EYE ON DENVER'S DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION - NEWS /VIDEO LINKS

[Irobot]

Protesters Disrupt Convention Access; At Least Two Arrests Before DNC

August 24, 2008 4:18 PM

ABC News' Rick Klein, Herran Bekele, and Jennifer Parker report: A large anti-war protest disrupted  access to the site of the Democratic National Convention for about 40 minutes Sunday afternoon -- a  full 24 hours before the convention even begins.

With a crowd of about 1,000 protesters massing on Auraria Boulevard, directly in front of the Pepsi  Center in Denver, Secret Service and local police locked down the security perimeter about 12:30 p.m.  MT, shutting down the only access point for media and most staff to get into or out of the site.

Anti-war protesters -- carrying signs reading "Send Them Home," "No War on Iran," and "Do-Nothing  Democrats" -- marched in front of the convention site while police in full riot gear -- many  displaying their weapons -- looked on in a tense scene.

Several protesters taunted police by waving cameras in their faces or yelling, "Police state," but no  clashes erupted. While the scene remained painful in front of the main entrance, at least two  protesters were arrested several blocks away.

One was told he was being arrested for having his face covered with a black scarf on convention  grounds, and another was placed into custody for not cooperating with police after coming to the first protester's defense. Both were placed in plastic handcuffs and escorted to a police van.

Earlier, several dozen protesters sat on the street directly outside the convention entrance point and engaged in several minutes of chants: "We won't be silent," they said. The group dispersed without incident after a few minutes.

About 1 p.m. MT, leaders of the protest said their march would continue, and warned those who stayed  would probably be arrested. Police began letting reporters and convention staff back through the metal detectors about 1:10 p.m. -- with the backup delaying some people more than an hour.

Among those caught on the outside: Time columnist Joe Klein and Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter.  Among those caught on the inside of the security perimeter, while police refused to let anyone in or out: Gov. Deval Patrick, D-Mass., a close friend of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

Several protesters held signs evoking the famous clash with police outside the 1968 Democratic  National Convention in Chicago.

"We just finished a peace march recreating the '68 protest, marching for peace," Dan Manzanares, 61,  of Denver, told ABC News. "We're here trying to hold the parties' and the platforms' feet to the fire on getting out of Iraq," he said. "I'm encouraged by Obama, but I'm becoming convinced that, once these candidates get in the White House and the money and power starts rolling in, they forget, and we're here to make sure they remember."

[Irobot]

"There is no truce with police anymore," said Recreate '68 organizer Glenn Spagnuolo during a news conference in front of police headquarters Tuesday.

Spagnuolo, visibly upset over the events of Monday night, said police had broken pledges to cooperate with protest groups to keep things peaceful and calm.

"This doesn't mean that we're going to be confrontational," Spagnuolo said. "It just means we can't trust the police anymore."

Recreate '68 leaders say police provoked a panic in the crowd gathered in Civic Center Park Monday night by parading officers in full riot gear through people gathered in small groups.

Activists say the crowd was not given a chance to disperse before police used pepper spray and made about 100 arrests.

Those arrests made a serious dent in the protest groups' strength, estimated at around 1,000 people. Police say they moved in when protesters, some of whom were carrying rocks, refused to disperse.

"We can only assume that they are trying to get some people in jail to keep them off the streets for the rest of the week," said Brian Vicente of the People's Law Project, a group offering assistance to those arrested.

A plan by the anarchist group Unconventional Denver to put street blockades in the way of convention-going delegates Tuesday was scrapped. An organizer said Monday's arrests took a toll on the group and they were meeting to assess their options for continued protests.

There were even protestors holding up signs on Tuesday asking for help with bond money for those who were arrested.

Crowds in Civic Center Park were calm and police appeared to have heard protesters requests to have mounted patrols and riot police stationed across from the park rather than inside it.

Mark Cohen of Recreate '68 said protesters were illegally detained and may file suit against the city for failing to give them a chance to comply with orders and leave before being arrested.

Monday's melee shattered nearly two full days of largely peaceful protests. Up to the minute before the confrontation, both police and protest leaders were remarking on how well the week was progressing.

"We were cooperating with them. They were cooperating with us," Cohen said. "What happened to change that situation?"

Pressed for specifics on what the "ending of the truce" would mean on the streets for the final days of the DNC, Spagnuolo shrugged.

"Whatever happens, happens," Spagnuolo.
(Copyright KUSA*TV. All rights reserved.)

[HYDROGENPAL]

http://www.mogulus.com/demconventionlive

this has millions of people watching this feed and we are blogging the heck out of it .
can you help

[Irobot]

DENVER – As the Rage Against the Machine concert let out at the Denver Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon, an unlicensed parade formed, poised to march toward the Pepsi Center.
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At 3 p.m. the Rage Against the Machine concert let out, and the parade, led by a group called Iraq Vets Against the War, began their march toward the site of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

The veterans, who were dressed in uniform, did not have an official permit for the parade.

Before the concert let out, Rage Against the Machine and other bands asked the crowd of 8,000 to be peaceful during the march.

At 4 p.m., the march was moving very slowly and had not yet reached 38th and Brighton. Protestors were armed with numerous anti-war signs and were chanting anti-war sentiments.

The parade, was preparing to march down Brighton Boulevard, disrupting traffic in both directions. The march forced the closure of all ramps from Interstate 70 to Brighton Boulevard. It was not known how long the ramps would be closed.

The parade is the largest gathering of protestors so far during the DNC, surpassing the roughly 1,000 marchers who participated in Sunday's Re-create 68 march.

At least 100 police officers in riot gear were in the area, along with a police helicopter overhead.

It was not known how long police would allow the march to proceed.

9NEWS and 9NEWS.com will update this story as more information becomes available.
(Copyright KUSA*TV All Rights Reserved.)

[Dan]

Some body please tell Alex and the WeAreChange guys to calm down and promote the truth in a professional manner.  The video with Michelle Malkin is crazy.  Alex looked like he lost his mind. 

Just think he gets his message across better in a calm manner.

Dan

[Irobot]

Dan, see this thread , relates to your thoughts.

http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=55839.msg273461#msg273461

[Irobot]

ACLU: DNC Protesters Arrested, Shackled, Denied Attorneys, Forced To Plead Guilty

http://fightingtyranny.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2103698%3ABlogPost%3A25253

[Irobot]

DNC POLICE STATE COMPILATION

http://fightingtyranny.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2103698%3ABlogPost%3A25195

[Irobot]

Denver Storm Troopers Arrest 86 year old man

This is what a police state looks like.