WHOA again: Amy Goodman arrested at the Republican Convention (UPDATED)
This is absolutely fucking outrageous. Watch:
Click here and read Allison Kilkenny’s account. She also posts the following info:
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
Spread this around.
These people are destroying freedom of speech.
Amy Goodman, if you’re not aware, is one of the most respected independent journalists in this country. She runs Democracy Now! All they were doing is covering a protest at the RNC. According to Democracy Now!, “Goodman’s crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.”
As I said, spread this around. If you care about the freedoms we hold dear, you should be outraged.
Glenn Greenwald has more.
UPDATE: Via Crooks and Liars, Democracy Now! is reporting that Amy Goodman and her two producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, have all been released:
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.”
… 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.
It is impossible to overstate what happened here. These people are PRESS, and, I would argue, part of an ever-shrinking segment of the free press in this country that hasn’t been bought.
So fucking sick.
It doesn’t matter what side of the ideological spectrum you’re on, you should be outraged.
