Nearly 300 Arrested in Riot at GOP Convention

2008-09-02 18:43:26 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Top Stories)

Fort Worth, TX (WiredPRNews.com)—While most of the estimated 10,000 people peacefully protested in the streets a St. Paul, Minnesota, a small group of black-clad and face-covered anarchists smashed windows, slashed tires, set fires, threw bottles, attacked delegates and fought with police.

“The rampaging protesters attacked members of the Connecticut delegation, spraying them with a noxious liquid. One 80-year-old delegate needed medical treatment,” according to a Tuesday New York Post.com article.

Police arrested over 280 of the protestors and 129 of those will be charged with felony counts, including assaulting an officer and criminal destruction of property, a Los Angeles Times.com article reported on Tuesday.

“It progressed to breaking windows in police cars, smashing windows in some of the downtown stores, and throwing rocks and other debris at officers,” St. Paul Police Chief John M. Harrington said in the Los Angeles Times.com article. Police used concussion grenades and pepper spray to disperse large groups of rioters.

The rioting could have been much worse if local authorities had not taken proactive measures. According to the Los Angeles Times.com report, “police squads raided a building in St. Paul and several homes in Minneapolis — seizing buckets of gray water and urine, along with slingshots and road spikes to disable delegate buses.”

The Saint Paul Police Department has 3,500 additional officers from numerous federal agencies to help provide security. These include the FBI, the Federal Protective Service, Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration, according to a CNN.com report.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/02/rnc.security/

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09022008/news/nationalnews/protest_turns_into_mini_riot_127101.htm

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-protests2-2008sep02,0,3962200.story

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Jason Meeks · Filed Under Top Stories