Rage roundup was tame, police say

Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

People sat in front of police on 7th St. after a Rage Against the Machine concert in Minneapolis late Wednesday night.

Police arrested 102 people early this morning after the Rage Against the Machine concert at the Target Center.

By ANTHONY LONETREE, Star Tribune

Last update: September 4, 2008 - 2:31 PM

As mass arrests go, an early morning round-up of Rage Against the Machine concert-goers and others in downtown Minneapolis today was a peaceful, "uneventful event," police Capt. Amelia Huffman said this morning.

"I know of no significant force that was used at all," she said of the arrests of the 102 people -- all but two of whom were cited at the Hennepin County jail and released.

Police Chief Tim Dolan, speaking at a daily Republican National Convention news briefing today, said that the event had the makings of "a perfect storm," with 13,000 fans of the hard-rocking, politically-charged band exiting the Target Center about 10:40 p.m. Wednesday into a busy downtown with national delegates nearby, he said.

Some fans were put off by the sight of officers in riot gear, but there were no immediate troubles. Rage frontman Zach de la Rocha had told the crowd at the close of the show: "When we leave here, let's prove to [police] we've got more discipline than they do."

Still, there were some tensions as result of the heavy police presence.

Concert-goer Ian McDonnell, of St. Cloud, surveying the lines of geared-up police, said: "All we wanted to do is see a band and leave peacefully. This is absolutely overkill."

A couple times, police faced lines of fans -- some yelling profanities and others making peace signs. But officers slowly backed off, bringing cheers from the crowds.

As midnight approached, and clusters of people continued to clog 1st Avenue N. in the areas of 6th and 7th Streets N., an officer with a bullhorn warned that if the street were not cleared soon, a chemical irritant might be used to get people moving.

The chief himself also issued a warning, Huffman said.

Many people then moved onto sidewalk areas, and the avenue soon opened to traffic. But some scuffles followed, and by 12:30 a.m., the 102 people had been arrested on 2nd Avenue S. and S. 7th Street, police said.

Dolan said today that the bottom line for the vast majority of people detained was: "They wanted to be arrested," he said, and there were no major complaints about it.

"[They] just sat down in the street," Huffman said.

All but two of the people arrested were tagged for misdemeanor unlawful assembly.

Those still in custody faced likely gross misdemeanor charges. Huffman said one suspect had gotten "unruly" with an officer, and was expected to be charged with assault.

The officer was not injured, she said.

Dolan and Huffman said that no tear gas was used during the incident, but that some officers may have sprayed chemical irritants during individual confrontations.

On Wednesday, St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington cited the Rage Against the Machine concert as the only possible source of trouble during the day's RNC-related events.

As of today, about 440 people have been arrested during convention-related activities, officials say, with this morning's arrests being included in that mix.

Staff Writers Tim Harlow, Terry Collins and Abby Simons contributed to this report.

Anthony Lonetree • 651-298-1545

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