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Why We Were Falsely Arrested
By Amy Goodman
04/09/08 "TruthDig" -- - ST. PAUL, Minn. - Government crackdowns
on journalists are a true threat to democracy. As the Republican
National Convention meets in St. Paul, Minn., this week, police
are systematically targeting journalists. I was arrested with my
two colleagues, "Democracy Now!" producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous
and Nicole Salazar, while reporting on the first day of the RNC.
I have been wrongly charged with a misdemeanor. My co-workers,
who were simply reporting, may be charged with felony riot.
The Democratic and Republican national conventions have become
very expensive and protracted acts of political theater,
essentially four-day-long advertisements for the major
presidential candidates. Outside the fences, they have become
major gatherings for grass-roots movements - for people to come,
amidst the banners, bunting, flags and confetti, to express the
rights enumerated in the Constitution's First Amendment:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for
a redress of grievances."
Behind all the patriotic hyperbole that accompanies the
conventions, and the thousands of journalists and media workers
who arrive to cover the staged events, there are serious
violations of the basic right of freedom of the press. Here on
the streets of St. Paul, the press is free to report on the
official proceedings of the RNC, but not to report on the police
violence and mass arrests directed at those who have come to
petition their government, to protest.
It was Labor Day, and there was an anti-war march, with a huge
turnout, with local families, students, veterans and people from
around the country gathered to oppose the war. The protesters
greatly outnumbered the Republican delegates.
There was a positive, festive feeling, coupled with a growing
anxiety about the course that Hurricane Gustav was taking, and
whether New Orleans would be devastated anew. Later in the day,
there was a splinter march. The police-clad in full body armor,
with helmets, face shields, batons and canisters of pepper
spray-charged. They forced marchers, onlookers and working
journalists into a nearby parking lot, then surrounded the
people and began handcuffing them.
Nicole was videotaping. Her tape of her own violent arrest is
chilling. Police in riot gear charged her, yelling, "Get down on
your face." You hear her voice, clearly and repeatedly
announcing "Press! Press! Where are we supposed to go?" She was
trapped between parked cars. The camera drops to the pavement
amidst Nicole's screams of pain. Her face was smashed into the
pavement, and she was bleeding from the nose, with the heavy
officer with a boot or knee on her back. Another officer was
pulling on her leg. Sharif was thrown up against the wall and
kicked in the chest, and he was bleeding from his arm.
I was at the Xcel Center on the convention floor, interviewing
delegates. I had just made it to the Minnesota delegation when I
got a call on my cell phone with news that Sharif and Nicole
were being bloody arrested, in every sense. Filmmaker Rick
Rowley of Big Noise Films and I raced on foot to the scene. Out
of breath, we arrived at the parking lot. I went up to the line
of riot police and asked to speak to a commanding officer,
saying that they had arrested accredited journalists.
Within seconds, they grabbed me, pulled me behind the police
line and forcibly twisted my arms behind my back and handcuffed
me, the rigid plastic cuffs digging into my wrists. I saw Sharif,
his arm bloody, his credentials hanging from his neck. I
repeated we were accredited journalists, whereupon a Secret
Service agent came over and ripped my convention credential from
my neck. I was taken to the St. Paul police garage where cages
were set up for protesters. I was charged with obstruction of a
peace officer. Nicole and Sharif were taken to jail, facing riot
charges.
The attack on and arrest of me and the "Democracy Now!"
producers was not an isolated event. A video group called
I-Witness Video was raided two days earlier. Another video
documentary group, the Glass Bead Collective, was detained, with
its computers and video cameras confiscated. On Wednesday,
I-Witness Video was again raided, forced out of its office
location. When I asked St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington how
reporters are to operate in this atmosphere, he suggested, "By
embedding reporters in our mobile field force."
On Monday night, hours after we were arrested, after much public
outcry, Nicole, Sharif and I were released. That was our Labor
Day. It's all in a day's work.
Amy Goodman is the host of "Democracy Now!," a daily
international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 700
stations in North America.
© 2008 Amy Goodman
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