mn convention arrests 091908
On the homepage
Sunday's paper
Out There
View Finder
Access Vikings
Reporters arrested at GOP convention: No charges
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on DiggRelated Content
More from Politically Connected
MINNEAPOLIS - Charges will be dropped against journalists who were arrested during the Republican National Convention protests and cited with unlawful assembly.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said Friday that the city attorney's office recommended against prosecuting reporters for the misdemeanor charge.
"This decision reflects the values we have in St. Paul to protect and promote our First Amendment rights to freedom of the press," Coleman said in a prepared statement.
He added, "At the scene, the police did their duty in protecting public safety. In this decision, we are serving the public's interest to maintain the integrity of our democracy, system of justice and freedom of the press."
He said the city doesn't know yet how many cases the decision will affect, and he said the city will use a broad definition of journalists caught up in mass arrests.
City Attorney John Choi said it would take a while for his office to review each case, do the paperwork and notify everyone involved.
More than 800 people were arrested in St. Paul and Minneapolis during the convention. Journalists among them included Associated Press reporters Amy Forliti and Jon Krawczynski.
City spokesman James Lockwood said charges against them will be dropped.
Dave Tomlin, associate general counsel for the AP, said, "It's always good to learn that a bogus charge against you has been dropped. We're still waiting for police to account for the unprovoked smackdowns of two of our photographers."
The AP has sent the Police Department a letter asking for an accounting of police treatment of photographers Matt Rourke and Evan Vucci while they were covering violent protests during the convention.
Amy Goodman, host of the syndicated radio and television program Democracy Now!, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing the legal process during the protests. Two producers of the show were also arrested.
Choi said the city would also drop charges against the three of them.
Mike Buckso, executive officer of the Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union, said the dropped charges were welcome — but he said elected officials in St. Paul and Ramsey County must examine what happened in order to prevent "the needless detention and harassment of journalists" in the future.
___
Recent Politically Connected stories
Rubio takes ideas from Obama, uses them in his own ad against Gov. Crist in Fla. Senate race - September 19, 2008
Rubio takes ideas from Obama, uses them in his own ad against Gov. Crist in Fla. Senate race - Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, who criticizes Gov. Charlie Crist for being a fan of President Barack Obama's stimulus package, is himself a fan of one of Obama's campaign ads. More
The Whistleblower blog has moved
The Star Tribune is still blowing the whistle, but our look and location have changed. Click here to get to the new blog. If you want the actual URL, it’s www.startribune.com/blogs/whistleblower.html. Our blog posts will now be easier to search on the web site, but you’ll need to register to post a comment. In the [...]
Recent posts
 Open House ShowcaseThousands of homes open this weekend!View all open houses >> View all homes for sale >> |
Comment on this story | Read all 29 comments | Hide reader comments