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Protesters march now for convention permit later
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Chanting "we want permits," 51 antiwar protesters -- and one Siberian husky -- marched in 9-degree temperatures to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Wednesday.
They were marching as part of a legal maneuver that they hope will force St. Paul police to issue a permit for a mass antiwar march on the Republican National Convention in September.
And they expect to be back, marching on March 1, May 1, July 1 and Sept. 1. That's all part of the legal strategy, too.
"I'm glad to be with these patriots," said one of the demonstrators, the Rev. John Brandes from St. Boniface Catholic Church in Minneapolis. "They will save our country."
Protesters fear that if they let the city wait until the last minute before the convention to issue a permit, it will be too late to appeal to federal court if they feel the route set by the city is unsatisfactory or too far from Xcel Energy Center, where the convention will be held.
At the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, protesters were given an out-of-the-way free speech area to demonstrate, but the area's designation was made too late to challenge it in federal court.
St. Paul police told protesters last year that under city ordinance permits cannot be granted more than six months in advance, but the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota said it found a loophole. The ordinance requires the city to grant a permit now if the protest at the convention would be part of a recurring protest, the ACLU said.
So late Wednesday morning, the demonstrators marched from the State Capitol to the Xcel and back.
Demonstration logistics
Among the demonstrators was Kevin Smith, 51, of Minnetonka, who walked with his Siberian husky, Kyle.
Jess Sundin, of the Anti-War Committee, said her group met with city officials last month, but they did not say they'd issue a permit to protest even six months in advance. "They wouldn't promise or commit to anything," she said.
Tom Walsh, a St. Paul police spokesman, said police would have no comment on the protesters' contention that they are entitled to a permit because of recurring demonstrations.
Protesters said they did receive a permit, but only for Wednesday's march.
Matt Bostrom, assistant St. Paul police chief, told a member of a local antiwar coalition in a letter in November that he could not grant or deny permits for the recurring marches. He said that when applicants gave an estimate for each march between now and September, they wrote "3-100,000" and that he needed a "good faith" estimate.
As for a Sept. 1 demonstration, Bostrom said federal and city "planning is only in its early stages" for what will require "special precautions and safety measures" so it is too early to act on a permit.
Randy Furst • 612-673-7382
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