canary in the coal mine: Indy Anarchist Bookstore Raided.

[johnny_red]

from indy media.

excerpt: Over the past weeks, Solidarity Books has experienced a
steadily-increasing amount of police repression. There has been a
continuous stream of undercover police agents in and out of the space, a marked rise in parked marked and unmarked police cars and tech vans on the Boulevard Ave., and allegations that the infoshop was responsible for vandalism at a downtown Starbucks and at St. Mary's Church (which is the parish providing the National Governors Association protests with a convergence space).

All this came to a head Thursday, August 14th, at approximately 9:00 pm. After forming an initial perimeter in the 2 blocks around the collective space, the police proceeded to pull over 2 cars as they tried to leave, claiming minor traffic infractions. The police then moved in on the space itself. Tickets were issued to many of the cars parked outside, as fire marshalls demanded entry to make a safety inspection. These marshalls lacked any documentation of a complaint or report, let alone a warrant. Nevertheless, they not only entered the house, but they were accompanied by police officers who were supposedly protecting the marshalls. These police officers then searched every room in the house, including the personal belongings of the collective members who live on the second floor.

...more at http://www.sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/08/1635276.php

[tlcandie]

1. I do not understand what is going on here?

This is all due to protests? And it is in Seattle or Indianapolis as it lists both cities?

Whatever it is...it doesn't sound right!

[johnny_red]

2. it was an attempt to scare the organizers away from protesting the NGA

from the indianapolis star.

excerpt: Political activists say a search of their bookstore by city and county officials was an attempt to intimidate them into not demonstrating at this weekend's National Governors Association conference.

Members of the Solidarity Books Collective remained defiant, however, saying at a news conference this morning that they would proceed with plans to protest at the Downtown event.

Hugh Durruti said members of the group would conduct a "festival of resistance" -- possibly at Monument Circle and other city streets -- that will include street theater, banners, puppets and even dancing.

He said that despite being denied a protest permit, Solidarity is working with police and "every protest we engage in will be legal."

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

...more at http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/9/065472-6349-092.html

[tlcandie]

3. Well, this is just plain damned scarey!

How in the hell is this legal except that they are using stupid crap to harass people?!?!

I feel like chicken little ... it certainly feels like the sky is falling .. damned damned!

[johnny_red]

4. well you can help

express to the authorities who ordered this assault on free speech what you think:

Indianapolis Police Department Chief of Police- 317 327 3282
Mayor's Office- 317 327 3601
Sheriff (Frank Anderson)- 317 231 8201

these are the people who ordered and carried out this action.

pass the article around, and write a letter to your local paper asking why they havent covered this. tell them you are forced to get your information from the internet instead, and you are tempted to cancel your subscription.

[Judi Lynn]

6. I don't THINK so.

(snip) They were acting on a tip to IPD about possible fire code violations. (snip)

I'm almost certain there was never a hint of a tip off about fire code violations. This sounds exactly like the very kind of thing you'd expect to be find in some violent dictatorship in Latin America, like America's darling Pinochet in Chile, among many.

I really don't think the political climate would have allowed this intimidation and threat during the Presidencies of Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, or John Kennedy, or Lyndon B. Johnson.

[rogerashton]

8. If anything,

it was worse during the "liberal" Kennedy-Johnson administration. Viet-Nam time, remember?

That was when Army Intelligence was interested in me -- Fabian that I am!

[newyawker99]

19. johnny_red

Per DU copyright rules
please post only 4
paragraphs from the
news source.

Thank you.


NYer99
DU Moderator

[veganwitch]

5. guess its time..

to visit my local anarchist bookstore.

[0007]

7. This is a John Ashcroft

saliva test for sure. Good post Johnny, by the way are you from Colorado?

[johnny_red]

15. im from planet earth

just back from ireland, bumming around PA.

[0007]

16. Thanks

I have a cousin named Johnny Redd. Did think he'd use his name on a site where the spooks are monitoring the action.

[johnny_red]

17. :-)

i like to play the "hey agents, look at me!" game. i figure i am diverting some resources that could be spent harassing people who are actually trying to do some good.

[xchrom]

9. what country is this?

[enki23]

10. same country it's always been

looking back for good-old-days of freedom in this country is futile revisionism. they never existed. what's important is that we want them to exist *now*. it's not about what the founding fathers did, or any other heroes of the past, it's what *we* can do with this nation that counts.

[bemildred]

11. Yep.

Nothing new here.
If anything, it is an improvement that no one got
the shit beaten out of them.
It has always been a function of the police in this
country to keep citizens that want to "abuse their
free speech rights" in line.

[sujan]

12. ditto

[Khephra]

13. There should be several threads in the GD archives on this

As us Indiana people put up a big stink about this when it happened.

[johnny_red]

14. .

sorry bout the repost kheph... i just discovered this article, so i thought id pass it along to you good folks.

[Khephra]

18. Oh no...that's not why I said that

I just didn't want you all thinking that Indiana DUers didn't care about this story.