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

The Saint Paul house raid was one of several police actions taken against protesters days before the RNC began, including the search and seizure of a central political meeting space, which is also the subject of pending litigation.

“The City of Saint Paul and the federal government were forced to pay for their politically-motivated attack on organizers,” said Sarah Coffey, one of the plaintiffs. “Rather than spend years in court fighting the government over its political surveillance program, we decided to use settlement money to invest in projects that oppose such repressive tactics.”

The lawsuit, which was filed in August 2009 and accused the Saint Paul Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of violating plaintiffs' First, Fourth and Fourteenth amendment rights, is so far the largest settlement of its kind stemming from the convention protests. “We hope this sends a message to law enforcement officials who would enter homes illegally or suppress political dissent,” said Coffey, “there is a cost to their actions.”

The raid garnered significant media attention at the time due to an hours-long standoff between 10 activists and residents and a heavily armed police force that had surrounded the duplex. Because the police attempted to raid the home without a search warrant, those inside refused them entry. After allegedly getting verbal authority from a local judge, the police used force to enter 949 Iglehart Avenue and detained everyone inside. The owner, several tenants and activists, including members of the I-Witness Video collective were detained for hours. No illegal items were found, no one was arrested and nothing was visibly seized, although computers and camera equipment were searched.

The search warrant affidavit, which was under seal until a month after the raid in a likely attempt to avoid media scrutiny, relied solely on a confidential informant who made the claim that weapons were being shipped to 951 Iglehart using the U.S. Postal Service. In a sensationalist move, the police also tried to tie property owner Michael Whalen to a defunct 1970s political group, the Symbionese Liberation Army, in order to bolster the warrant's outrageous claim of arms shipments. However, once inside 951 Iglehart, police discovered that the boxes contained only vegan literature. Unsatisfied, police broke through a locked attic door to enter the neighboring but separate 949 Iglehart, which plaintiffs claimed was the operation's true objective.

Saint Paul Police Officer David Langfellow was in charge of the operation as a cross-deputized FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) agent. Langfellow testified during a deposition that although the FBI had been surveilling the duplex for more than a week before the convention, the investigation was not targeting Whalen, the main subject of the search warrant affidavit. Langfellow either was not told or refused to reveal details about the underlying investigation, which plaintiffs speculate had nothing to do with the shipment of boxes.

Plaintiffs' attorneys also contributed a portion of the award to the Impact Fund, which provides money to small law firms and nonprofits for lawsuits involving issues of civil rights, environmental justice, and poverty.

Tom Burke of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression states, “We are grateful for the contribution to our effort to defend the anti-war and international solidarity activists who were raided by the FBI or received subpoenas to the grand jury. Last week we saw an escalation of the attacks with the LA raid on the home of immigrants’ rights leader Carlos Montes. We need all the resources we can muster.”

#StPaulMN #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #FederalBureauOfInvestigationFBI #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #2008RepublicanNationalConventionRNC #SaintPaulPoliceDepartment

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

DeMuth’s sentence is six months, with one year supervised release afterwards. He will face no additional probation, no fines and no restitution. This follows a plea agreement DeMuth reached with prosecutors last September. According to the Scott and Carrie Support Committee, “This is not a cooperating plea agreement; Scott has not been asked to testify against anyone else, nor would he do so.”

The government’s case against DeMuth began when the authorities raided multiple activists’ houses in Minneapolis on the eve of the 2008 Republican National Convention, to try to stop protests from happening at the convention. From items seized at one of the houses, including DeMuth’s journals and computers, the FBI mistakenly developed the theory that DeMuth had been involved in an action to free laboratory animals at the University of Iowa in 2004. That action had been claimed by a group called the Animal Liberation Front.

As one of the many repressive spinoffs of the massive state repression against protesters at the Republican National Convention, a Grand Jury was convened to investigate and prosecute DeMuth for this completely unrelated incident five years earlier in Iowa. Scott DeMuth and Carrie Feldman were subpoenaed and ordered to testify at a Davenport, Iowa Grand Jury. They took a principled stand, refusing to testify against their friends and fellow activists. For that, Carrie Feldman was jailed for four months in 2009-2010, until the Grand Jury decided it didn’t need her testimony to indict DeMuth, and she was suddenly freed. Since then, Feldman has been outspoken in condemning Grand Juries as a tool of the prosecution used against progressive and radical activists. She has been vocal in supporting the 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists who have been subpoenaed before a Grand Jury allegedly investigating ‘material support to foreign terrorist organizations.’

Through DeMuth’s plea agreement, Prosecutor Cliff Cronk had to abandon his attempts to hold DeMuth accountable for the 2004 Animal Liberation Front raid at the University of Iowa, instead settling for convicting him of one count of misdemeanor conspiracy to commit animal enterprise terrorism under the Animal Enterprise Protection Act for his role in the April 29, 2006 raid on Lakeside Ferrets, Inc., in Howard Lake, Minnesota. The 2004 case remains unsolved at the expiration of its statute of limitations, despite the Federal Bureau of Investigation spending years and untold thousands of dollars investigating the incident. Prosecutor Cronk used inflammatory rhetoric throughout the pre-trial hearings to paint DeMuth as a danger to society based on his alleged political views. At one point, Cronk went so far as to write in a court document that DeMuth is an anarchist and “therefore, he is a domestic terrorist.”

There is more information on Scott DeMuth’s case at the website of the Scott and Carrie Support Committee: http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com.

#DavenportIA #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #ScottDeMuth #CarrieFeldman #AnimalLiberationFront

“Members of the Welcoming Committee were used as a part of the Saint Paul police’s campaign to scare people from coming out to protest on Sept. 1 and to keep people from taking militant action during the convention,” said Jessica Sundin, a member of the Anti-War Committee and spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. “But protesters refused to be bullied into silence, were militant, and came out in thousands to oppose the war on Iraq.”

Members of the RNC Welcoming Committee were targeted for their work as open anarchists who were organizing awareness of anti-RNC events and for planning support such as housing, food, etc. for anti-RNC activist sponsored activities. They each face the potential of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine according to Garrett Fitzgerald, one of the RNC 8. Fitzgerald asked “Are we guilty of a crime? I don’t believe so. I don’t believe we did anything criminal. Ultimately when we go to trial the jury is going to have to decide at what point is feeding someone a felony offense?”

The RNC 8 were originally charged with the felony offense of conspiracy to riot in the second degree in furtherance of terrorism. This was the first ever use of Minnesota’s PATRIOT Act. In December, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner added three more felony charges: second degree conspiracy to riot, first degree conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property in furtherance of terrorism and first degree conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property.

Supporters organized to pressure Gaertner, who is also running for governor of Minnesota as a Democrat, to not prosecute the RNC 8. She has been plagued with pickets at fundraising and campaign events throughout Minnesota and even in Chicago. On April 9, due to political pressure Gaertner’s office dropped the two terrorism enhancement charges but she plans to still prosecute the RNC 8 on the remaining two counts of conspiracy.

Luce Guillen-Given, one of the RNC 8, explained, “Dropping the terrorism enhancements was definitely a victory for grassroots organizing. It wasn’t a victory achieved through litigation but something that came from mobilizing all sorts of different people and communicating to Susan Gaertner’s office what the people of the Twin Cities want to see happen.”

Rob Czernik, another of the RNC 8, explained why they have received so much support, “One of the amazing things...was with the Duluth Board of Trades and Labor who put out a statement of solidarity with us asking Susan Gaertner to drop the charges. There have been a couple of other unions that have recognized that while they didn’t agree with our tactics and didn’t agree necessarily with our ideology they saw that what was happening was something that could happen to them.”

Guillen-Given also addressed the diversity of their support, “We have the support of people’s families, the friends that they bring along, different political groups and communities that each of the eight have worked in, and a lot of people we don’t know who have heard of the case and can recognize that there is something significant, not just for the eight of us, but for everyone.”

Guillen-Givins theorized about reasons for this broad base of support. “This could be anybody. We’re really being targeted for open public organizing. There are a lot of people who engage in that sort of activity and every time there is a political prosecution and they succeed with that it lays the ground work to continue that and to broaden the targets.”

Guillen-Givens added, “We’re at a moment where anarchism is considered inherently criminal. You can see that in the first press release that (Sheriff) Bob Fletcher released the morning after the Convergence Center raid and right after the house raids where he referred to the RNC Welcoming Committee as a ‘known criminal enterprise.’ I guess it’s just really threatening to think of anarchists working across ideological lines. They’re [the government] really afraid of that sort of solidarity in building resistance. So I feel like they think they have a lot to lose if movements for social change are strong enough to cross those lines and like they have a lot to gain if they can zero in on the anarchists and kind of isolate us and cut us off from the movement – which I don’t think they’ve been successful at.”

The RNC 8 were supposed to have a hearing on August 19 but it was postponed. At their future hearing they urge their supporters to come to a pre-hearing rally and as much of the trial as possible. In the meantime, the RNC 8’s defense committee is planning to keep up their pressure on the Ramsey County Attorney’s office. There is currently no trial scheduled but it could start as late as spring of 2010.

Go to rnc8.org for more information about their case and to get involved.

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #InJusticeSystem #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNCAndStopTheWar #PatriotAct #RNC8 #RNCWelcomingCommittee

Los miembros del gremio del sindicato Local 743 de los Teamsters se están preparando para unirse a la marcha masiva del 1o de septiembre en Saint Paul, Minnesota para protestar en la Convención nacional republicana. Ellos ven esta marcha como parte del esfuerzo de derrotar a los republicanos este otoño. Esta marcha será la primera movilización nacional en 45 anos en la cual se une el Local 743.

“Hay varios asuntos que nos interesan en esta elección presidencial,” dijo Larry Davis el Vicepresidente del Local 743. Enumeró cinco en particular:

Employee Free Choice Act (Ley del trabajador para elegir libremente)

Este es un proyecto de ley que, entre otras cosas, le pondría un alto a los ataques de los patrones contra los trabajadores pro-sindicales para mantener a los sindicatos fuera. “Todos los trabajadores deben tener el derecho de unirse a un sindicato,” explico Davis.

Seguro de salud para todos

“Los Estados Unidos es un país muy rico y todos en América deben tener seguro de salud.”

El comercio justo

“La Globalización ha enfrentado a los trabajadores de Estados Unidos contra los trabajadores de países del tercer mundo. En lugar de de bajar los estándares de vida de los trabajadores americanos, deberíamos tener pólizas de comercio que subiría los estándares de vida de países del tercer mundo, así como en América.

Igualdad absoluta para todos

“Todos los trabajadores en América deben ser tratados con justicia sin importar su raza, religión, sexo, orientación sexual o lugar donde nacieron. Nosotros creemos en la acción afirmativa. El próximo presidente necesita apoyar la acción afirmativa así como promulgar un programa de acción afirmativa.

Parar la guerra

“El costo humano y el costo a la economía de América son demasiado grandes.” Concluyo Davis.

En 1963, el local fue uno de los sindicatos que se atrevió a defender los derechos civiles. Ellos se unieron a la marcha a Washington el 28 de agosto, donde Martin Luther King proclamo su discurso Yo tengo un sueño. Luego en 1966 y 1967, ellos fueron entre los pocos sindicatos que apoyaron a King y el movimiento de los derechos civiles retando el racismo en la ciudad de chicago.

En años posteriores, el Local se convirtió en una organización corrupta en la cual todos los trabajadores – negros, latinos y blancos – eran vendidos a los patrones. Pero en el 2007, los trabajadores votaron contra los criminales que manejaron el sindicato por muchos años. Ahora el sindicato está recuperando el orgullo de la tradición de marchar con el movimiento por justicia, igualdad y paz.

#ChicagoIL #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #Teamsters #ConvencionRepublicana

The Colombia Action Network is issuing the following call for protests at John McCain's campaign events and at the Republican National Convention, September 1-4 in St. Paul, MN. McCain arrived in Colombia on Tuesday and is promoting his close relationship to death squad leader Colombian President Uribe as a campaign issue.

Hands Off Colombia! End Military Aid to Colombia Now!

Republican presidential candidate John McCain's position on Colombia is unacceptable for advocates of peace and justice. McCain supports free trade policies that benefit wealthy corporations while exploiting the poor. McCain favors spending billions on military aid to the brutal right-wing government in Colombia. McCain has already expressed his unconditional support for the U.S. occupation of Iraq. His current visit with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe proves that he would deliver a continuation of the Bush Administration's brutal policies in Latin America as well. By standing with Uribe, McCain is showing that he supports terrorism, death squads and bloodshed.

The U.S. role in Colombia:

Since 2000, the U.S. has spent over 5 billion dollars funding a right wing government that uses our dollars to kill trade unionists, human rights workers, and campesinos (peasants). The paramilitaries are armed, trained, and directed by the Colombian military, under the leadership of U.S. Generals and 800 U.S. Military advisors. The paramilitaries are funded by Colombian and American narco-traffickers and U.S. corporations like Coca-Cola, Chiquita, Drummond Coal and Occidental Oil. Their paramilitary cohorts cut off the heads of peasants with machetes and dismember bodies with chain saws to terrorize and silence peasants who attempt to organize. In Colombia, speaking out against unjust land grabs and unjust labor practices often involves risking one's life.

The U.S. is supporting an oligarchy in Colombia—a small class of rich families who rule through fire and blood. To maintain this tiny elite, the U.S. is conducting a dirty war against the poor peasants and workers of Colombia, known as “Plan Colombia”. The peasants and workers are not helpless victims however, and many have joined the guerrilla movements, especially the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) that has grown and developed into the most powerful rebel force in Latin America today. The FARC, like most people, believes that Colombians should receive the economic benefits of their natural resources, not U.S. corporations. The FARC uses a variety of tactics to fight against the theft of indigenous and peasant lands by the expansions of foreign oil companies.

No Blood for Oil!

Just like Iraq, Colombia has oil. The U.S. imports a substantial amount of oil from Colombia. Corporations like BP Amoco and Occidental Oil want to claim even more of Colombia's oil. This comes at the expense of Colombia's national oil company ECOPETROL and hurts the national income of the Colombian people.

In addition to oil, Colombia is rich in minerals and agricultural products including coal, emeralds, silver, bananas, and other fruits. The Amazon rainforest is rich in water sources and medicinal plants. McCain favors a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that would weaken Colombian labor and environmental protections, allowing U.S. corporations to maximize profits while denying sovereignty to the Colombian people. McCain is bad news for the majority of Colombia's people.

The Republican agenda: An agenda for war!

McCain has a track record of supporting war in both Afghanistan and Iraq. However, his bloody foreign policy is not exclusive to the Middle East. President Bush expanded “Plan Colombia”, labeling peasant rebels as “terrorists” and McCain has embraced every bloody aspect of it. McCain has loudly defended Colombian President Uribe from charges that his government violates human rights. McCain calls for closer U.S.-Colombian relations and an expedited FTA – despite proof of Uribe's connections to paramilitary death squads. Republicans have thwarted the Latin America solidarity movements' efforts to close the School of the Americas. Republicans have defended the use of torture in Iraq, at the School of the Americas and at Guantanamo Bay. Lastly, McCain is committed to continuing the attacks on Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez. Attacks on Chavez are a vehicle to attack the entire Bolivarian Revolution, along with all the great gains made for the people under Chavez. The U.S. has built three military bases on Colombia's border with Venezuela to threaten the Venezuelan people's efforts. McCain stirs up fear of Chavez to justify continued military aid to Colombia and a FTA with Colombia, Panama, and Peru.

March on the RNC!

The people of Colombia, like the people of Iraq, need us in the streets protesting at the Republican National Convention. We need to stop the U.S.-sponsored wars in their countries. We need to stop our tax dollars from being spent to prop up the corrupt narco-trafficking regime of President Uribe. McCain is making Colombia an issue in this presidential campaign and we must respond!

The American public is increasingly aware of the U.S. atrocities committed in Iraq, and a majority in this country opposes the war. This public outrage will manifest itself at the RNC. We have an opportunity to educate the 50,000+ people who come to the RNC that the U.S. occupation of Iraq is just one example of this country's quest for empire. Current U.S. policies toward Latin America, particularly Colombia, are the cause of widespread violence and injustice. These policies, which McCain promises to continue, must be confronted at the RNC.

For more information about the September 1 demonstration at the Republican National Convention go to marchonrnc.org. For more information about protests at the RNC go to protestrnc2008.org.

Colombia Action Network

The Colombia Action Network (CAN) is an organization of U.S. activists in solidarity with the Colombian people. We stand resolutely opposed to U.S. intervention in Colombia. For more information, please contact us info@colombiasolidarity.org

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #Colombia #RicardoPalmera #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #Statement #FTAA #ColombiaActionNetwork #PoliticalPrisoners #NoBloodForOil #Americas

Estamos aquí para construir los movimientos para la justicia social y la paz, para exigir el retiro de las tropas estadounidenses de Irak, y para parar a los republicanos en su intento de llevar a McCain a la casa blanca. Queremos un fin a ‘la guerra sin fin contra el terrorismo,’ queremos acabar con la desigualdad y la opresión dentro de los Estados Unidos y también queremos un fin a la ocupación de países soberanos por los ejércitos del imperio.

Cuando Bush hable la noche del lunes 1 de septiembre en la convención republicana, vamos a levantar nuestras voces en la calle para que nos escuchen claramente. Creemos que la marcha en contra de la RNC el 1 de septiembre, juntos a las otras protestas, va a ayudar a derrotar McCain y dejarle casi olvidado en los libros de la historia. Vamos a marchar juntos contigo y con decenas de miles de personas, haremos historia. En muchos periódicos del mundo las fotos de nuestras protestas van a estar en la portada. Los republicanos vinieron a San Pablo intentando esconderse del pueblo estadounidense pero no les permitiremos descansar ni un momento. Todos los días durante la convención republicana enfrentaremos a los republicanos, a McCain y a los ricos que le apoyan. Por eso decimos “¡Alto a la guerra! ¡Paremos a McCain!”

Los republicanos culpan a todo el mundo por los problemas que enfrentamos excepto la clase de billonarios que maneja este país. Van a estar hablando con sus palabras de odio dentro del Xcel Center. Han fortificado el Xcel Center como que fuera un búnker. Tienen mucho miedo de los trabajadores, de la gente oprimida y la gente progresista avanzando una agenda de cambio real – un cambio que pone el pueblo y nuestras necesidades primero y dice ‘al diablo con los ricos y las ganancias corporativas.’

Nuestras protestas se harán afuera, al aire libre. Vamos a expresarse al mundo nuestras demandas para una sociedad justa. Exigimos más dinero para las necesidades humanas, no para la guerra y la ocupación. Exigimos un sistema de seguro medico universal, dinero para educación pública, hogares para la gente sin hogar, trabajos para los desempleados y dinero y justicia para todas y todos los que sufrieron durante el huracán Katrina. Nunca podremos olvidar ni perdonar el hecho de que Bush y los republicanos dejaron a los afro-americanos de bajo ingreso olvidados en New Orleans mientras subió el agua de la inundación después del huracán.

Exigimos un fin a la discriminación racista. Apoyamos los derechos de los inmigrantes y exigimos la legalización e igualdad completa para todos y todas. Defendemos el derecho de la mujer para controlar su sistema reproductivo y controlar su propio cuerpo. Queremos que la gente gay y lesbiana tenga el derecho de casarse y que tenga todos los derechos de los demás estadounidenses. Apoyamos a los trabajadores y sindicatos en su lucha por salarios y beneficios justos, y nos oponemos a los recortes de impuestos para las corporaciones y los ricos. Apoyamos a los dueños y arrendadores de casas y apartamentos que las autoridades están botando de sus hogares mientras los bancos siguen ganando millones de dólares. Nuestras marchas y protestas van a reflejar nuestra diversidad y unidad.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization lucha por el fin del capitalismo – un sistema basado en la desigualdad, la explotación, y la opresión. Nuestra visión es para la paz, la unidad y el socialismo. Sabemos que el sistema en el que vivimos no nos puede dar lo que queremos. Sabemos que los políticos de los dos partidos son comprados y pagados por los ricos. El sistema capitalista se basa en el imperio y la dominación de los pueblos de otros países mientras explotan y oprimen la gente dentro de los Estados Unidos también.

Ya llegó la hora de unirnos todos los que podamos para derrotar al enemigo principal en este momento. No podemos permitir que la idea de McCain de ocupar Irak ‘por 100 años’ llegue a ser una realidad. Nuestro objetivo es expresar las demandas justas de los cientos de miles de estadounidenses, uniéndonos con los oprimidos y explotados en todo el mundo, para construir un movimiento que acabará con no sólo los republicanos sino también con la clase rica que manda en este país.

#AntiwarMovement #CapitalismAndEconomy #PoorPeoplesMovements #InJusticeSystem #Labor #OppressedNationalities #Editorials #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #Statement #Iraq #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #McCain #laGuerraSinFinContraElTerrorismo

Fight Back News Service urges our Twin Cities area readers to attend this event on the anti-war RNC protests, sponsored by Freedom Road Socialist Organization .

Join us for a DISCUSSION on the RNC PROTESTS

Saturday, September 20 at 2:00 p.m.

at the Brian Coyle Center

420 15th Ave S, Mpls

(one block west of Cedar & Riverside intersection; one block from Cedar-Riverside Light Rail station)

What happened and what can we learn from it? Were the protests successful? Why or why not? What was your experience? How do we stay organized? What about the ongoing legal battle and the struggle for summation?

Activists in the Twin Cities organized against the RNC for up to two years. When the RNC came, we had the largest anti-war protest this year on Sep 1, direct action blockades, great political music, other marches and creative protests, police raids, thousands of riot police creating a police state-type atmosphere in St. Paul, teargas and pepper spray, and by the end of the week over 800 arrests (including terrorism-type charges against 8 people), with almost half of the arrests coming on Day 4 at the “No Peace for the Warmakers” march. Come share your thoughts about what we can learn from our protests and the state's reaction.

Event sponsored by Freedom Road Socialist Organization

#MinneapolisMN #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #noPeaceForTheWarmakers #RNCDay1 #RNCDay4

A special issue of Fight Back! prepared for the protests at the Republican National Convention is now available online here along with other coverage of protests at the RNC.

The special issue of Fight Back! includes an interview with Jess Sundin, a key organizer with the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, and a call for an Oct. 18 conference with the theme “War Socialism, and the Peoples Struggle.”

Continue to check the Fight Back! web site over the next week for more coverage of the demonstrations at the RNC.

Sincerely.

Mick Kelly,

Editor, Fight Back!

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #ImmigrantRights #PoorPeoplesMovements #StudentMovement #InJusticeSystem #Labor #OppressedNationalities #Pamphlet #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNCAndStopTheWar #FightBackAtTheRNC

These are statements from some of the many people who will protest against the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN on September 1-4, 2008.

Carlos Montes, Latinos Against War

I am marching on the RNC to unite with thousands of people who will be there to expose the Bush-McCain politics of war, racism and anti-immigrant attacks. I am marching to represent the Chicano-Mexicano people's struggle for self-determination and equality. Our struggle has a long history of resistance to U.S. oppression of our land, culture and economic and political power. We

as Chicanos stand in solidarity with the people of Iraq in their fight against U.S. occupation. The RNC agenda represents a pro-corporate anti-people politic. It is also an agenda that promotes the increased attacks and oppression against Chicanos and Mexicanos in our own homeland in the Southwest U.S. and other major cities.

Anh Pham, Anti War Committee, MN

When I first started protesting, it was amazing to me how much it mattered to other anti-war protesters; especially those who protested the U.S. war in Viet Nam War, to have me – a Vietnamese American woman join them. When I had the chance to go to Palestine after the start of the second intifada, I was deeply moved and inspired by the Palestinian people's struggle for the right of return and an end to the occupation. They saw their struggle as part of a whole movement against injustice worldwide. Drawing inspiration from them and others that I know are in the struggle with me, I march on the RNC to say no to the Republican agenda, no to racism and to any agenda that seeks to oppress the many to serve the needs of the few.

Steff Yorek, Freedom Road Socialist Organization

I am marching on the RNC to stop the war in Iraq and to defeat the Republican agenda. U.S imperialism is devastating the Iraqi people. John McCain is an advocate of war and occupation. A movement in this country to oppose the war and defeat McCain will help the Iraqi people free themselves. I am also marching to stop the devastation that capitalism is causing here at home. Homelessness and hunger are rising and New Orleans is still a disaster three years later. The rich care nothing about the people of this country and the Republicans are a big

part of that.

Hatem Abudayyeh

As a Palestinian Arab who was born and raised in this country, I have seen nothing but death, destruction and catastrophe for my people in Palestine, the rest of the Arab world and here in the U.S. Although these U.S. government policies have been consistent throughout both parties' administrations, this past era has possibly been the most devastating in generations for Palestinians and Arabs. So we must all march on the RNC, demand an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, demand self-determination, the Right of Return and liberation for the Palestinian people, and demand an end to all U.S. aid to Israeli occupation and colonization.

Larry Davis, Teamsters Local 743 Vice-President

There are a number of issues important to us – the Employee Free Choice Act, health care for everyone. The United States is a very rich country and everyone in America should have health care. Fair trade. 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.

Juzel Sanders, Welfare Rights Committee

The Poor People's Contingent at the RNC march is very important because it's time that we let these beasts in office hear what America is really thinking. We are tired of being poor, hunger, stressed and dying because we're living off of they feel is 'fare.' We have a chance to make history in more ways than one.This is the time that we all have to stand together and fight. It's time for a change and only we can make that change, so let's stand and march for us. Make them understand that we need money for human needs, not for war!

Guillermo Rafael Cohen, Colombia Action Network

This past June, President Bush said he had to handle many disasters, referring to Hurricane Katrina, the housing and financial crisis and the oil crisis. Nevertheless, I say Bush and the Republicans have been a great disaster for Latin America, especially promoting Plan Colombia and war against the poor. In his support for the corrupt, narco-trafficking President of Colombia, Bush said, “President Uribe has done everything we asked for and more.” We do not want more of the same, so we are protesting the Republicans and McCain in Saint Paul.

Jacob Flom, member Iraq Veterans against the War, Milwaukee Wisconsin

I'm attending the mass protests of the RNC to join and support the majority of Americans who are opposed to the Republican agenda. As a veteran I experienced the costs of the ongoing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. I saw friends and co-workers die, commit suicide, receive debilitating injuries and suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug abuse, and alcoholism. The massive amount of suffering experienced by the Iraqis, soldiers and their families made me look deeper into the root causes for war. The occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are not wars on terrorists, but occupations designed and executed to fill the pockets of American corporations.

Chapin Gray, SDS Tuscaloosa AL

Our chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), like many other chapters across the country, will be skipping classes to make the long trek to Saint Paul to face the Republicans head on. We're determined to show McCain that we refuse to be silenced by the increased repression we face from our own schools in this post 911 era and that we as students are a powerful force in the anti-war movement who will continue to fight to end the occupation of Iraq.

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #ImmigrantRights #PoorPeoplesMovements #StudentMovement #Labor #News #WelfareRightsCommittee #SDS #Palestine #Colombia #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #AfricanAmerican #ChicanoLatino #AntiWarCommittee #IraqVeteransAgainstTheWar #ColombiaActionNetwork #LatinosAgainstWar #TeamstersLocal743 #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization

A Freedom Road Socialist Organization welcome to the March on the RNC

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization welcomes everyone coming from near and far to protest the Iraq War, the Republican agenda and to advance the demands for peace justice and equality on Sept. 1 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Like you, we oppose four more years of occupation, war, repression and racism.

We are here to build the movements for social justice and peace, to get the U.S. out of Iraq now and stop the Republicans from putting McCain in the White House. We want to put an end to Bush’s never ending ‘War on Terror,’ along with inequality and oppression at home and the occupation of sovereign countries by the armies of empire abroad.

Our voices will be heard loud and clear on the streets when Bush addresses the RNC convention Monday night. We think the March on the RNC Sept. 1, along with all the other protests will help to defeat McCain and make him a footnote in high school history books. We will march with you and tens of thousands of others. We will make history. Our protests will be the front-page photo in many newspapers around the world. The Republicans came to Saint Paul to hide from the American people, but we will not let them rest easy. Every day of this convention we plan to confront and oppose the Republicans, McCain and his wealthy backers. We say, “Stop the war! Stop McCain!”

The Republicans blame everybody but the class of billionaires who run this country for the problems we face. They will spew their hate filled rhetoric inside the Xcel center – which they have fortified like a bunker. They are terrified of working, oppressed and progressive people of all kinds advancing an agenda of real change – change that puts the people and our needs first and says to hell with the elite and corporate profits.

Our protests will be outside, in the open air. They will let the world know our demands for a just society. Our movements will demand money for human needs, not for war and occupation. We demand universal health care, money for public education, housing for the homeless, jobs for the unemployed and money and justice for all those who suffered during Hurricane Katrina. We can never forgive or forget how Bush and the Republicans left low-income African-American people stranded on bridges while the floodwaters rose.

We demand and end to racist discrimination. We support immigrants’ rights and demand legalization and full equality for all. We defend women’s right to choose and control their bodies. We want Gays and Lesbians to be able to marry and have all the rights of other Americans. And we will support workers and unions fighting for a fair wages and benefits, and oppose even more tax cuts for corporations for the rich. We support homeowners and renters being evicted from their homes while the bank and mortgage bosses continue to make millions. Our marches and protests will reflect our diversity and our unity.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization aims to end capitalism – a system that is based on inequality, exploitation and oppression. Our vision is for peace, unity, and socialism. We know this system we live under cannot deliver what we want. We know the politicians of both parties are bought and paid for by the rich. This system is based on empire, dominating peoples of other countries, while exploiting and oppressing people here at home.

The time has come to unite all who we can to defeat the main enemy in front of us at this time. McCain’s idea of occupying Iraq “for 100 years” cannot become reality. Our aim is to express the just demands of hundreds of millions of Americans, uniting with the oppressed and exploited around the world, to build a movement that will do away with not just the Republicans, but also the wealthy class that rules this country.

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #CapitalismAndEconomy #PoorPeoplesMovements #InJusticeSystem #Labor #OppressedNationalities #Editorials #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #warOnTerror #Statement #Iraq #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #McCain

This application is a free speech test for the city of Saint Paul. Over the past months city government has used a technicality in the ordinance to avoid dealing with the Coalition’s permit applications. City officials insist that permits cannot be granted until six months prior to a demonstration. A statement from the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War responds: “We are taking this excuse away from them. City law allows us to apply for permits that cover ‘re-occurring events.’ There is no waiting period for this kind of permit, so there is no legal reason, contrived or otherwise, not approve our permit to demonstrate in the vicinity of the site of the RNC.”

Protest organizer Meredith Aby said, “Saint Paul city government should give us the permits for the massive anti-war march on the opening day of the Republican National Convention. We put in our applications almost a year ago and all we have is excuses. This application takes away the excuses.”

The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War wants city government to grant all of the permits they have applied for immediately. According to protest organizer Sarah Martin, “We are not playing games. There is no reason why we cannot have the permits for our march against the war, now.”

The Sept. 1 anti-war protest has the backing of most major anti-war organizations in the United States. Rick Hanson of the Minnesota chapter of Military Families Speak Out, and whose son recently returned from Iraq told protesters, “We are outraged at the criminal policies that lead us into the war and the lies that keep our loved ones in the Bush administration’s unending carnage.”

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #News #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNCAndStopTheWar #freeSpeech #MinnesotaChapterOfMilitaryFamiliesSpeakOut

In April, groups involved in the Coalition to March on the RNC & Stop the War resubmitted their permit applications for demonstrating in Saint Paul on Sept. 1, 2008. The city of Saint Paul has not responded to their requests to receive a permit and instead have formed a ‘free speech’ working group. This working group is discussing what rights protesters will have to demonstrate, but is not considering or listening to what the community needs to protest against the Republican agenda.

Marie Braun, of the Twin Cities Peace Campaign-Focus on Iraq, stated, “Next September the Republican Party will be here to chose the candidate who will best keep this country on a path of occupation and war. Similarly, on Sept. 1, 2008 tens of thousands of people from Minnesota, from the Midwest, and from around the country will gather in Saint Paul to march on the RNC and to demand and end the war on Iraq.”

A protest organizer, Meredith Aby of the Coalition to March on the RNC & Stop the War notes, “The RNC march has been endorsed by peace and justice groups around the country. People from around the country are planning to come here to demonstrate against the war and speak out against the Republican agenda. Many of those coming are asking about the permits.”

This effort is backed by local organizations that have organized the major Twin Cities anti-war protests. In addition, the organizations that have organized the large anti-war and immigrant rights demonstrations in Washington D.C., New York and on the West Coast have also signed on. These organizations include; CODEPINK, International Action Center, Latinos Against War (Los Angeles), the March 25 Coalition – Los Angeles, May 1 Movement for Worker and Immigrant Rights, Troops Out Now Coalition, United for Peace and Justice and many chapters of Students for a Democratic Society.

Local signers include the Anti-War Committee, AFSCME Local 3800, American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council, Iraq Peace Action Coalition, Low Income People Organizing for Power, Military Families Speak Out, MN Immigrants Rights Action Coalition, Twin Cities Peace Campaign-Focus on Iraq, Welfare Rights Committee and Women Against Military Madness and many others.

Protest organizer Mick Kelly of the Coalition to March on the RNC & Stop the War says, “We are taking a message to the Saint Paul City Council. We want the permits to march on the RNC now. City government needs to stop fooling around with its so-called free speech committee and grant the permits so we can exercise that freedom and speak out against the war at the RNC.”

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #News #WelfareRightsCommittee #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNCStopTheWar #TwinCitiesPeaceCampaignFocusOnIraq

St. Paul, MN – Standing in front to the Xcel Center, Sept. 1, the site of next year’s Republican National Convention, organizers of the massive protest planned against the war on Iraq pressed their demand for permits. The city of Saint Paul has refused to issue permits and is having subcommittees of the city’s so-called Free Speech Committee meeting in secret. Speakers – including members of Women Against Military Madness, the Welfare Rights Committee and the Anti-War Committee – made it clear that would fight any attempt to restrict their right to protest against the Iraq war at the Republican National Convention.

Anh Pham, of the Anti-War Committee stated, “The Republicans cannot expect to come to St. Paul, to the Twin Cities, which had some of the largest and most consistent anti-war demonstrations in the country, to stay silent and let this happen in our backyards. The anti-war voices of Minnesota will not be silenced, the anti-war voices in the U.S. will not be silenced and the voices of the peoples of the world will not be silenced.”

Marie Bram of the Women Against Military Madness condemned the war on Iraq as a crime against humanity, and urged the city to grant the march permits.

“We are outraged that this government spends trillions to carry out occupations and war abroad, while they slash spending for basic human needs at home. We are also outraged that it is us, poor and working folks that are being sent to kill and be killed in this rich man’s war,” said Angel Buechner of the Welfare Rights Committee.

Following the Xcel Center press conference, the Anti-War Committee is hosted a ‘pre-versary’ picnic and rally at nearby Mears Park. The event included politically themed games for children and adults, music, poetry and speeches. Local organizations involved in anti-RNC planning also tabled with information for how attendees can get involved in building for next year’s protests.

Leah Entenmann of the Anti-War Committee explains, “The vast majority of Minnesotans oppose the war on Iraq and many are looking for ways to make themselves heard. We see the RNC as a huge opportunity for Minnesotans to join their voices with forces nationally against the war and the Republican agenda. The Saint Paul City Council’s 'Free Speech Committee' sub-committees have been meeting in secret and are seeking to control our organizing efforts. We are using Sept. 1 to launch a year’s worth of organizing against the Republican National Convention, to raise public support for the forthcoming demonstrations and to announce our intention to march on the RNC – with or without the approval of the St. Paul City Council.”

The planned protests at the RNC have the backing of a broad spectrum of peace and justice organizations. Further information can be found at ProtestRNC2008.org

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #News #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #marchOnTheRNC #XcelCenter

A statement from the Twin Cities based Anti-War Committee noted, “The proposed ordinance claims to have two purposes: to protect the rights of freedom of expression; and to protect public safety and access to public spaces. It fails on both fronts and reads more like a PATRIOT Act for Minneapolis.”

The Anti-War Committee letter also stated, “The ordinance does nothing to expand our rights as they exist and has no provisions to protect these rights, nor does it curb infringements on these rights by local law enforcement, city park officials or restrictive sound ordinances. On the contrary, the ordinance separates out political speech and applies special regulations to that, while other speech remains governed by existing laws. Most dangerously, the ordinance criminalizes non-permitted political speech.”

At the Aug. 8 meeting a modified ordinance was introduced. That was also rejected by Twin Cities progressives. “We see this as a direct attack on our day-to-day organizing. We don’t want any new rules that limit our right to protest. We will not apply for permits to protest in Minneapolis,” said Jess Sundin of the Anti-War Committee.

The groups condemned the ‘Free Speech’ Working Group for considering the ordinance and for failing to alert community organizers about the attack. They called on the committee to disband, if it cannot take positive action to improve conditions for local protesters.

Organizers believe that in light of strong community opposition, the ‘Free Speech’ Working Group will not support the proposed ordinance, but it may move forward through another City Council committee. Activists vow to keep a close eye on any city council committees that consider regulations that limit the right to demonstrate.

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #News #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #AntiWarCommittee #PatriotAct #FreeSpeechWorkingGroup

St. Paul, MN – Individuals and organizations gathered here for what is likely to the be the first of many community meetings to make plans in response to the Republican National Convention (RNC) which will take place in Saint Paul in Sept. 2008. The event, called “Resisting the RNC: Minnesota Town Hall Organizing Meeting,” was co-hosted by the Protest RNC 2008 Coalition (www.protestrnc2008.org) and the RNC Welcoming Committee. (www.rncwelcomingcommittee.org).

Described as, “A gathering of those who have already started organizing to resist the RNC in 2008 and those looking for a place to start,” the event provided a place for community members to plug in to existing plans and start to make new plans together.

Anh Pham, an Anti-War Committee member and event organizer, said, “This community meeting will give us a chance to hear about all the plans that are under way and build unity among the diverse forces involved. The Republican Convention will be a huge platform for promoting the war in Iraq and along with the rest of the Republican agenda. We have to stand up and speak out. Tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people, will join in protests against the war and on many other issues during the RNC. We are committed to standing together in this, uniting the many diverse voices, issues and tactics that will be used to answer the Republican Convention in 2008.”

#StPaulMN #SaintPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #ImmigrantRights #PoorPeoplesMovements #Labor #News #OppressedNationalities #RepublicanNationalConvention2008

Minneapolis, MN – The Welfare Rights Committee held a celebration and organizing event Aug. 9 to get low-income families geared up for the Sept. 1 march on the Republican National Convention (RNC). Low-income women and their familes filled the Sibley Park Community Center where the event took place.

The Welfare Rights Committee is organizing the Poor People’s Contingent in the Sept. 1 march that coincides with the opening of the RNC. The Sept. 1 march is expected to draw tens of thousands of protesters. The Welfare Rights Committee will be there to say, “Money for human needs, not for war!”

At the celebration, low-income families discussed how to reach thousands more in the final three weeks until the RNC takes place, as well as concrete plans for the Poor People’s Contingent. Plans were be made to further connect with low-income people one-on-one at the welfare offices, door-to-door in communities, at neighborhood shops, churches and in the streets. The WRC is organizing free buses to the march from a number of communites.

The Welfare Rights Committee is a Minnesota-based organization that has been fighting for low-income families in Minnesota for the past 16 years. The WRC is a major partner in the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, as well as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the city of Saint Paul in the struggle for a decent march permit.

“We are organizing a Poor People’s Contingent to bring poor and working people’s issues to the attention of the Republican delegates coming for the RNC, to the attention of people across the country and to the world. We see the connection between the war and the billions and billions of dollars spent to maintain this unjustified war, and the unmet needs of poor and working people, here and all over the world,” stated Kim Hosmer of the WRC.

She contined “We think it is critical for poor people’s issues to be front and center on the opening day of the RNC. We’ve talked to thousands at the welfare offices and on the streets and everyone is excited to be a part of this history-making day. Low-income people are angry and want to bring their message to the RNC!”

#MinneapolisMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #News #WelfareRightsCommittee #RepublicanNationalConvention2008

St. Paul, MN – On September 1, the opening day of the Republican National Convention, 30,000 people rallied at the Minnesota State Capitol and marched against the war. It was the largest anti-war march in the U.S. this year.

The four main themes of the march were U.S. out of Iraq now; money for human needs, not for war; say no to the Republican agenda; and demand peace, justice and equality.

The march was led off by large contingents of veterans, immigrants, labor, poor people, Somalis, Palestinians, and students.

#StPaulMN #AntiwarMovement #StudentMovement #Labor #Iraq #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #ChicanoLatino #moneyForHumanNeedsNotForWar #USOutOfIraqNow #veterans #Palestinians

Sundin, along with other RNC protest organizers spoke at a Sept. 20 community discussion in Minneapolis, Minnesota hosted by Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #RepublicanNationalConvention2008 #civilDisobedience #StPaulPrinciples #massArrests #solidarity