Day 4
Day: Thursday
Location: Capitol
Arrests: 400
Percussion grenades, tear gas and nearly 400 arrests marked the final anti-war march during the Republican National Convention. More than 800 arrests were reported during a week of sometimes peaceful, sometimes violent dissent.
Anti-war protesters rallied Thursday at the state Capitol and then planned to march to Xcel Energy Center, where Sen. John McCain was due to accept the GOP presidential nomination. But their permit had expired, and police -- in riot gear and using horses, snow plows and dump trucks -- blocked their way.
For hours, police let the protesters amble from one blocked intersection to another. But then the arrests began in earnest. At least 19 journalists, including two reporters from The Associated Press, were among those held by police.
Two Texas men were charged in federal court in Minneapolis Friday with illegally possessing Molotov cocktails.
Authorities say the men planned to target law enforcement during the Republican National Convention. Twenty-two-year-old David Guy McKay and 23-year-old Bradley Neil Crowder are each charged with one count of possession of firearms that were not registered to them. The two Austin men are in custody following an initial court appearance Friday. According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement officers overheard a conversation in which McKay said the Molotov cocktails he and Crowder made would be thrown at vehicles parked in a lot in St. Paul. The lot was used by law enforcement, and patrolled by U.S. Secret Service and the military.
Day 3
Day: Wednesday
Location: Target Center
Time: 10:40 PM
Arrests: 102
Video
Despite band's plea for peace, 102 arrested after Rage Against the Machine concert
Even though fans who attended Wednesday's Rage Against the Machine concert were asked not to cause trouble when they left Target Center, scores of people didn't comply with the request.
Trouble did break out on downtown Minneapolis streets and police arrested 102 people who had attended the concert, according to the Joint Information Center which is coordinating security in connection with the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.
Of those arrested, 87 people were tagged with misdemeanor offenses and released, 13 were booked into the Hennepin County Jail on misdemeanor offenses and subsequently released, and two people were arrested on gross misdemeanor probable cause and were still in jail this morning, a Joint Information Center spokeswoman said.
'RNC 8' Charged, Group Promises To Unmask Plan
Eight core members of a group that provided logistical support to anarchists wanting to disrupt the Republican National Convention were each charged Wednesday with a felony count of conspiracy to commit riot, following weekend police raids at some of their homes and work space.
According to a complaint in Ramsey County District Court, the eight are active members of the RNC Welcoming Committee, an anarchist and anti-authoritarian group that has a Web site advertising its plans to "Crash the Convention" by blocking traffic and immobilizing delegate buses.
Also Wednesday, federal authorities announced charges against another man accused of using Molotov cocktails to attack the main arena for the Republican National Convention.
According to the charges in Ramsey County, the eight RNC Welcoming Committee members are charged with conspiracy to commit riot in the second degree in furtherance of terrorism.
Day 2
Day: Tuesday
Arrests: None
Video
Pictures
Minn. GOP Delegates' Bus Tires Slashed
Minnesota delegates spent their day on the second day of Republican National Convention in meetings and at a reception in their honor.
The Minnesota delegates got a late start because someone slashed the tires on two of their buses.
Minnesota Republican Party Chair Ron Carey said, "It's a shame that people want to deny us a chance to exercise our 1st amendment rights."
Day: Tuesday
Time: approx. 8:30
Protesters: 4000
Video
Pictures
Journalist rescues pol, wife, six delegates from thugs
So, we get out of the thick of the protest and the couple who I'm trying to free, Representative Jack Hoogendyke of Michigan, who is running for U.S. Senate, and his wife agree to talk to me on camera...
When the interview is over, I realize we are surrounded by protesters on bikes trying to block us in. I try to get through the bikes and one of the kids says 'psych'...
We eventually get by and I'm leading Hoogendyke and his wife out when we run into four delegates... I know they are delegates because they are very well dressed and had a look of uncertainty and quiet desperation about them...
I tell them all (six total) there is no guarantee I'll get you out, but we'll see.
We double back to the corner of Mickey's diner and flag down a cop.. I explain who these six people are and where they need to go. They are asked to show their official RNC badges and the entire group is allowed through the baracade.
At the same time, several journalists rush our group and ask to get out too... None of them were allowed to leave... We had no intention to leave, but it was clear we wouldn't have been able to anyway.
Day: Tuesday
Location: Mears Park
Rioters: 2000
Police: "100s"
Arrests: 10
Video
Pictures
Police, Protesters Clash Again On Day 2 Of RNC
A police spokesman declined to be specific about all the arrests Tuesday, but the three occurred during the march that ended near the Republican convention arena with police using tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse protesters they said were trying to get past security fences.
"There's a group that appears to be trying to breach the (Xcel Energy) Center," said Tom Walsh, a St. Paul police spokesman. Police successfully moved the protesters away, he said.
Police estimated about 2,000 people took part in the march, which lasted about three hours. They said the number of arrested might go higher.
Day: Tuesday
Protesters: 4,000
Arrests: None?
Video
4,000 Protesters Try to Break Down RNC Fence After Rage Against the Machine Concert
A group of about 4,000 protesters are trying to break down the security fences at 5th and 7th, near the northwest entrance to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
. . .
Near Mickey's Diner, protesters exploded three homemade bombs near police. officers responded with tear gas and smoke bombs.
Related story:
An anarchist group allegedly discussed ways to "shut down the RNC," including kidnapping delegates and blocking bridges.
Almost a year to the day before the Republican National Convention began, members of a self-described anarchist group gathered to talk about ways to disrupt it, including kidnapping delegates, sabotaging air vents at the Xcel Energy Center, blocking bridges and "capturing federal buildings" in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Unbeknown to the RNC Welcoming Committee, two police informants and an undercover investigator had infiltrated their ranks, according to an affidavit and search warrant application filed Tuesday. The informants and investigator accessed group e-mails, attended meetings, talked strategies with members and participated in camps and workshops.
Related videos:
Cops vs. Protesters
Video
More clashes with scumbags
Police seize weapons
Day: Monday
Location: Xcel Energy Center
Protesters: 10,000
Police: ??? (Plus 150 National Guard)
Arrests: 283 people (129 were felonies, 51 gross misdemeanors, 103 misdemeanors)
Video
Pictures
Police use rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas to disperse protesters
Protesters attacked delegates, smashed windows, punctured car tires and threw bottles Monday, a violent counterpoint to an otherwise peaceful anti-war march at the Republican National Convention.
Police wielding pepper spray arrested at least 283 people, of which 129 were felonies, 51 gross misdemeanors and 103 misdemeanor arrests.
The trouble happened not far from the Xcel Energy Center convention site, and many of those involved in the more violent protest were clad in black and identified themselves to reporters as anarchists. They wrought havoc by damaging property and setting at least one fire. Most of the trouble was in pockets of a neighborhood near downtown, several blocks from where the convention was taking place.
Day: Monday
Location: Xcel Center
Protesters: ???
Police: ???
Arrests: ???
CT Delegation Attacked
The delegation . . . numbering approximately 120 people - got off the buses and began to walk through the security perimeter into the Convention Hall when they encountered a large group of RNC protesters who formed a human chain to block the delegation from continuing and shouting epithets at the Nutmeggers.
. . .
Delegates were shoved and spat upon by the protestors.
When Chairman Healy’s mother Lila was spat upon by a protester, former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons stepped between the elder Healy and the crowd. He was doused with a liquid substance that was later determined to be a mix of clorox and water. At least 10 other delegates also were hit with liquid.
. . .
The St Paul police and the Secret Service are investigating how the protesters were able to get into the area unopposed.
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