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Over 100 people were arrested Thurday night in St. Paul, after being cornered by police on the Marion bridge over I-94. Journalists from at least 2 major local news stations were detained and put in plastic handcuffs, as well as medics and legal observers. Smoke bombs, pepper spray, and tear gas were used heavily on the group, who were not declared by the police to be violent in any way; they were guilty of unlawful assembly. Those carrying kerchiefs with vinegar for protection from tear gas may now be charged with federal conspiracy to commit riot charges, again with no evidence of commited violence, destruction or provocation. There were hundreds of cops swarming the area with the arrestees sitting on the ground, blocked in on both sides of the bridge. While everyone seems to be obsesseing over another unwed teenage pregnancy, the GOP turned St. Paul into a "non-lethal" militarized zone.
