RNC protest groups lose ground with plans

Protest groups planning demonstrations during the Republican National Convention in September took some lumps Wednesday from Minneapolis and St. Paul governmental bodies.

In St. Paul, the City Council turned down an appeal by the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, which is unhappy with the route and time of day in a police-issued permit for a mass march on Sept. 1.

The protesters will now take their case to U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, probably this week. The Sept. 1-4 convention will be held at the Xcel Energy Center, and protesters say the Sept. 1 march could draw 50,000.

In Minneapolis on Wednesday, the City Council's Public Safety and Regulatory Services Committee voted 3-2 to approve a policy that groups planning demonstrations of more than 50 must register. Protest groups oppose it.

The Minneapolis proposal, prompted by the convention, would become a permanent city policy, but still must win approval from the full City Council, which meets June 6.

In Minneapolis and St. Paul, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota spoke in support of the protest groups.

Charles Samuelson, director of the state ACLU, said that he did not know if his group would fight the Minneapolis Council policy but that it will challenge the St. Paul permit in court.

The police-issued route runs south from the State Capitol on Cedar Street into downtown and then west along W. 7th Street to the triangular parklike space across from the Dorothy Day Center. The time allowed is from noon to 2 p.m.

About a dozen protesters sat in the St. Paul Council chambers, some holding signs that said, "Grant Our Permit Now."

Assistant Police Chief Matt Bostrom said one reason police denied the protesters' march route was to limit the effects of a potential detonation of an explosive near Xcel. He also said there was a need for space for security checkpoints, evacuation routes and access for emergency vehicles.

The protesters' route would interrupt the "safe and orderly movement" of pedestrian and vehicle traffic and require too many police, Bostrom said.

Meredith Aby, a coalition organizer, said the city has bent over backwards for the convention and is throwing up roadblocks to the protesters. She said the police permit is either idealistic or naive because it will cause bottlenecks.

Council Member Dave Thune said he thought the parade's time frame was too short. He was the lone dissenter.

In Minneapolis, a resolution from Council Member Paul Ostrow weathered criticisms by Council Members Cam Gordon and Gary Schiff, plus activists who spoke at a hearing.

Supporting Ostrow were Council Members Diane Hofstede and Don Samuel, plus Ralph Remington, who isn't a committee member.

Under the policy, Ostrow said, there's no fee to register protests and no penalty if they don't register. "This is the most progressive process in the country," he said.

Tina Smith, Mayor R.T. Rybak's chief of staff, said the mayor backs the policy. Assistant Police Chief Sharon Lubinski also supports it.

Registration supporters said they don't want problems if two opposing groups try to rally at the same time and place.

But Schiff said there had been no such problem in the city's history.

Gordon warned that it could allow one group to register prime protest sites, preventing other groups from holding counter-protests.

On Monday, Bloomington passed an ordinance setting permitting rules for protests.