RNC-DNC Conventions 2008

from crimethinc, 25 May 2009: "For good or for ill, the protests at the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions constituted the most significant nationwide effort anarchists have undertaken to organize militant action in the US in several years. Two weeks later, the global economy collapsed, followed shortly by anarchist-initiated rioting in Greece dwarfing anything in Denver or St. Paul..." more

from email, 9 April 2009: "If the policing concerned you at G20, have a look at what our American friends have to put up with and us before not too long. Glass Bead Collective, Twin Cities Indymedia, and other independent media activists have released a new film, 'Terrorizing Dissent', an exposé of events at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota..." more

from infoshop, 28 November 2008: The American Civil Liberties Union recently came across a revealing RNC Homeland Security Document. This document outlines the planning leading up to the Republican National Convention and how security forces would be working together during the RNC. Many federal, state and local organizations were mentioned in this document, a number of which the ACLU did not know were involved. A number of these agencies are military based, which may directly conflict with Federal law that prohibits the military from engaging in domestic intelligence gathering. more

from cryptogon, 11 November 2008: Undercover police officers posing as protesters staged a fight with a police commander during the Democratic convention, and it was so convincing they were pepper-sprayed by a deputy who wasn’t in on the ruse, the ACLU civil liberties group says... more

from email, 29 October 2008: "We are conscious of the need for a social revolution. Everywhere the degradation seems to deepen as our distance from our relation to it widens. We are conscious of the need to engage seriously in a war of appropriation against a society of dispossession, withdrawal, and exhaustion. As with any goal of social transformation, the process of anarchist revolution requires an understanding of the social context we live in, the barriers against class solidarity, and our strategy for getting what we want..." more

from infoshop, 14 October 2008: Nowadays, entirely apart from the question of whether you’re engaging in illegal activity, it can be important to protect your privacy while participating in public protests. Local and federal law enforcement agencies are compiling extensive files on everyone they deem suspect; if you don’t want them invading your privacy, it may be appropriate for you to remain anonymous while exercising your supposed right to free speech.  more

from email, 29 September 2008: During the first week of September 2008, Republican Party delegates gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota for the Republican National Convention (RNC) - the media spectacle and corporate sleaze-fest that completes their nominating process. An army of armor-clad riot police, National Guard, and private security with their humvees, rubber bullets, and tear gas protected them. FBI-assisted sheriff's raids at more than a half-dozen activist homes and organizing centers in Minneapolis-St. Paul sought to hinder opposition. But thousands of protestors still took to the streets to emphatically reject the Republicans' vicious policies of war, discrimination, and attacks on the working-class and poor. more

from rnc8, 29 September 2008: The RNC 8 are 8 alleged organizers with the RNC Welcoming Committee arrested during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, in early September,2008. Although arrested along with some 800 others during the RNC, these 8 face anti-terrorist charges for their part in organizing public protests aimed at disrupting the convention. more

from infoshop, 21 September 2008: Over a year ago, a group of anarchists hoping to initiate nationwide anti-authoritarian organizing against the DNC and RNC formed a project called Unconventional Action. Their vision of catalyzing organizing on the local level to promote coordinated resistance to the conventions yielded success, as over 20 different collectives in various cities and regions took on the UA banner and began preparations for plugging into the convention protests.  more

from infoshop, 16 September 2008: Let's be honest: the RNC was kinda rough for both of us. Sure, we each had our shining moments — captured for posterity on the local network news — but at the end of the day, neither of us really got what we wanted. more

from email, 10 September 2008: In the last week, eight people affiliated with the RNC Welcoming Committee were arrested in their homes or picked up off the streets and charged with conspiracy to riot and furtherance of terrorism. The Welcoming Committee was a group that formed to facilitate logistics (food, housing, convergence center) around the 2008 Republican National Convention Protests in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  more

from colorado imc, updated 16 September 2008: ... Many of us are weary from confronting a faceless system, and in this struggle it is hard to see evidence of change. Let's continue to fight the system and at the same time have a tangible positive impact on the lives of individual people, changes we can see, lives improved. Let's work with immigrant communities, let's support them and help tear down the terrorist organization known as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE)... more

from IAC, 4 September 2008: We are all just emerging from the shadows, however. The events of September the First were just another of the glimpses of light that has recently been breaking the darkness all around us. It marks our return to the outside world. All preparations for this battle were done openly and defiantly. Those readying the counter-curses were brave and bold and filled with love every step of the way. more

from imc-uk, 4 September 2008: In what appears to be the first use of criminal charges under the 2002 Minnesota version of the Federal Patriot Act, Ramsey County Prosecutors have formally charged 8 alleged leaders of the RNC Welcoming Committee with Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism. Monica Bicking, Eryn Trimmer, Luce Guillen Givins, Erik Oseland, Nathanael Secor, Robert Czernik, Garrett Fitzgerald, and Max Spector, face up to 7 1/2 years in prison under the terrorism enhancement charge which allows for a 50% increase in the maximum penalty.  more