Police continue repressive tactics in Denver

Police continue repressive tactics in Denver
By Tom Eley
28 August 2008

In the two days since Denver police—acting at the direction of U.S.
Secret Service—attacked and jailed nearly 100 peaceful protesters
outside the Democratic National Convention, the virtual militarization
of Denver has continued. In total, over 130 protesters have now been
imprisoned.

As late as Tuesday afternoon, fifteen hours after the arrests, about
60 protesters were still being held at a makeshift detention center,
sarcastically called “Gitmo on the Platte” by protesters, as well as
in a downtown city jail. By Wednesday most of those detained had been
released after posting a $500 bond. The protesters were processed in
specially-created kangaroo courts dubbed “DNC Courts.”

The WSWS spoke with Brian Vincente, a lawyer for the People’s Law
Project, which is representing many of the protesters. Vincente said
that lawyers were denied access to prisoners at the detention center.
Then city officials attempted to process many of those arrested in the
middle of the night.

Vincente said that the city has been preparing the special court
system for over one year, but “instead of creating something
streamlined and smooth, they came up with this night court to slam
people through.” Vincente has represented people mistakenly arrested
by police, including school teachers who were on their way to work.

Police arrests and provocations continue. On Wednesday afternoon, the
coordinating center for the protest group Unconventional Denver was
raided and equipment used to make banners was seized. Riot police
pulled up in an armored personnel carrier, entered the building and
arrested two.

On Tuesday, police struck a Code Pink antiwar protester, Alicia
Forest, in the face with a baton.

A Kansas pastor and religious extremist, Ruben Israel, and a small
group of supporters had begun a confrontation with anti-war
protesters, taunting them. A Recreate ’68 organizer, Carlo Garcia,
approached police to request that they remove the pastor, as Recreate
’68 had a permit to use the public park where the confrontation took
place, and Israel’s organization, Bible Believers, did not. Instead,
police arrested Garcia.

In a scene captured on video and posted on YouTube, Forest can be seen
approaching the police to ask for an explanation. The officer responds
by striking her with his truncheon and saying “back it up, bitch.”
Moments later, as she is being interviewed, Forest is grabbed suddenly
by her arm and apprehended by several police. (See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfISlq1gzK8)

Right wing counter-demonstrators, far fewer in number, have targeted
and harassed the anti-war protesters. The right wing protesters have
faced less repression from the police, and in some cases, such as the
police assault on Forest, have received de facto police protection.

However, thirteen anti-abortion zealots of Operation Rescue, including
its founder Randall Terry, were arrested on Monday for blocking a
security gate at the Pepsi Center—though it is difficult to imagine
that the anti-war protesters would have been allowed to get so close.
Elsewhere, an anti-immigrant rally of the fascistic Minutemen
organization drew only about a dozen participants. The small gathering
was addressed by the ultra-reactionary politicians Tom Tancredo, Bob
Barr and Alan Keyes.

As of today, no major Democratic figure has called for a lessening of
the level of police repression in Denver, or for the release of those
protesters who are still imprisoned. One delegate to the convention,
Syracuse Democrat Alfonso Davis, confessed to being surprised by the
magnitude of the police presence. “This is not my first Democrat
National Convention,” he said, but “I’ve never seen this type of law
enforcement presence. This is, I would say, a little intrusive.”

Police preparations are underway in St. Paul and Minneapolis for next
week’s Republican National Convention, which promises to draw more
protesters. According to the National Lawyers Guild, three
videographers from New York City had their equipment confiscated by
members of the Minneapolis Police Department on Tuesday morning. The
videographers had planned to record police interaction with protesters
during the RNC. Meanwhile, the Associated Press has reported that a
makeshift prison encampment has been created out of a parking area in
a police complex in St. Paul.
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