussion grenades, rubber bullets and police batons. Coleman called the actions of police “nothing short of heroic.” Call Mayor Coleman to demand that police be held accountable for their brutality at the RNC and that all charges against protesters be dropped!

Call Ramsey County Attorney Gaertner at 651.266.3222

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner is responsible for prosecuting everyone charged with felonies at the RNC including 8 people who are facing over 7 years in prison on trumped up charges of terrorism. Gaertner, who's running for governor in 2010, is prosecuting the RNC 8 strictly for their political beliefs and affiliations. Call her to demand that all charges be dropped now!

Call City Attorney Choi at 651.266.8710

St. Paul City Attorney John Choi is in charge of prosecuting all RNC-related misdemeanors. He has referred to RNC protesters as outsiders who wanted to “create mayhem.” On Sept 4th, nearly 400 people were arrested for unlawful assembly after riot police blocked every route to the Xcel Center. The vast majority were Twin Cities residents who were protesting the war in Iraq. Call Choi to demand that all charges be dropped now!

#StPaulMN #News #ProtestRNC2008 #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #PoliceBrutality

The demonstrations that took place on the first and last days of the RNC were of particular importance. The size, scope, militancy and the political clarity – crystallized in the slogan “U.S. out of Iraq now” – helped to create the political context for the entire week of actions against the RNC.

September 1

On Sept. 1, 30,000 people from across the United States participated in the massive anti-war march organized by the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. It was an incredible outpouring against the war and injustice. Low-income people marched under the slogan, “Money for human needs, not for war.” An immigrant rights contingent called for an end to raids and deportations and full equality for the undocumented. Hundreds from the Somali community formed a contingent demanding an end to the U.S-backed Ethiopian occupation of Somalia. Other contingents included supporters of Palestine, veterans, trade unionists and students. Together the contingents made a strong statement that the people of this country reject the war, John McCain and the Republican agenda as whole.

In addition, the Sept. 1 protest stands as positive example of how to unite all who can be united in a down-to-earth and practical manner. The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War was able to bring together more than 130 organizations for the Sept. 1 march, including the three main anti-war coalitions in the U.S. – United for Peace and Justice, Troops Out Now Coalition and International ANSWER.

Several things made it possible to build this broad front for the Sept. 1 protest. First, the political basis of unity was focused enough to bring forces together, yet general enough to encompass the demands and concerns of other people’s movements. Second, organizers of the Coalition were able to reach an agreement with the organizers of other protests which allowed for a separation of time or space between different forces that had different kinds of actions planned. It was agreed that there would be no public denunciations or criticisms of plans or projects of those on the streets against the RNC. On the organizational level, a flexible and consultative approach was utilized by the march organizers. This served to consolidate the Coalition partners and draw in more forces. And finally, on a tactical level, march organizers waged a determined fight to get permits and promoted a march with a mass character. The word tactical is used here because the decision to get permits is a question of tactics, as opposed to of strategy or principle. In this particular case, obtaining permits was helpful in uniting as many as possible for the largest protest possible.

The huge turnout on Sept. 1 reflects the courage and determination of each and every person who attended. City officials not only created a climate of fear, but as events leading up the convention and over the four days would show, the cops did their best to make sure that there would be something to be afraid of.

Coalition organizers waged a two-year fight to get permits for the march. Saint Paul officials from the mayor and police chief on down did everything in their power to stand in the way. In the months leading up to the RNC, city officials waged a campaign of violence-baiting in order to scare people away from the march. The area around the Xcel Center, the site of the RNC, took on the appearance of a penitentiary.

Then, days before the opening of the convention, cops carried out a series of outrageous raids on the homes and the convergence center of RNC protesters. Eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee were jailed on phony ‘conspiracy to riot’ charges. In response, leaders of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War did the right thing. Standing by the other groups organizing protests at the RNC, they immediately denounced these attempts to suppress protest at the RNC.

Following the Sept. 1 march, a series of militant actions took place in downtown Saint Paul, with the aim of shutting down the RNC. Freedom Road sees these actions as a good thing that helped make the four days of protest at the RNC a success.

September 4

On the final day of the RNC, hours before John McCain was to accept the nomination of the Republican Party, several thousand gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol Building for a protest initiated by the Twin Cites-based Anti-War Committee. The plan was to march on the Xcel Center under the slogan, “No peace for the war makers.”

From the beginning, police did everything possible to disrupt and stop the protest. Justice Department representatives stood near the stage uttering threats. Cops on bicycles carried out arrests and provocations while a band was playing before the rally. Shortly before the rally ended, more than 100 cops in riot gear massed behind the stage.

Far from being intimidated, leaders of the Anti-War Committee marched towards the Xcel Center, where hundreds of riot cops, some on horse back, others on bicycles and others using snowplows as barricades blocked the way. After a mass arrest that took much of the leadership of the protest out of commission, others from the anti-war, welfare rights and immigrants rights movements stepped forward and kept the march going. The march ended in a barrage of tear gas, concussion grenades and more mass arrests. By the end of the evening almost 400 participants in the Sept. 4 march were jailed.

This demonstration was significant on several counts. First, it was both mass and militant. Organizers made it clear they would march with or without a permit. Second, the protest pulled the spotlight off the pro-war message of McCain. Before and after his speech, TV coverage cut back and forth between the clashes on the streets of Saint Paul and events inside the Xcel Center.

While paling beside the really significant things that happened Sept. 4, it needs to be said that a handful of people failed the test that the RNC provided our movement. The first to fail was the so-called ‘Peace Team.’ Made up of some honest people from the peace movement, its goal of staying ‘neutral’ during the protest led them to go over to the side of the cops. On day four, they repeatedly were the ones who conveyed dispersal orders from the police. The second group that failed was Socialist Alternative, which did everything they could to undermine the day four protest, and are now running around denouncing militancy at the RNC.

Where do we go from here

In the months ahead it is important to build on the successes of the RNC protests. The Republicans and their agenda of war, racism and reaction received a solid blow. More things like this are needed.

There is also the job of defending the nearly 800 protesters who were arrested in the course of the Convention. Of special importance is the RNC 8. The eight face conspiracy changes with enhanced penalties based on the Minnesota version of the Patriot Act. All progressive people should support the demand that charges be dropped against all RNC protesters. Without exception.

The Sept. 1 anti-war protest demonstrated that the possibility exists to build real and principled unity in the anti-war movement with the aim of carrying out joint actions to end U.S. occupations. Sectarianism can be overcome and there is no reason why more actions like this cannot be done in the future.

Constructing a real movement for real change in this country depends on uniting the many to defeat the few.

We also need to take as many people as possible as far as they are willing to go, which means raising the level of struggle and militancy whenever possible.

The rulers of the United States, the monopoly capitalists of Wall Street, now find themselves in the midst of a great crisis. They are waging war on the world’s people abroad and here at home. Now is the time to build our respective movements for peace, justice and equality, and while doing so, expose the nature of the enemy we are up against.

The protests at the RNC were a great victory. The future is bright and there are more victories ahead.

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #ProtestRNC2008 #JohnMcCain #Elections #Editorials #RepublicanNationalConvention2008

Seven of those arrested opted to take their cases to trial. The defendants, who range in age from 27-78, each testified on their own behalf with the assistance of attorneys from the National Lawyers Guild. They admitted to remaining in the building after being told to leave, but used a “claim of right” defense to legitimize their reasons for doing so.

The defendants pointed out that preemptive war, like the U.S. war in Iraq, is illegal under international law and that Article 6 of the Constitution compels the United States government to uphold international treaties as the “supreme law of the land.” Those who demonstrated also cited the First Amendment, which guarantees the “right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

“I believed when I went to that building that I had every right to be there,” said Bill Drebenstedt, a former U.S. army reservist and National Guardsman. “I was obligated to express my opposition to an illegal and immoral war.” Throughout the trial, the defendants described the impact of the war on both Iraqi and American families, and shared personal stories that compelled them to risk arrest.

Jess Sundin, a defendant who has traveled to Iraq, described conversations with an Iraqi man who was later killed by U.S. soldiers. Her testimony also criticized deceptive recruiting practices meant to entice low income youth with promises of financial rewards and career advancement.

“The reality is that less than one third of National Guard soldiers ever receive money for college,” said Sundin. “Veterans make only 85 cents for every dollar that non-veterans make. And one third of all homeless people are veterans. Recruits are being lied to.”

Maura Sullivan, 71, testified that her nephew, a National Guardsman, was promised a bonus he never received and assured he would not see combat. One month later, he was deployed to Iraq. Sullivan said her nephew is disillusioned with the war and that “most of the soldiers he knows are questioning it.”

Defendants Tracy Molm, of University of Minnesota's Students for a Democratic Society, and Mary White, Debbie Bancroft, and Sarah Martin, all from Grandmothers for Peace, also gave moving testimony.

After a two and a half day trial, the jury declared all seven defendants not guilty of trespassing. Katrina Plotz, an activist who observed the proceedings, called it a “decisive victory for the anti-war movement.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #InJusticeSystem #News #ProtestRNC2008 #AntiwarCommittee #SDS #Iraq #RepublicanNationalConvention2008

The suit named Saint Paul Mayor Coleman, members of the city council, the chief of police and the officers involved in the arrest. Kelly was represented by attorneys Ted Dooley, Gena Berglund and Peter Nickitas of the National Lawyer Guild.

Aby stated at the press conference, “This settlement is the first of many. The city of Saint Paul will be held accountable for violating the right to dissent last summer and fall. The Anti-War Committee stands in solidarity with all of these lawsuits – including Mr. Kelly’s – because it is imperative for us to take a stand and fight for our right to protest.”

Aby continued, “Now that the Republicans have left, we still have wars to oppose and the people of Iraq and Afghanistan need us to continue to pressure our government to bring the troops home now. We can only do that if we defend our right to flyer, organize, march and protest. We encourage all protesters who feel their rights to speech and safety were violated during the convention to sue the city of Saint Paul.”

Mick Kelly said, “The city of Saint Paul violated my right to speak out against the war and now they are being made to pay for it. My arrest was a part of a larger effort on part of the city and others in authority to suppress the right to dissent at the Republican National Convention. That pattern is continuing with the ongoing prosecution of RNC protesters, and I join those who call for all charges to be dropped immediately.”

Attorney Ted Dooly stated, “This is a victory. While the city admits no wrongdoing in Mick Kelly’s case, the fact they are willing to spend $5000 to settle speaks louder than words. The right to speak out and protest against war and injustice was trampled on at the RNC. The settlement with Mick Kelly is just start of consequences for the city of Saint Paul.”

Kelly is continuing to move forward with another lawsuit. Kelly was shot at close range and injured by police with a rubber bullet-like projectile at a demonstration organized by the Anti-War Committee on the fourth day of the RNC, Sept. 4, 2008.

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #InJusticeSystem #News #ProtestRNC2008 #StateRepression #AntiwarCommittee #RepublicanNationalConvention2008

Junkyard Empire is a band from the Twin Cities that started out in 2006. They are a band with revolutionary music and revolutionary politics. Their lyrics and their music make you want to listen carefully and inspire you to want to take action.

Junkyard Empire’s two biggest musical influences are jazz and hip hop, but there is more there than that. Their CD, Reclaiming Freedom has a number of excellent songs, including Rock the Empire. Their soon to be released album Wretched promises to draw even more attention to the group.

In December, Fight Back! interviewed Junkyard Empire. Here are some excerpts from that interview.

Fight Back!: Junkyard Empire performed at the No Peace for the Warmakers anti-war protest on Sept. 4 at the Republican National Convention. While you were playing, riot police surged into the crowd to arrest people and the riot police started to surround the stage from behind. At the march after you played, almost 400 people were arrested after the crowd was repeatedly tear gassed. Tell us what that was like for you as a band to play in a situation like that? How did it feel to be part of the movement against the RNC? Do some of the lines in your song Alternative Energy refer to that protest?

Christopher Cox (trombone/keyboard/electronics): Playing that protest was by far the most perfect and memorable situation I have ever been involved with as a musician and just a man. To say that it was surreal when the riot cops came charging in on their horses, yelling through bull horns threatening tear gas would be the understatement of the year, for sure. I have a really photographic memory of the very moment when the horses began to close in on some protesters, along with a bunch of bike cops and so on. Making the decision to not only keep playing, but to actually honestly improvise directly off of the energy of that historical moment was deeply satisfying. I mean, even though it was a potentially very dangerous situation – a situation which actually could be made worse by us playing a song with the lyric “let lose your chains you deranged masochists,” I felt that I had a duty to keep raising my voice artistically during that moment, as long as I was being given that absolutely extraordinary chance. It was very empowering as a band, and as individuals, and it made all of our hard work feel so justified.

As for Alternative Energy, I think Brian [Brihanu] wrote those lyrics with the imagination of what a show like that might be like. That day, he got to see just how accurate his imagination was. Perhaps Brian will speak on that.

Brian [Brihanu] (vocals/raps): The feeling was surreal. It was a major adrenaline rush to have the power of the masses standing up for their rights against a massive police force who was there to make sure that our voices were not heard. The Alternative Energy lyrics were written before that show. They are based on previous experiences I have had at protests and demonstrations where the police were there to suppress the citizens and oppose our right to dissent to the injustice we see on a daily basis. The lyrics are also based upon a vision that we have about the kind of movement, energy, and demonstrations that we would eventually like to see at all of out shows… and in all facets of life when people see injustice.

Bryan Berry (guitar): I feel that performance and the whole week in particular gave me a tangible experience of the injustices that occur on a daily basis within the United States. As a middle-class white male, I am not often subjugated to police brutality and racial profiling in our society, but during the RNC all of the protesters were targeted as one group regardless of race, class or gender (that I witnessed at least) for what became a blatant exercise of a totalitarian police exploitation of power.

Graham O’Brien (drums): Playing at that rally during the RNC was truly a highlight of my career both as a drummer and a citizen. It was one of those rare moments when what you are doing aligns perfectly with what you believed, and our voices – everyone at the rally, including Junkyard Empire – were being heard. That was the first time I have been able to literally use music as a real-time protest. For a moment I thought, “Should we keep playing? What should we do? Are we going to get arrested? For playing music?” Then those anxieties turned into fuel for the next five minutes or so of the extended ending of our song, Wretched, which was perfect because that song is about people snapping out of it and making some noise in the face of authority.

Dan Choma (bass): I second Chris in saying that show was a particularly spiritual moment for the band. There was a moment as it was really hitting the fan my heart raced, I started to take pictures in between notes, and I wasn’t quite sure whether or not the police were going to start tear gassing everyone. Reality and musicality seemed for a few moments to be the exact same thing, which is especially frightening when the musicality I’m speaking of has to do with riots, chaos, unrest and the oncoming threat of violence.

Fight Back!: The name of your band and your song Rock the Empire both imply that the U.S. is an empire, or imperialist. That's almost a forbidden idea in the mainstream media. How have people reacted to that and to your political approach in general?

Brihanu: It’s not very hard to see that the U.S. is the most recent empire and that our goal is to use the earth and its people for our selfish needs. The U.S. has just been smarter about it than previous empires. We don’t say “We are conquering your land!” instead we say “We are bringing you democracy in the form of free-market capitalism.” If other nations resist our offer to steal their resources in the name of democracy, then we invent reasons to go to war – communism, terrorism, WMDs – and take their resources anyway. Anyone who thinks that the U.S. is not imperialistic is operating on a naïve assumption.

I think most people agree with our positions because we back it up with facts and also organize through our music. We don’t just say “The world sucks”, we ask “What are you going to do to help us change it?” We engage with people, we work with organizations and we back up everything we say with actions.

Berry: My perspective is this: Many Americans are in deep denial of U.S. economic and nationalist imperialisms. Rock the Empire speaks of this, but I feel that Manifest Destiny is really Junkyard’s response to these reactions. [ Manifest Destiny is one of their new songs, which will be released soon.]

Fight Back!: On your band's blog, you've written passionately against the Wall Street bailout and also on other important political topics. What are your thoughts on the relationship between music (and arts and culture more generally) and movements for social and political change?

Brihanu: Music is about life. Not all music needs to have a social commentary or be political, but that is the direction we are deciding to focus on. Due to mainstream media’s refusal to play music dealing with social change, you see a watered down idea of what popular music is supposed to be – i.e. stereotypical, misogynistic, materialistic, catchy hooks. Music should have more depth to it. There are a lot of talented artists that write political music; there needs to be a balance in the messages that are heard and the types of music that get broadcast to the masses.

Cox: I think music has always been, and will continue to be, an indispensable piece to the development of any successful social movement, whether the people and the politicians realize it or not. Music, with or without lyrics, has a way of motivating people’s minds at the molecular level, way deep inside. I mean, it was no damn accident that that Joan Baez was at that protest on the Capital Mall in 1968, nor should it have been a surprise that her voice changed the world, as a result of influencing the vibe there that day. Well, I could go on for days and days about the times in history when musicians, be they Woodie Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Richie Havens or any of today’s protest artists, have taken a bold stand in utilizing their artistic platform to propagate information that the government and all its institutions have failed to release to the voting public. We are all about that. On our business cards it says, “music for the revolution.” People can look at that in the typical American cynical way and laugh or they can take us seriously. They should take us seriously.

Berry: I feel it is the responsibility of artists to speak out about the social and political atrocities of their time. I think anyone that is given a stage and the voice to do so, needs to represent their culture with honesty and integrity – politicians included.

Choma: Musicians, whether we admit it or not, are always going to be some of the first people to understand the first waves of what politics are doing to society. For whatever reason, In America, we view music as expendable. Look how we’ve stripped the arts out of our schools, look how we have cut back on funding towards arts, look how jazz musicians have traditionally done better overseas than they have at home. This means that when shit hits the fan economically, the first folks that feel the knife are the artists. Bryan, our guitar player, recent wrote a wonderful blog about how the minority of society have a better understanding of how to create a level society namely because they know everything that is wrong with it. As musicians, we fall into this same category economically because when it hits the fan, unlike a banker, we feel the heat immediately.

O’Brien: When a band or other artist proclaims to stand for something – a social cause or specific political issue – it’s a great way to engage other people in the community for not only the enjoyment of our art but for actions that are going to help our fans once they go home and continue with their lives. That being said, we are a band when the day is done, and our first and primary function is to captivate people with honest, strong music. Once that has been accomplished we can connect with listeners on our messages.

Fight Back!: Your new record is called Rise of the Wretched. Tell us about that record. Where does the title come from? How can people hear it and buy it?

Brihanu: The title comes from the song Wretched, where we talk about the masses of people that are oppressed and sleepwalking through life. It is a call to unify and organize so that we can stop being slaves and start living life. The inspiration for the word “wretched” comes from Franz Fanon’s book The Wretched of the Earth, which is a political commentary on revolution.

Cox: From my perspective, Rise of the Wretched, as a phrase, speaks volumes, easily interpreted by those of us who are poor and struggling in this modern world of overt materialistic capitalism; of favoring the rich over the poor; the beautiful over the ordinary; the skinny over the fat, and so on. But to be more specific, there is an increasingly tiny, moneyed minority that basically runs this entire country necessarily at the expense of the so-called ‘people.’ The only way the powers that be in America can continue to operate the way they do now, is if they simply see the rest of us as stupid, dirty, unimportant, serfs to be utilized in the quest of the wealthy to get wealthier. We are “the wretched,” but what they don’t know is that we will inherit the earth, because imperialistic and fascistic folks always fail to prepare for when the people are fed up enough to take back what they built. This album is basically a call to arms, in that it urges the wretched to come together; to rise up and take back what we all collectively built.

Choma: You can buy our music online through our myspace. We also have a blog that we update regularly with our thoughts on what is going on in the music scene, the political arena and how society is changing. The two websites you should have on rapid fire on your Google machine are:

www.myspace.com/junkyardempire

www.junkyardempire.blogspot.com

Choma: Also, if you live in the Twin Cities area or are lucky enough that we will be touring through your town, check out our shows. We all have a strong love for improvisation, so each show will be different and cool in its own way. The other advantage is that we allow you to name your price on our records if you come to our shows. So yeah, come to our shows, you won’t be disappointed.

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