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Amy Goodman, producer and host of Democracy Now! has been released after being arrested yesterday while covering the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. Two of the show's producers and an Associated Press photogrepher were also arrested in separate incidents during protests that drew an estimated 10,000 people on the Convention's opening day. The widely-circulated video of Goodman's arrest has infuriated free-press advocates who are circulating a petition demanding that charges against her and her colleagues be dropped.
First, here's the video of Goodman's arrest:
Goodman was arrested as she questioned police about the detention of her colleagues Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. DN reports that polices slammed Kouddos against a wall and pushed Salazar to the ground, injuring both journalists. Felony riot charges are said to be pending against the producers; Goodman faces charges of obstruction. AP photographer Matt Rourke, who photographed some of the violent clashes between police and small bands of protestors, was released Monday night without charge, according to multimedia journalist Carlos Miller.
Minneapolis police are under fire for their aggressive actions toward journalists and protestors even before the Convention began. For example, The Uptake has a report on an alleged police raid last Saturday on a house where Democracy Now! producer Elizabeth Press was staying. According to the report, police in riot gear burst through an attic to get find a room full of journalists.
Bloggers were out in full force during the protests. At Backyard Conservative, BlogHer CE Anne Leary captures the mostly peaceful tenor of the protests. Two members of The Uptake's staff were nearly arrested outside the Convention; you can also watch that report. Siun reported on the arrests for Firedoglake.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak issued a statement commending the Police Department for their actions before and during the Convention protests. He did not specifically address the detention of the journalists, but said that the raids on the houses produced a variety of items that could be used in acts of political violence or mischief. He also said the police actions during the demonstrations were justfied responses to the violence of a small number of protestors:
The Saint Paul police, supported by about 200 Minneapolis police
officers, did an excellent job of protecting demonstrators and the free
speech rights of everyone in downtown Saint Paul while also dealing
with those that were violent and destructive. This was a very
challenging day, but I was proud of the professionalism of our officers
in a very difficult situation.
At The Political Voices of Women, BlogHer CE Catherine Morgan was disturbed by the police actions:
Are we still living in The United States of America? Is it still the
land of the free? I’m a bit confused. Since when do we raid homes of
possible protesters, before they even have a chance to protest? Is it just me…Or is there something seriously wrong with this?
According to a MinnPost interview with Lucy Daiglish of the Reporters' Committe for Freedom of the Press, the actions by the Minneapolis police were par for the course:
"History tells me that all things being equal, when the police feel
intimidated by a situation, they will do exactly what they did and grab
people."
Daiglish added that when Goodman challenged the police officers who were arresting her colleagues, "That's precisely what we advise people not to do."
Still Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota journalism professor interviewed for an article accompanying Daiglish's interview called the arrests "very disappointing," and added, "The police should have been trained better."
