Originally Posted by Pioneer Press

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher put his name out early seeking $4.4 million to jail "3,000 to 5,000" protesters. He led the feds in pre-emptive busts of "potential terrorist" houses (violating the Fourth Amendment of our Bill of Rights, since anyone "might" use garden tools to assault democracy) and pre-emptive arrests of journalists (violating the First Amendment, since anyone with a camera or pen "might" criticize the government or Fletcher's tactics).

By one count, 36 journalists were arrested trying to cover events of those five days, along with six arrested pre-emptively. Pre-emptive arrest is standard practice in police states like North Korea and Burma. Is that the standard Minnesota aspires to?

Originally Posted by Pioneer Press

The saddest thing I must report about the SPPD is that they promised us IDs would be prominently displayed on all troops deployed. A commander on the scene, an honorable man I know, told me these IDs never made it onto their tactical gear. We noticed.

This was not a minor oversight, because when things get tense it enables the less disciplined to abuse the power at their disposal.

Originally Posted by Pioneer Press

Another friend who is also an honorable man got shot by something as he tried to obey orders coming from one tactical line telling him to move into another that was firing chemicals and other weapons at a crowd.

He was not the only one, but the irony was amplified by the fact that he had come to the "free-speech zone" to document the poor people's march on Sept. 2. The main message of that group was reminding affluent Americans that poor people die every day in our country for lack of affordable health care and housing. That nonlethal weapon hit the Constitution at least as hard as it hit him.

Originally Posted by Pioneer Press

But everyone could see the men in harness, legs sticking out doors in a position used to kill leadership on the ground in war zones. For veterans who have literally put their lives on the line to protect our Constitution, this was a disgusting tactic. Perhaps they were just practicing, but the clear impression was that they did not like democracy.

Originally Posted by Pioneer Press

Fletcher was foamy at the mouth about the anarchists, most of whom are also teenagers or 20-somethings who are desperately depressed by the corruption of politics they see and struggling to survive a ruthless economy that does not give a fig about them unless they have money. His hysteria fit quite well with federal objectives.

Originally Posted by Pioneer Press

Do not ignore the question of who was responsible for the extreme militarization of law enforcement during the days of the RNC. By "who" I do not mean some committee or faceless bureaucracy, I mean who specifically, by name, was responsible. If those who abused their temporary power are not held accountable at the next election or in court, they will almost certainly abuse their power again.

Remember, all that hardware bought with easy money remains in storage, nearly new. If pre-emptive repression of journalists and cruel or unusual treatment of people practicing democracy goes unaddressed, these tools will be used again. They will be used against someone who disagrees with City Hall some day — maybe you.