US, Indianapolis: Solidarity Books Raided Last Night by the cops

National Governors Association Conference
Security pits city against protesters
Officials cite safety; activists say measures go too far.
By Matthew Tully and Michele McNeil Solida, Indianapolis Star
August 16, 2003

Indianapolis -- As city and state officials roll out the red carpet for 33 of the nation's governors, law enforcement is clearing jail space and placing prosecutors on call in case mass protests break out this weekend.

Officials say they are taking every precaution to ensure the safety of visitors in town for the National Governors Association meeting.

Some say security measures are going too far.

"This is police-state mentality," said Mary Harter Mitchell, a law professor at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, who will be among this weekend's protesters. "I'm all for legitimate efforts at security. But we're intruding on people's constitutional right to free speech and privacy."

Police have already squared off with a local anarchist group that wants to march. Organizer Cate Woods-Russo said about 150 protesters will depart about 10 a.m. today from a Downtown church.

That won't be allowed, said Indianapolis Police Sgt. Russell Burns. He said the group failed to file a march route and, at most, will be allowed to walk a route determined by police.

Mayor Bart Peterson said it is clear that the coming days will be challenging.

"We will have to deal with some folks who not only want to exercise their right of free speech, but (also) groups that have been involved in altercations in other cities," Peterson said.

Past high-profile gatherings, such as a 2000 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, have been rocked by protests. Recent governors association meetings in Boise, Idaho, and Providence, R.I., however, have been essentially trouble-free.

Officials here are nonetheless preparing for possible problems.

Security is heavy at the Downtown Marriott, where the event is taking place, with plainclothes and uniformed officers on patrol, and barricades around the hotel.

Magistrates and prosecutors will be on call throughout the weekend.

The new Arrestee Processing Center has been readied to serve as a "staging area."

Indianapolis police union President Vince Huber said officers -- from SWAT teams to crowd control units -- will be working 12-hour shifts.

And about 18 young people were sent home a day early from the juvenile detention center to clear some room.

But critics say officials have stomped on their ability to be heard. Groups wanting to rally against the governors applied for two special-event permits -- though not by the deadline -- and were denied by the city.

Those hoping to protest at the Statehouse had no chance. Only one event is allowed per weekend, state officials said, and this weekend already was booked -- by the governors.

Officials have assigned protesters to a stretch of sidewalk across the street from the Marriott. They will be separated from the governors by concrete barriers and busy Maryland Street.

"We want an audience with the governors, and to be relegated to a corner of the street isn't right," said Teresa Torres, a member of ADAPT, a group planning to bring about 100 disabled people to protest on Sunday.

There were cries of inappropriate security conduct even before the first governor arrived.

On Thursday, fire, police and health officials searched Solidarity Books Collective in the 2100 block of North Boulevard Place in what activists said was an effort to intimidate them.

IPD had received a tip about possible fire code violations. No one was arrested, but a handful of parking tickets were written and at least one car was towed.

And Friday, a vanful of police showed up at the house about 9:20 p.m. and again shortly after 10 p.m. During the first visit, they trained video cameras on protesters who aimed their own cameras at the police.

Police said they were just trying to keep the peace, but activists saw ominous overtones.

"My concern is this is part of a national trend to quell dissent and chill activism," said Gwen Frisbie, 24.

http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/0/065806-1660-009.html

I was in Indianapolis for the weekend, i had no idea what was going on at the Marriott when i attempted to walk past it. The police had barricaded off the sidewalks all the way around the hotel, and made me cross Washington Street (and then cross back down the block). I thought there was a bomb scare or something, until i walked back the other way about three hours later and they were still sitting there, and i still couldn't walk down the street without walking across to the north side and back to the south side once i passed the hotel. Ya want my opinion, putting an entire downtown block into armed lockdown over a convention is a bit ridiculous. It's like something from the Simpsons; one can only imagine looking up to the top floor, and seeing Mayor Quimby with a hooker on each arm, yelling out to the SWAT team "Hey gumshoe! More Cognac!"

I was among those who were down on Washington & Missouri, where the police had everything blocked off, including their designated 'free-speech zone', which was completely surrounded by concrete baracades, and an armed police force.

The city of Indianapolis spent more than two million dollars to "prepare" for protesters and activists, they had police squads flew in from Seattle and Cininatti to "prepare" them for what may come. Which ended up being, as I described it, "All this money and attention spent for us 20 teenagers downtown." It was ridiculous.

Atleast Indianapolis citizens know what their tax dollars were going for.

I'm not here to plead a case, just to give information on what happened and how the IPD completely over-reacted at the thought of acitivists. No one from Solidarity Books has ever been violent or arrested at a protest, and although many attempts were performed by the IPD to thwart us, including undercover police trying to bunk with us, informants to hang out at the Convergence Center on New Jersey St., and even plain clothes cops trying to ag everyone on to 'throw some rocks at those pigs' or just simply 'go get coked up'.

It was horrible. But yet, oh so funny.