First we fight the battle,
Then we fight the battle of summation
This is our contribution to the battle of summation
Telling a reliving the collective story of the
Of the republican national convention
Is fundamentally important for resistance movements in the US
By remembering these huge sparks in activity
We remind our selves that we can confront the state in all its might
And all of a sudden another world seems so much closer
And so much more real
But just as important as telling our collective stories
Is learning from our collective experiences.
In this election, there is something happening in America
l know these a are tough times for many of you
You're worried about kee... (interrupted)
My friends, my dear friends
Please, please don't be diverted by the ground noise and the static
(Laughs)
The RNC Welcoming Committee
The Anarchist, Anti-Athoritatirian body organizing for the protests
Started publicly organizing a full year and a half before the convention
This amount of lead time is something that hasn't be prevalent
in the north american protest movement since the summit protest era
at the height of the the global justice movement
On labor day weekend 2007
Exactly a year before the convention
the RNC Welcoming Committee held a weekend long planning
and training meeting, attended by hundreds of activists
Representing organizations from around the country
What kinds of activities are expected
for the protests?
Well, something that came out of the first Pre-N.C. was
that we were going to blockade the streets
And try to prevent the delegates from reaching
the Xcel Energy Center
in the Welcoming Committee's words, crash the convention
the RNC Welcoming Committee is not planning any actions or protests
Ourselves, we are more or less creating the clearinghouse
for people to come through us to have those actions happen.
We plan to provide you with over 300 buses
And hundreds of private cars to transport you
From your lodgings to the Xcel Energy Center
All four days of the convention
With more than several freeway entrances
Into Downtown Saint Paul
Including the l-94 Kellogg exit
The l-94 fifth street exit
The 35E Eleventh street exit
The 35 E University exit
The l-94 Tenth street exit
And the l-94 12th Street exit
Getting to the Xcel Energy Center might be half the adventure
Awesome
No blood for oil, U.S. off Iraqi soil
With the Coalition to march on the RNC and Stop the War
Scheduled to march on the Xcel center same day as the
RNC Welcoming Committee's Crash the Conventions Blockade
Organizers for both groups worried about how the two actions will play out together
on the streets, but in February '07, organizers from both groups came together
To establish the Saint Paul Principles
What it was, was a way make sure that all the work that the local organizers
Wouldn't get pushed aside when the national groups came in
We've had a lot of success having other groups sign on
to the Saint Paul Principles, and it's actually pretty historic
First we mentioned, our solidarity will be based on diversity of tactics
And the plans of other groups, meaning while
people might disagree with tactics, we all recognize
which side of the barricades we're on
There will be a separation of time and space for actions
And what that means, we're going to make sure that
lf someone is having an action in an area that nobody is going
be bringing their actions down on that one that's already going on
The third one which is a pretty new agreement for people to sign on to
for a march or an action like this is
Any criticisms or debates of tactics, individuals, they will be kept internal
We're not going to go to the media and
denounce this group that has different tactics than us
The last one is that we oppose any state repression of dissent
Including surveillance, infiltration, disruption and violence
We agree not to assist law enforcement in actions against activist and others
lt's pretty nice to see that people seem to be coming around to the idea
that when it comes to protests the police very firmly on one side
This is your final warning, you will be subject to chemical irritants
If you do not disperse and clear the streets
ln some sense the battle of the RNC was kicked off on Thursday August 28th
with the erection of Bushville, a tent city modeled after the Hoovervilles
of the great depression. This encampment on Harriet Island, will serve as a home
for the poor and homeless arriving in the Twin Cities
to protest the Republican National Convention.
Homeless people sleep every single night across Saint Paul
The only difference between myself and other homeless people
That would be here in Saint Paul, is the fact that they don't have signs up
ls that the difference? Is that we're saying something about what's happening
In this country
We know our families don't have the kind of health care that they need
They don't have the kind of housing that they need
We live in a rich country and none of us should have to be
Dealing with 9,000 police officers
Just to talk about what's wrong in this country
On Friday, August 29th and Saturday, August 30th,
police make a series of preemptive strikes against the movement.
Armed with a search warrant, police kicked in the door of
the RNC Welcoming Center, a convergence space for protesters.
They ended up breaking through the door, all of us were in there
They had us get down on our stomachs as we were watching a movie
We were both terrified, the cops went in and started cuffing everybody
For our safety and theirs, supposedly as he is crying and in hysterics
The Ramsey County Sheriff's department and the Saint Paul Police
Raided the RNC Convergence space and detained over 50 people
ln an attempt to preempt planned protest on the RNC on Monday
Looking for items in any Twin Cities house like jars, paints and rags
This attempt to portray us as criminals and destroy our credibility
Has already backfired as evidenced as the masses of people who have come
to support us
Frank is Gena, there's two more house raids going on in Minneapolis
One's at 2301 twenty third avenue south and the other is at
3240 seventeenth avenue south, just thought you might want to know
Me and my partner were sleeping and l was naked and officers came and
separated us, made me lay on the floor naked for about an hour
By the time the first wave of raids ended,
At least three houses had been invaded and
Eight RNC WC organizers had been arrested on felony conspiracy to riot charges
In response, the legal, communications, and community outreach structures
Jumped into high gear, legally contesting the arrests and the searches
Providing solid, accurate information and running rumor control
and generating a widespread expression of community outrage.
Private First Class Shane Penley, Age 19 Sauk Village Illinois
Died in Iraq, April 6th, 2008
We will remember you
August 31st. We remember, say the Veterans For Peace
as they march on the Xcel Center to read out the names of US soldiers
and Iraqi civilians killed in the war.
Unknown Iraqi child, bloody face and loss of right eye, we will remember you
Let them in, they have served their country, let them in
Nine are arrested for breaching the security perimeter.
Monday, opening day for the RNC
At the State Capitol, the people assemble, preparing to march
in peaceful protest to the Xcel center.
Estimates vary on the size of the crowd, between 10 and 30,000 people.
The police are armed with extended batons, pepper spray, tasers,
tear gas guns, automatic rifles, and guns firing less lethal projectiles
Today, public order will be kept by 3,700 police from across Minnesota
with the help of thousands more from over 30 agencies
The RNC Welcoming Committee had divided Saint Paul into 7 sectors
So that organizing groups throughout the country can coordinate their actions
and blockade as many access points as possible.
Each group created a unique blockade, independent, yet collaborative
Major entrance and travel points in each Sector, from highway on-ramps,
to busy intersections, to hotel shuttle bus loading spaces,
were claimed by the affinity groups.
Traffic was blocked for several hours in downtown St. Paul
and during the chaotic scene the swarm of protesters was able to disable
at least two buses by slashing their tires and smashing their windows.
Delegates were delayed in getting to the Xcel Center and hundreds of America's
political elite were directly and personally confronted
by an energetic declaration of opposition.
l'm shutting down, they are getting ready to spray down here
l said the riot, the protesters have come down, the police are on their way down
Here and l am going to shut down before they spray
The police reacted aggressively, strategically and methodically
working to force protesters out of key intersections and off of main thoroughfares.
They use blunt object force, chemical weapons, and concussion grenades
in an attempt to disperse, or at least push back crowds.
And when their numbers allowed it, police surrounded and arrested
entire groups of protesters, reporters, and bystanders.
Put your hands behind your back
You're under arrest
Get down
from that day on, the Saint Paul police held a constant assault
against all RNC protesters, regardless of their affiliation, or permit status
We remember the US tank that fired on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad,
killing Spanish journalist Jose Couso,
and the US missile attacks on the offices of Al-Jazeera in both Iraq and
Afghanistan shortly after the US invaded those two countries.
Altogether at least 217 journalists and media assistants have been killed in Iraq
since the start of the US-led invasion, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Recently, Indymedia journalist Sally Grace Eiler was raped and murdered in
Oaxaca, Mexico, in a case linked to political repression, much like the case of
Indymedia videographer Brad Will, who in 2006 was gunned down in Oaxaca
while covering the teachers strike. Journalists serve as the eyes and ears of
democracy. Without free access to the story,
there can be no freedom of the press.
ln St. Paul, the police escalated their usual heavy-handed attack on
media activists by first detaining, nearly a week before the convention began,
members of the Glass Bead Collective
They confiscated our cameras, they confiscated our notes
They confiscated our computers. What they took away is our ability to report
Later police raided i-witness video, a cop-watch group.
Their footage of police arrests at the RNC 4 years ago in New York resulted in
hundreds of arrested demonstrators getting off since the i-witness video footage
showed time and again that the police were lying about the circumstances
of the arrests.
gentleman in the house had cameras and we were videotaping
and photographing as we heard the police bust through an attic door
Yell 'Police' come down the stairs and enter the living room with a hand gun
Drawn on us.
Put them on top your head please, on top of your head please
Two members of the PepperSpray Collective, Lambert Rochfort and Joe LaSac
were arrested in St. Paul while covering the protests. They were both held for
days and their cameras were not released until after the story they traveled from
Seattle to cover was over. It was a serious blow
which put the lens cap on their reports.
Hold it right here. Ma'am, sidewalk
Release the accredited journalists now!
l'm coming from the convention floor.
Sidewalk, now
Sir l want to talk to...
Authorities picked up a rock only to drop it on their own feet with the arrest of
Democracy Now's popular host Amy Goodman, and her crew.
The police quickly let Amy out of jail as they were inundated with a storm of calls
and other pressure demanding her release.
independent Filmmaker Flux Rostrom operates Mobile Broadcast News
a school bus that serves as video production facility, roaming the country
to cover underground news.
Throughout the RNC the Saint Paul Police attempted to break in numerous times
without a warrant, forcing the mobile broadcast news crew to keep watch on 24l7
Get out of here!
l can't see, ahhhh! Press! Press!
Get down on your face!
On your face!
Get down on your face!
Domestic preemptive raids and arrests against protest organizers and the press
marks a big escalation by the authorities. They clearly wanted to cripple the
movement and or ability to report on it, and certainly did not want the unblinking
eye ofthe camera trained at them while they did their dirty work.
These tactics raise political questions around the constitutional right
Of freedom of the press, and exposes the ugly face of the police state
You alright Flux?
Yeah, l'm all right. They only got one eye, l still got one left
Good morning slaves and welcome to
part two of ground noise and static, by now you probably thought....
Wait a minute, where's my mother fuckin eye?
thanks.
OK, so you suckers though we were just going
to grill the Republicans and let the Democrats off the hook, didn't you?
My selecta, rewind that shit
Our team of video ninjas went to Denver for the same reasons we covered the
protests in St. Paulice. There is a resistance movement growing throughout the
land and all around the world. A movement that is bigger than elections.
A movement that broadly unites people across a diversity of class, social, political,
economic, racial, and gender lines. A movement that in the spirit of the St. Paul
principles can live with its many differences, because we are all united
against against a common enemy. We know there is something fundamentally
wrong and even suicidal as a species, with the corporate vision of the future.
So the movement went to Denver, just like St. Paul, to proclaim mutiny,
to stand up and be counted on the better world that is possible.
When things like these happening, somebody better recreate some struggle
Our immigrant sisters and brothers, are being rounded up by the thousands
Dragged out like slaves, dragged out of plants and factories, dragged out
of their homes, thrown in prisons, some of them are dying in prison for lack of
Medical attention, deported, some of them are being beaten to death, lynched
Somebody better recreate some struggle
Somebody better recreate some militancy, some unity
What occupation do we oppose? What war do we oppose?
All war? Any war? This war? That war?
How about the war that's right here in occupied Denver?
With the DNC coming to town, it's like Santa Claus has dropped off gifts
For the Denver Police Department, only these gifts are in the form of
new riot shields, new security cameras, and gas canisters to use on protesters
Have you notice that with all this talk of stopping terrorists and Bin Laden all
that stuff and all this militarization and homeland security,
that it all comes down to the government's guns are pointing at us?
This is what happens in a Nazi country, not what happens in America
You can't even walk down the street, without them coming out
with their war gear on.
-Protester.. Help!
-Police.. Camera, camera
-Protester.. Help!
-Protester.. l'm shot
You're in charge?
and you're instructing these officers to hold me here?
Under what freaking authority?
While its no doubt true that some people who were righteously interested
in bumping chests with Republicans skipped Denver, to avoid making the
Democrats mad. Its safe to say that those who showed up in Denver,
and there were a lot's of them, were clearly sick of the two party,
corporate-police-state system.
When it came to the constitution, the democratic leadership showed us
that aiding and abetting illegal spying on us, was more important to them
than protecting our civil liberties. When it came to war and occupation,
the Democratic leadership showed us, that financing an illegal immoral war
based on lies, was more important to them, than the peoples desire for peace
And when the people, hurting from the financial mismanagement
of this country, called for accountability, for the crimes that have been committed
Against the people here, against the global community, against nature itself
The Democratic leadership took impeachment off the table.
And even greater use of clean coal technology
We need to have clean coal technology
And that's why we have to invest in clean coal technologies
The DNC was also being billed as the greenest convention ever by the Democrats
and a need to seriously confront green capitalism was seen as a necessary
component to the protests.
One of the most common things that we see every day, is this thing
called green washing, and it's when corporations try to say they're a part
of this environmental movement, they're part of this sustainable paradigm,
that we all want, because we see how unsustainable our current lifestyles are
The problem with that is that these companies, aren't part of our sustainable
future, and the sooner that we realize that, the sooner that we're going to get rid
the best. Let them die, and start building something that's truly sustainable.
The clean coal lobby was out in force at the DNC passing out fans
and buttons touting the virtues of clean coal without even explaining what it is.
Overall the anti green capitalism mach was a success in causing a spectacle to
counteract the dem's green image and got into the heads of unsuspecting political
tourists. This was a powerful victory as normal folks become disillusioned with the
political system and look for real alternatives beyond the democratic leadership
One of the best indicators of how shaky things are for the rich is the role
of Iraq Vets Against the War. Fresh back from the killing fields, these mutineers
are driven by their own experiences to confront democrats and republicans alike.
l think people need to get out on the streets, l think it has to be a real movement
Gl's have to stop fighting the war, that's how it ends. And they need the support
They need to see people in the streets that are supporting them.
When they actually resist, when they go AWOL that the people are there for them
More and more vets--and now active duty military--are joining IVAW to stand
and confront their masters. Ron Kovic paralyzed Viet Nam Veteran,
whose story is detailed in Oliver Stone's movie 'Born on the 4th of July,
and who in real life rode his wheelchair in to disrupt the Republican convention
in 1972 never stood so tall as when he wheeled out of this year's
Democratic convention to stand with IVAW as they faced off the cops and
their political handlers.
When l have to go inside of a cage, to dissent to question authority. Is that the
freedom that l sacrificed my body for? In the next couple of days, we are going to
find that freedom. We are going to allow the American people to know that we are
not going to be silenced. That's what being an American is all about.
We refuse to be silent. They will not take us. We will not go silently into
this dark American night.
This was a photo op moment, rank and file, disciplined, silver bugle and all,
standing against the masters of war. Here's how it all came down..
Just a victim of the in house drive by...
Rage Against the Machine rocked out a free concert in front of thousands of fans.
immediately following the show, RAGE instructed the crowd to march behind the
vets to the Pepsi Center for five freakin miles. The plan worked,
and about ten thousand amped up peeps walked towards the DNC
in an unpermitted march.
We have come here to hold the Democratic Party accountable
We want to talk to Senator Obama, we do not want to hurt you
We don't want you to hurt us.
They stood in mutiny, and the cops, who would immediately attack a similar
crowd lead by protest groups, punked out. At one point the cops started suiting
up, preparing for the order to atttack. The vets stood unwavering,
the crowd on edge. The authorities tried to stall, but the vets determinedly held their ground.
-We are! -We are!
-Awaiting negotiation! - Awaiting negotiation!
-With Senator Obama!! -With Senator Obama!!
-The Democratic Party! - The Democratic Party!
-ls scared shitless right now! -ls scared shitless right now!
Finally the police blinked and it felt like a decisive battle had been won.
The veteran's liaison is coming out to set up a meeting to talk about when
We can read our letter to the delegates
Your voices have been heard!
Senator Barack Obama is going to meet with us.
No doubt the ranks of IVAW will continue to grow with volunteers,
stepping up to the battle. Their actions reach those unreachable by other means.
And by example they call out to all Americans to exceed the limits
to break ranks, and join the revolution.
In conclusion, the republicrat rebellions of 2008 succeeded in bringing
people from around the country together, and cementing strong bonds which
will carry on beyond the conventions.
See you in the streets
They tried to use me, but l am not a tool.
They tried to lie to me but l will not be fooled
They tried to bribe but l could not be bought
And they tried to stop me but l cannot be stopped
Because we are unbeatable
And we are unstoppable