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'Massive' war protest could land at GOP convention's doorstep
Groups say the march could draw at least 50,000 to St. Paul, but police say they won't comment because permits can't yet be issued.
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Twin Cities antiwar leaders on Thursday announced the route for a march that they said will be a "massive demonstration" at next year's Republican National Convention in St. Paul.
Whether St. Paul police and the Secret Service will permit such a route remains to be seen.
"Permits are not granted until about six months before the event," said Tom Walsh, a St. Paul police spokesman. "So they can make any plan they choose, but we have no comment on it."
The Secret Service is expected to establish a perimeter around the convention, which will be held at the Xcel Energy Center, so it is unclear how close protesters will be allowed. At previous conventions, delays in issuing permits have sparked lawsuits. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota has said it is exploring that possibility here.
Protest groups say the march will occur on Sept. 1, 2008, which will be Labor Day and the first day of the convention. It would begin with a rally at the State Capitol, proceed down Kellogg Boulevard, circle Xcel Center and return to the Capitol.
Jess Sundin, of the Anti-War Committee, and Marie Braun, of Women Against Military Madness and the Twin Cities Peace Campaign, predicted the march would draw at least 50,000 participants and perhaps more than 100,000. They said protesters will come from across the country.
An antiwar march at the GOP convention in New York City in 2004 drew between 120,000 and a half-million people, according to various estimates, although a common figure was 400,000. The demonstration was peaceful, but there were about 200 arrests, including those of a handful of people who blocked an intersection.
Former Minneapolis Police Chief Tony Bouza, who has testified on behalf of protesters in past lawsuits on issues of police abuse, said courts have consistently held that protests groups have to be close enough to be heard and seen, but not so close that they will endanger the organization they are protesting.
Still, he predicted that protesters would be barred from circling Xcel Center.
"I wouldn't allow that myself," Bouza said. "It would make [the Republicans] captives. This is not Fort Apache."
Randy Furst • 612-673-7382 • rfurst@startribune.com
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