Crackdown Begins: Food Not Bombs House Among Saturday Raids Ahead of RNC

By Paul Schmelzer, Minnesota Independent. Posted August 31, 2008.

The police assault on civil liberties takes an early start ahead of the RNC.

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Minnesota Indy RNC reporter Jeff Severns Guntzel is at the Minneapolis Food Not Bombs house, which was raided by police this morning. Facts are still coming in, but Guntzel says that at 8 a.m. neighbors near the home, located at 2301 23rd Avenue South, reported hearing a loud bang followed by yelling. A single police squad car was parked out front. When Guntzel arrived he saw eight or nine officers enter the house in what he says is a joint operation between officers of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department, the Minneapolis Police Depatment, and the FBI. According to one witness who was in the house at the time of the raid, the action is related to last night's raid on the RNC Welcoming Committee's "convergence space." Several other spaces have been raided this morning.

Around 9:20, two Minneapolis Police Property & Evidence trucks pulled up. Present were a Hennepin County Sheriffs' crime lab truck, a Ramsey County Sheriffs' squad and an MPD squad, plus at least four unmarked cars parked facing the wrong direction in traffic. Police tape is marking off the yard.

Minneapolis Police Department officers stand guard outside the Food Not Bombs house. Photo: Jeff Severnz Guntzel

Two men are released from the Food Not Bombs house as reporters, neighbors, and supporters look on. Photo: Jeff Severns Guntzel

At one point a five-year-old boy was escorted from the home by police. In what Guntzel calls a "sweet moment," the boy told police he wanted his markers, and the officer went in and came back out a few minutes later."These are the only colors I could find," the officer said."Did I get the right stuff?"

As MnIndy reported on Thursday, rumors of a weekend sweep of activist organizations have been swirling. In the last 12 hours, at least three other sites, from the RNC Welcoming Committee's "convergence space" in St. Paul to sites in South Minneapolis have been raided.

Officers and agents from the Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, Ramsey County Sheriff's office collaborated on the raid.

Officers and agents from the Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, Ramsey County Sheriff's office and the FBI collaborated on the raid. Photo: Jeff Severns Guntzel

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Paul Schmelzer is a Minneapolis-based writer and edits the website Eyeteeth: A Journal of Incisive Ideas (http://eyeteeth.blogspot.com).

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Oh Boy... [Report this comment] Posted by: grumble-bum on Aug 30, 2008 4:48 PM Current rating: 4 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] So much for the rosy statements of our local officials regarding their desire to handle potential demonstrations with fairness, safety, & model behavior. Guess they had a different "model" in mind... Outside my windows, here on the bluff above downtown, I can hear the constant circling of helicopters. I wonder how this will all play out... [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Oh Boy... Posted by: ellie Messed up [Report this comment] Posted by: Godfather89 on Aug 30, 2008 5:09 PM Current rating: 4 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] We live in a screwed up country. The place is called Food Not Bombs Shelter for a reason. I guess not enough people are going to be at the RNC so they figured why not steal some food from the shelter since their are not enough Funds coming in. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Beijing, Minneapolis, Same Difference [Report this comment] Posted by: gradioc on Aug 30, 2008 7:39 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Preemptive raids on social justice groups, a massive police presence before an event that draws tons of visitors, where have I heard all this before? Oh, that's right, it was the the Chinese cleansing of Beijing. I wonder if they've suspended Joey Cheeks' visa yet. Just a hint to the MPD; you're welcoming a bunch of war criminals to your town. Did you really think a couple of raids on the locals would stop what's about to happen? I suggest checkpoints searching all vehicles with stickers on the back glass at the city limits. "Your papers, please" is the unofficial motto of every police state. I'm just sorry to see that Minnesota, one of the most progressive states in US history, has sold its soul for a big convention. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] If you need any more indication [Report this comment] Posted by: tngreen on Aug 30, 2008 8:16 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] ...that we live in a fascist state, here it is. This is an outrageous violation of the U.S. Constitution. I encourage every Alternet reader to take action and bring this atrocity to the attention of the general public. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] We live in a police state... [Report this comment] Posted by: IntnsRed on Aug 30, 2008 8:28 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Glenn Greenwald at Salon has a blog going on this where he's posted a number of good videos and his own firsthand experiences. The sickest part? Many of the heroes getting arrested are being charged with "conspiracy to start a riot" with a Nat'l Lawyers Guild attorney noting that possession of a brick in your home or yard is enough to violate that law. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Take Action [Report this comment] Posted by: AlexLawyer on Aug 31, 2008 3:40 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] The victims of this unconstitutional police action should immediately file suit for damages, obtain an injunction against repetition, and the citizens of Minneapolis should demand dismissal of the police chief and sheriff. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Stupid Cops [Report this comment] Posted by: GreyFoxThree on Aug 31, 2008 6:22 AM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Welcome to the new Regime, the US has become a POlice State under the Bush Dictatorship and the Sheeple are too dumb to realize it. Sad! RD Whats hiding on your hard drive? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] was waiting for this to happen... [Report this comment] Posted by: ellie on Aug 31, 2008 8:25 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] st. paul is where many UM students live and other liberally minded people, so this mass round up was bound to happen... massive round ups of non believers of the rnc... btw... minneapolis is a separate city and divided by the big miss, remember the bridge that fell a while back??? that was the main connector between the 2 cities... btw... love both the cities, really enjoy visiting there for many reasons... read something this morning about mccrazy wanting to put off the convention because of the hurricane scheduled to hit the big easy tomorrow... hope people there are going to be ok... what a collision of issues... the rnc convention convening at the same time a massive hurricane is posed to hit the gulf and all those r politicians in the same place at the same time, easy pickins' for the media, if the msm has any balls left, if they mess up again... [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] This is a replay of what has been going on in cities all across America for the past 8 years [Report this comment] Posted by: PaulC on Aug 31, 2008 9:19 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Cities under Rethug jurisdiction have been especially hard hit - New York and Miami come to mind. This is what the new "patriotism" is all about - basically the very old "fascism". peace, Paul [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

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» RE: Oh Boy... Posted by: ellie