Glenn, I am so glad you Jane are there today.

The Twin Cities police illegal repression of peaceful non-violent citizens copies the pattern used as far back as the April, 2000 IMF/WB protests in DC.

1) Federal "law" enforcement show up before the protest with dark rumors of violence from "anarchists" (or later - "terrorists": the new "communists").

2) Local law enforcement are promised additional resources by the Feds to meet the scary threat -- effectively Federalizing local law enforcement. As Twin Cities Indymedia observes, FBI and Homeland Security were at some of the house raids.

3) Illegal mass detentions and -- often -- arrests precede the start of planned public protests.

4) Alleged fire code or other non-criminal violations are used to shut down the assembly spaces legally rented and occupied by those preparing to publicly assemble to peacefully demand redress of grievances.

In DC in 2000, the DC SWAT team just happened to be outside the convergence space we had rented (I co-coordiated the medical support for those protests) early on the weekend morning when DC Fire just happened to stop by to check out an alleged fire code violation.

The DC police surrounded and occupied the entire convergence space, arresting and detaining those inside. Protesters (save one) were not allowed into the building until the end of the protests, when the fire concerns magically vanished (no substantiative violation was ever proven, and the whole question was dropped after the protest.

The DC convergence space help puppet-making facilities (and puppets!), medical facilities and supplies, and the meal prep/service space that Food Not Bombs created. Protesters were denied access to virtually all thier supplies for the duration of the protests. They went to court to attempt to get the puppets freed (IIRC the Center For Civil Justice palyed and integral role along with the NLG)

5) Alleged code violations serve as a pretext not only for harassement and interdction of lawful Constitutionally protected activity but also for arguable illegal surviellance and intellignece gathering.

The Twin Cities Indymedia report that the local popos seized all laptops and hard drives from those illegally detained yesterday evening.

In DC in 2000, I was allowed back into the Convergence Center to retrieve a protester's insulin. Recall: the pretext for seizing the space was an urgent and severe fire code violation.

When I got in the building, what did I see?

Teams of Fire Department personnel? Huge fans to blow out volatile substances? Inspectors in HazMat suits?

Nope.

The convergence space was filled with people with guns on their belts, some in uniform, more in plain clothes. They were methodically photographing ever single surface (announcement boards, bulletin boards, schedules) and taking examples of every piece of printed literature in the space -- as well as searching all the personal belongings there.

For the 2000 DNC protests in LA, the only way we forestalled identical activity was to obtain a Federal Court injunction (if that's the right term of art) precluding such raids.

I'd assumed the organizers of the RNC protests this year had obtaied the same protection from one of the few remaining Federal judges with integrity.

Obviously, I was wrong.

6) Disruption of logistical support. The overnight raids on Food Not Bombs included seizure (as TC Indymedia report) of the supplies and equipment at the Food Not Bombs house. The same process has reportedly begun at the Seeds of Peace house (both groups provide mass kitchens for activists). This pattern has been seen at other mass demos since the Seattle WTO protests in 1999.

I fully expect raids on houses where medics and legal collectives supporting the RNC protest over this weekend (if they have not already begun)

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"A Republic, if we can keep it"

Thanks to you and Jane for focusing public attention on the police state Federal "law" enforcement officials and the corporatists they serve seek to create here in America. I hope we can dismantle their work.