Amy Goodman Violently Arrested Today at RNC
Story from Democracy Now site:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 1, 2008
Contact:
Dennis Moynihan
Mike BurkeST. PAUL, MN--Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman was unlawfully arrested in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota at approximately 5 p.m. local time. Police violently manhandled Goodman, yanking her arm, as they arrested her. Video of her arrest can be seen here.
Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now! producers who were being unlawfuly detained. They are Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman's crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.
Ramsey County Sherrif Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul.
Democracy Now! is calling on all journalists and concerned citizens to call the office of Mayor Chris Coleman and the Ramsey County Jail and demand the immediate release of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar. These calls can be directed to: Chris Rider from Mayor Coleman's office at 651-266-8535 and the Ramsey County Jail at 651-266-9350 (press extension 0).
Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns this action by Twin Cities law enforcement as a clear violation of the freedom of the press and the First Amenmdent rights of these journalists.
During the demonstration in which they were arrested law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force. Several dozen others were also arrested during this action.
Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in the United States. She has received journalism's top honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar is a transparent attempt to intimidate journalists from the nation's leading independent news outlet.
Democracy Now! is a nationally-syndicated public TV and radio program that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe.
THIS IS FROM ALLISON KILKENNY'S
UPDATE:
Goodman was arrested along with Democracy Now producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. As of 9:15 PM EST, the Ramsey County jail has charged Goodman with "conspiracy to riot" and released her, but is still detaining Kouddous and Salazar. No charges have been pressed against them.
Laurie, the phone operator at the County Jail says she "hopes charges will be presented within the hour." As of right now, Kouddous and Salazar are being held without charges.9:50 PM EST: Kouddous and Salazar are still being held without charges. Laurie, the operator, now expects a few hours to expire before they are officially charged with a crime. She claims the slow process is due to an unusually high number of arrests coupled with many detainees using pseudonyms. More than 100 people were arrested along with Goodman and her producers.
Early reports indicate Kouddous and Salazar were originally arrested on suspicion of rioting .
11:00PM EST: The Ramsey County Jail redirected me to something called the "Joint Information Center." Under a little pressure, the operator finally revealed his name (Sgt. William Palmer,) though he asked for my name (had me spell it twice) and asked for my phone number in exchange. Friendly stuff.
Palmer informed me that Kouddous and Salazar will be held in jail overnight until they are taken to court tomorrow. No one knows what they are being charged with, but Palmer attributes their arrest to "suspicious behavior."
Kouddous and Salazar are still being held without any formal charges.
11:33PM: Kouddous and Salazar have been released. Sgt. William Palmer called me back and said they have been released with "Pending complaints," which essentially means they were not charged while in custody, but may yet be charged with some felony at a later date.
12:00AM: Democracy Now! has posted this update:
Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar Released After Illegal Arrest at RNC
Goodman Charged with Obstruction; Felony Riot Charges Pending Against Kouddous and Salazar
ST. PAUL--Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar have all been released from police custody in St. Paul following their illegal arrest by Minneapolis Police on Monday afternoon.
All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back. Salazar's violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was slammed to the ground while yelling, "I'm Press! Press!," resulted in her nose bleeding, as well as causing facial pain. Goodman's arm was violently yanked by police as she was arrested.
On Tuesday, Democracy Now! will broadcast video of these arrests, as well as the broader police action. These will also be available on: www.democracynow.org
Goodman was arrested while questioning police about the unlawful detention of Kouddous and Salazar who were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman's crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were arrested on suspicion of rioting, a felony. While the three have been released, they all still face charges stemming from their unlawful arrest. Kouddous and Salazar face pending charges of suspicion of felony riot, while Goodman has been officially charged with obstruction of a legal process and interference with a "peace officer."
Democracy Now! forcefully rejects all of these charges as false and an attempt at intimidation of these journalists. We demand that the charges be immediately and completely dropped.
Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns this action by Twin Cities' law enforcement as a clear violation of the freedom of the press and the First Amendment rights of these journalists.
During the demonstration in which the Democracy Now! team was arrested, law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force against protesters and journalists. Several dozen demonstrators were also arrested during this action, including a photographer for the Associated Press.
Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in the United States. She has received journalism's top honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and the subsequent criminal charges and threat of charges are a transparent attempt to intimidate journalists.
Democracy Now! is a nationally-syndicated public TV and radio program that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe.
Mayor Chris Coleman can be contacted at: 651-266-8510 or e-mailed at: https://mn-stpaul.civicplus.com/forms.asp?FID=69
Governor Tim Pawlenty can be reached at: (651) 296-3391 or e-mailed at tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us
Ramsey County Jail: 651-266-9350
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What I saw. the police telling her to move on. She refusing. End of story.
End of story?
Wait til it's your turn, pilgrim, then get back to me.
Wrongo ding dong- its about the right to a free press in the US.
he doesn't understand about press rights, he's GOP, they hate free speech
Why were the Faux newsies covering the same event not arrested?
Probably because the other news people didn't defy the police like Goodman did.
You mean to say that the Fauxies would have spilled the RNC water they were carrying?
This was obviously a publicity stunt; AND IT WORKED! It even fooled the "astute" readers on this site!
If you had ever watched Amy Goodman you would realize that publicity stunts are not her style. Truth is, which is probably a factor in this.
That's why these guys don't get it. They can't recognize the truth. Bush's war on truth IS a success. Everything else he's done is utter failure.
America is the new China. Intimidation is the new sport of the state to keep the citizens from demonstrating against the forces of the government. The only way to beat them at their own game is for overwhelming strength against them. They can't arrest 1 million people, and it would send a very loud message. Power to the people.
blackmouth,
I fear your exactly right. This is what any Republican administration has in store for Americans. Anyone even thinking of voting Republican, PLEASE WAKE UP!
Really. It wouldn't matter if there was a democratic congress. Bush has proven that the executive is above the law. Mac will do A LOT worse too. But as far as the repubes are concerned, its OK. The only ones to get arrested will be the ones that aren't conformists. Orwell, you warned us and too many turned a blind eye to that warning. God help us all.
I agree. America is the new China, only that it is the Corporate Moguls who are running the show now.
THE GOP is there to get her. Amy carries more respect than any journalist I ever seen in the MSM. However, the GOP, as a fascist machine, wants her out of the convention. Now we realized what kind a society we are living in. We are a nation of pathetic people. Today it was her, tomorrow any one of us.
You can say illegal as often as Barack says "uh' but that deos not make arresting her and the other two illegal... Violent?? When a police officer tells you something repeatedly and you obstruct and force and agenda , and you have a rcord of agitaiton you will be legally detained.
Huh? You think these cops had any idea of her record?
And Obama speaks FAR better than Bush, McCain, Cheney or any of your neo-con buds ever did.
rwe = right wing egit?
What country do we live in........
Amy is such a threat....
God Bless Her
Anarchists.
Here's a rule of thumb you junior archists might want to consider. if a cop says move or don't move that is not an illegal order. You should follow their directions. If you resist you may be arrested. If you continue to resist you may get pepper spray in those baby blues. Don't like it? then don't hang our with trouble makers.
Here's a rule of thumb--"Peace officers. To protect and SERVE." There's a thing in the constitution called "the right to assemble." That law was there long before cops became thugs of state.
This is why Amy does the fine reporting she does to stop this crap in america..I agree the cops didnt do this in denver, their were posers in the crowd causing trouble to cause this..This is what cons do.
This is sad and infuriating, but really, is anyone surprised that this would happen at the site of the RNC in 2008? It'll get worse before it gets better.
I know it has slipped into society's discourse over the years with the steady diet of cop TV shows, but take it from a career criminal defense lawyer, there is NO SUCH THING as suspicion as a basis for arrest. There is attempt to do a crime, but when you hear the charge is 'suspicion', it already is illegal. Happy with what the cops have become in America? It is because we have allowed these thugs to get away with it. I blame the spineless judges who often turn a blind eye to these excesses.
Dave McGlaughli
you better break out your football gear if you're going to protest anything in this country. It's becoming a police state more and more.
Miss Goodman is very lucky that they didn't crack her head for her.
Crowd situations can be very dangerous. When the police instruct you to stay behind a line or to leave the area, and you willfully disobey, you are contributing to a potentially dangerous mob situation.
In the heat of a demonstration or crowd scene, this is NOT the time to question the motives of the police, or interfere with an arrest in progress. They are there to maintain order so as to prevent the kinds of disasters that can happen in a crowd situation. To maintain a safe crowd situation, you should first follow instructions, and sort out possible police misconduct and false arrests later. The police are just there to keep order.
A more aggressive police force would have kicked her ass and busted her up instead of arresting her. She should be grateful for the professionalism and restraint that they accorded her. She was not "falsely arrested." She willfully disobeyed police instructions to interfer with an arrest in progress. While this is her "right," it is also the perogative of the police to arrest her too.
If she wants to be a rebel, then fine. But then she should face the music when she gets arrested.
John McCain = Police State
It is beneath the integrity of our policement to act in this way. We are constantly reminded that we should respect our policemen, that they are there to protect us - but then we see this.
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