Report Back from Minneapolis Student Anti-War Walkout

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Hi all,

So, the rain kept a lot of protestors away, plus some deception that went on in the highschools. Apparently there was an article in the Star-Tribune today talking about how our concert we were planning was cancelled. And that was true, because after being guaranteed the space for the concert, the cops called MCTC, the community college where it was going to be, and suddenly a bunch of "processing" problems came up, and MCTC cancelled the concert.

So, it rained today, and it rained pretty hard at points. I am NOT good at estimating crowd sizes, but there were no more than a thousand students there, which is still great, but not quite what we were expecting. We felt we could have had 4,000 with the way we mobilized. Because of the concert being cancelled, and the rain, , and the lesser numbers we decided only to march around the U of Minnesota campus to the military recruiting station, instead of taking downtown Minneapolis.

Now, when we got the recruitment station, some kids had some red paint, and painted the recruitment station red (blood), and made peace signs. We all cheered. The cops then ran into the crowd, tried to run their horseback mounted police into the crowd, but the horses were too scared to go. They also had dogs there, which I didn't see, but they had the truck. In addition, a bunch of people said they saw some national guard people there. I can't confirm that though.

So, the police ran into the crowd. It was pretty obvious who painted the building, they were a black bloc, as some of you may know that protest tactic. The kids who painted the building had RED PAINT ON THEIR HANDS. I was a little nervous, because although I wasn't part of the black bloc, I could easily be mistaken for one of them the way I was dressed. I stand in solidarity with them, but it's just too late in the semester to be arrested, I have to go home and work to make money in just a couple weeks, and can't be tied down with legal stuff halfway across the country.

Anyway, the police ignored the kids with red paint on their hands, and just started grabbing random people out of the crowd and taking them away. I'm not sure how many,at least 5-10 though. In fact, a police officer grabbed me by the arm and started pulling, but I managed to get out of it in all the confusion and chaos that they created.

Everybody sat down on the street, and we were chanting, and the police were scared shitless, you could see it in their eyes. We were a strong rowdy bunch of protesters not looking for a problem, but just had one thrusted upon us. After a while, we marched the few blocks back towards campus, and listened to a speech by one of the organizers. Apparently, when the girls that were arrested asked the officer for their badge number, the officers refused to give it to them. Which, of course, is illegal.

I just got back and am pretty beat. If there are any specific questions about the rally, feel free to ask, and I will be sure to answer them.

[DanCa]

1. I am so proud of you.

So many people complain about things but very few have the courage to do anything about it. :hug:
I am waitting for a day when we have a national boycott day because of the war, or against the theocrats who want to put their narrow view of theocracy into our constitution.
:toast: :beer: enjoy the rest of your weekend you deserve it.

[0007]

2. Thank you very much for the report and you're brave actions. Any photos?

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3. sorry, no

I had my camera, but it was raining pretty hard, and didn't want my camera to be ruined. Then when the police started busting shit up, everything happened so quickly I didn't even think of the camera.

[0007]

6. That's understandable!

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11. here are some PICTURES for you

found these online. they definitely focus on the more chaotic times of the protest, but here you go.

http://www.pbase.com/kayakbiker/yawr

[Divernan]

4. "the girls that were arrested" did the big bwave cops just arrest women?

Thanks for being a brave citizen - glad you weren't arrested. In you planning for the demo, did you have an atty. ready to represent anyone arrested?

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8. yeah, they just went after the women

they way i interpret it is this:

the black bloc painted the office red. that's not a big deal to me, but i see that it is the cop's job to respond to that. it was obvious who the students who painted the office were, they had red paint all over themselves. but they were a black bloc, there were a bunch of them, they were organized, and they were ready to get violent if the police attacked them. so instead, the police basically found a few highschool girls, and dragged them away. from what i know, they were released a little later. there may still be one in custody.

there were legal observers there from the NLG.

honestly, we're not really used to this type of police repression and the school repression that went one throughout all stages of planning. and we will probably be better prepared next time.

[CatholicEdHead]

5. Strib Article infers all involved were "vandals"

http://www.startribune.com/1592/story/398396.html

"Three people were apprehended this afternoon by police after pouring paint on an Army recruiting station near the University of Minnesota.

The incident near the intersection of Oak Street and Washington Avenue came while a few hundred students left classes today and participated in an antiwar demonstration on a rainy spring day.

The demonstrators, mostly students, had attended an antiwar walkout rally at the University of Minnesota today for about an hour. They planned to march around campus, go to a military recruitment site on campus and on to an undisclosed location.

But the Twin-Cities high school and college students who planned to participate in the metrowide walkout today would no longer get the show they were expecting."

[CatholicEdHead]

7. KSTP TV Article is much better

http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S15864.html?cat=1

"MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A steady rain didn't keep a few hundred metropolitan area high school and college students from walking out of class to protest the war in Iraq today.

The students rallied at the University of Minnesota, listening to speakers and huddling under a large tent to stay dry. The group also marched around campus and planned a stop at the school's military recruitment station.

Two protesters wore President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney masks and dressed in orange prison garb. They held a sign saying, "Try all war criminals."

The rain forced organizers to jettison an idea to march to Minneapolis Community and Technical College. They planned to hold a peace concert there, but school officials denied the application because they feared that the group would be too large for the Free Speech Plaza."

KSTP is owned by Hubbard Broadcsting a local owner who usually sides with Repbulicans, the rest of the Twin Cities TV stations are owned by national corporations.

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9. bumpity bumpity bump

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10. PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release to the Press:

Defying Rain and Repression,
Student Walkout Rally Goes Forward

Four Youth Wrongly Arrested
Press contacts:


At 10:30 AM thousands of students across the Twin Cities walked out of
class to protest the occupation of Iraq and military recruitment in
schools, demanding money for education and social needs, not war. Up
to 900 students rallied at the University of Minnesota at Northrop
Plaza and listened to speeches from youth antiwar organizers. Chanting
"No Justice, No Peace, U.S. Out of the Middle East," and "Exxon,
Mobile, Chevron, Shell, Take your War and Go to Hell," students
maintained a lively protest in the pouring rain.

Students took the streets to march to a military recruitment station,
where one youth threw a can of red paint against the windows of the
recruitment station to symbolize the innocent blood spilled in Iraq.
The organizations that called the protest did not plan the throwing of
the paint.

When several trained peace marshals moved in to calm the situation,
leading the crowd in chanting "peaceful protest," University of
Minnesota Police officers rushed into the crowd and violently grabbed
and arrested three of them.

Janae Marshall, post secondary MCTC student from South High, and also
a peace marshal, explained the circumstances of her arrest: "The
officer slammed my face against the wall and when I asked him for his
name and badge number he told me to 'shut the fuck up and stop
resisting'." Later Janae's step-father, who was at the protest, got
found out the officer's badge number was 2030.

Ella Comeau, also a MCTC/South High student and a peace marshal, was
urging people to back away from the recruitment station when she was
arrested. "We were not the ones who threw the paint. We were
wrongfully arrested," explained Ella. Officer 2001 arrested Ella.

"We will not let this incident deflect from the main message of our
protest. We walked out for peace, justice, and human rights,"
explained Ella. "Paint thrown on a window does not compare to the
bloodshed and brutality of this hypocritical war in Iraq." Janae
added, "The paint on the recruiters window was washed off within a
couple hours, but the blood of innocents in Iraq can't be washed
away."

While the first three students to be arrested were released within 30
minutes, another protester, 21 year old Daniel Falla was arrested at
least 30 minutes after the incident at the recruiters' station, blocks
away at the end rally behind Coffman student union. He is being
accused of felony probable cause damage to property. He is being held
until at least Monday, when his bail may be set.

Chris Allison is coordinating Falla's legal defense team and he can be
reached at 612-718-9804. "We are very concerned that the legal system
will try to make an example out of Daniel," explained Chris. "Since
the passage of the Patriot Act there has been a huge rise in severe
and unjustified punishment for non-violent civil disobedience."
Daniels legal defense team will be sending out a separate press
release and is requesting donations for Daniel's defense.

The Twin Cities Student Antiwar Walkout today was organized by Youth
Against War and Racism, the Anti-War Organizing League, and Socialist
Alternative.