Continuous Police State: Hundreds of Demonstrators Detained at RNC

By Chris Nolan, Firedoglake. Posted September 5, 2008.

Police detained hundreds demonstrators on the final night of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Approximately 250 people were arrested shortly before John McCain took to the stage to accept the presidential nomination. That's in addition to the 422 people who had already been arrested earlier in the week.

Riot police held approximate 300 people, including journalists and observers for nearly an hour on an overpass spanning Interstate 94. Police instructed the crowd to get on the bridge, then announced that everyone on the bridge was under arrest. 

The Joint Information Center offered conflicting accounts about the status of the assembly permits for last night's gatherings. When I called at 4pm, a spokesman told me that the organizers of the March were slated to march from the capitol, through downtown, around the xCel Center and back to the capitol and that the protest was set to go until 7pm. 

See more stories tagged with: police, demonstrators

Lindsay Beyerstein a New York writer blogging at Majikthise.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »