We Must End Attacks on the Right to Peaceful Protest
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/09/we_must_end_attacks_on_the_right_to_peac.php9/2/2008
As national convention time rumbles onward, an old issue rears its ugly head. It's the ugliest, most terrifying monster head that Americans can see during a Presidential election. It wears the contorted face of a denial of rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights -- to peacefully assemble and petition our government -- at a time when we are supposed to be celebrating our access to democratic rights. But as usual most Americans want to bury their own heads in the sand, and not see the face of the monster coming at them.
In preparation for the Republican convention, pre-event waves of protester arrests were already clanking ahead a number of days ago. According to news reports, the city of St. Paul expects as many as 50,000 anti-war protesters to march on the convention. On August 31, eight were arrested; on September 1, nine Veterans for Peace were arrested. Just yesterday respected Democracy Now! journalist Amy Goodman and two DN! producers were arrested for daring to interview protesters. Today all three were released, but they still face possible felony charges, as a result of arrests that Democracy Now! termed "illegal."
