August 31, 2008
(Noted: Veterans for Peace and CODEPINK organized this march. Dan Pearson and Josh Brollier, both Witness Against War participants, and Steve Clemens, a who traveled to Iraq in 2002 with Voices in the Wilderness, were arrested in this act of nonviolent civil disobedience)
Nine Protesters Entering Restricted Area Arrested Sunday for Trespassing
A group of anti-war protesters went underneath a security barrier near the Xcel Center as an act of civil disobedience. Nine were arrested for trespassing.
Police in riot gear arrested nine people protesting at the Xcel Center Sunday, after they entered a restricted area secured by a fence. The protesters marched from the capitol to the Xcel Center, protesting the war in Iraq and the treatment of veterans coming home.
Doug Holtz, a St. Paul police commander, said that nine people were arrested for trespassing after they passed a police roadblock into a restricted area. Eight of the nine have since been released.
They said they had planned ahead of time to cross the fence in an act of civil disobedience, and had announced their intent before the march. About 250 people watched the march.
“We are going to march into the arms of police. Whatever they are going to do is all right with us,” organizer David Harris said to the marchers before they entered the restricted zone. Harris was one of those arrested. He says the march wasn’t aimed towards Republicans, but “warmakers.”
The march was otherwise peaceful on its way from the state Capitol, organized by Veterans for Peace and peace group CodePink. As the march began, Harris read the names of soldiers and civilians killed in Iraq.
According to the Associated Press, among those arrested were: 72-year-old Jeanne Hynes, 78-year-old Betty McKenzie, 57-year-old Steve Clemens, David Harris, Duncan Hardee, and others not identified.
By 5 p.m. Sunday, eight of the nine arrested had been cited and released. The last, Duncan Hardee, is still in custody because he had no identification and Ramsey County authorities had to verify it.
The arrested can legally be held for 36 hours, not including the weekend or Labor Day holiday.
Friday night and Saturday morning, six members of the anarchist group the RNC Welcoming Committee were arrested after authorities found knives, axes, bomb-making materials and anti-war literature. It doesn’t appear that those six people arrested will be released in time to take part in the large protest planned for Monday, and are not required by law to be released until noon Wednesday.
