[Video] Violent Police Deny Free Speech at the RNC

The following describes my experience as a protester being mistreated by the St. Paul police during the RNC. My name is Jodin Morey, and I'm a Cofounder of Impeach for Peace.The police abuse I'll describe includes the use of concussion grenades, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and batons.

I joined the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign in a march from Mears Park On September 2, 2008 at 4 p.m. Having heard that some peaceful protesters had been arrested the day before, I was concerned about joining this march. I had been the one to reserve a one-hour slot on the protest stage at 1 p.m. on the following day. National speakers had come from around the country (Ray McGovern, John Nichols and Debra Sweet from the World Can't Wait). The St. Paul Park and Rec. had made it clear the stage would only be available if I were physically present with my driver’s license at the time reserved. I therefore had decided to join the march with the idea of being extremely cautious to avoid any interactions with the police that could result in my arrest.

I was dressed as a Guantanamo Bay detainee to protest the denial of habeas corpus as a human right. There were speeches that went on for a very long time. The organizers spoke about human rights and the need for housing, education, and health care. There was a scuffle between the police and some of the protesters during these speeches, but I was not in a location to see what occurred.
I dove to the ground on the west sidewalk of St. Peter somewhere between West 7th and Exchange Street. Several police barked an order not to move, while pointing their weapons at me. I let go of my cell phone and Guantanamo hood so that they would not mistake them for weapons and placed my hands beside me on the sidewalk. I said, “I am not moving, I am not moving.” I lay there for a little while and then I heard someone walk up beside me. I then heard what sounded like a camera shutter going off a few times before that person wandered off again. I believe that it must have been a police officer taking my picture, as the reporters were not being treated any differently from the protesters. If there had been a reporter around me when the bullets were fired, I believe they would not have been able to freely move in the area with out the police addressing them.

A few moments later, an officer in riot gear approached me and told me I could get up. As I got to my feet, the officer asked me if I was ok. I replied, “I don’t know.” I obviously had not checked my back yet, as I was not able to move while on the ground. I also was not sure if shock had caused me to underestimate the possible damage to my back. But the officer must not have been terribly concerned about my well-being because he told me to continue north on St. Peter without checking out my back. I believe they must of known they shot me. The reason I say this is because they ordered me to the ground, took a picture of me, and asked me how I was. After asking me how I was, however, he showed in his response a clear lack of concern for my well-being. The only other motive I can ascribe to his having asked me how I was is a possible desire to relieve themselves of liability for having injured me with the hope that I would say I was okay When I did not say I was okay, he did not choose to continue the conversation, perhaps because he did not want to open up the conversation to my having been hurt.

I asked if I could pick up my cell phone, not realizing he had already picked it up. He held it out and said he didn’t know if it is was mine. I also asked if I could “get my hat” (Guantanamo hood) but he said he also did not know if that was mine so I did not pursue it further. The police were extremely intimidating with their guns pointed at me and barking out orders. I felt that if I engaged in any type of conversation with them, I was risking being maced or having them hit me with their batons. So, instead of getting badge numbers or inquiring into how I’d later obtain my stuff, I abandoned my things and walked north with my hands above my head. Reporters were videotaping my walk and had possibly been recording my interactions with the police.

I arrived at an intersection where the protesters and reporters were gathered at the location (around 10th Street) that seemed consistent with where the policed wanted us to be. Once there I checked my back by just touching it and seeing if it hurt. From what I could tell, I didn’t seem seriously hurt. I asked a reporter to borrow her cell phone so I could let my friend know that I was safe. I assumed that they were pretty worried about me after my previous phone call.

After I got of the phone, within a minute or two, once again I heard a ruckus and everyone started to run away from the spot closest to the police towards the north again. The police apparently again were trying to move us by the use of tear gas or pepper spray without first giving us an audible warning. I did not stick around in an attempt to find out exactly what was happening. Instead I tried to get out of the area once again by heading north. When I reached 11th Street, I turned the corner to the east and removed my Guantanamo Bay jumpsuit. I did this in case the police had any residual negative feelings about me and might associate it with the suit. Then, as I continued eastward, I saw another line of officers and therefore asked someone near me if it was safe to head in that direction. The person indicated that the police were rounding people up and that it as not safe to go that way. I backtracked to St. Peter and attempted to cross the bridge over 94 to the north. Once I was clearly away from all the activity, I checked my back more thoroughly and saw that I had a red spot where the bullet had hit. It was obvious at this point that the bullet had been some non-lethal version (rubber bullet). Luckily, I was then able to get to my car and drive home.

I’m still unsure how citizens were supposed to express their free speech during the RNC if not in the free speech zone set up by the city. I’m also not sure how someone in the U.S. is supposed to avoid police brutality if the police aren’t expected to give individuals who they are about to abuse, fair warning of how to avoid that abuse by following whatever directives they feel are necessary. I am in talks with the ACLU, however. They have preliminarily agreed to work with me on a lawsuit.

RNC Protest Stage Schedule

IfP/VfP/WCW on the RNC Protest Stage



St. Paul, Minnesota -- Sept. 2, 2008 -- On the third day of the RNC (Wed, Sept. 3rd), Impeach for Peace will be taking the Protest Stage at 1pm and World Can't Wait will have the stage at 4pm.
So far, the list of speakers includes:



Ray McGovern, is a retired CIA officer turned political activist. McGovern was a Federal employee under seven U.S. presidents over 27 years, presenting the morning intelligence briefings at the White House for many of them.


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John Nichols: Author of "The Genius of Impeachment." Nichols writes about politics for The Nation magazine as its Washington correspondent. He is a contributing writer for The Progressive and In These Times and the associate editor of the Capital Times, the daily newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune and dozens of other newspapers.



Sylvester Spoon, Cofounder of Patriots for Corporate Rights. An organization which advocates for the Iraq War, the coming Iran War, corporate rights, and defends the practice of torturing. They have had many protests against impeachment, and support rallies for President Bush around the Twin Cities.


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Debra Sweet is the National Director of World Can't Wait. World Can't Wait is organizing people living in the United States to take responsibility to stop the whole disastrous course led by the Bush administration. World Can't Wait seeks to create a political situation where the Bush administration's program is repudiated, where Bush himself is driven from office, and where the whole direction he has been taking U.S. society is reversed.



Ann Wright, a Colonel in the U.S. Army and a career diplomat who resigned in protest the day before the war began.




Jodin Morey: Cofounder of Impeach for Peace (ImpeachforPeace.org), a grassroots, nonpartisan organization based in Minnesota with chapters in twelve states throughout the country working to achieve the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney and holding them and future elected officials fully accountable under the Rule of Law.

Other speakers such as Scott Ritter (United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998), and members of the Glassbead Collective may also speak.

Join us outside the Xcel Energy Center for these great speakers, and to learn how we move forward from here towards accountability in government and restoring our civil liberties and freedoms! The stage is on W. 7th St. between W 5th and 6th Street. It’s easiest to get there by coming from the North on St. Peter, and heading West on 7th St. Parking is easiest just North of the State Capitol Building.

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Jodin Morey

Cofounder: Impeach for Peace

St. Paul Does Nothing, Bush's Impeachable Crimes Continue...

'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing'

The following describes Impeach for Peace's (IfP) attempt to encourage Rep. Betty McCollum to sign H. Res. 333 calling on the impeachment of Richard B. Cheney. Specifically, this describes my attempt to pressure her congressional district to pass a resolution calling on Rep. McCollum to co-sign 333.

This event is yet another example of what is wrong with the Democratic Party. The Democrats have shown over and over again how they are unwilling to stand up for what is right. I could blame it on their fear of what right wing media might think. I could blame it in this case on “Minnesota nice.” I could blame it on their pursuit of the politically moderate vote (although this assumes that the politically moderate and the right wing media don't favor accountability). Whatever their reason, the result is behaving exactly how the current Republican Party would have them act. Voters on the left side of the spectrum see those who are part of the Democratic machinery as being spineless. And, for whatever reason, those who are part of that machinery don’t care, or are unaware of the bold actions they need to take. Their political base, therefore, are not inspired to show up and vote for them -- and who can blame them. Much of the base either fails to vote at all or split the progressive vote by voting for the Green Party. I could accuse J.P. Barone (Chariperson of McCollum's Congressional District) of purposefully leaving the impeachment resolution off the agenda, but there is no way to know. What I do know is that J.P. Barone is part of the problem. He is obviously more interested in supporting the Democratic Party than supporting the needs of the people that Party is supposed the represent. His actions subsequently accomplish neither. Somehow when people become part of the Democratic machinery, they lose sight of where their allegiance should lie. I am not sure what the solution to this is, but, at least for my part, it’s holding them accountable.

Let's start back in June when DFL (Democratic Farm Labor, i.e., Democratic Party Minnesota) 5th Congressional District nearly unanimously voted on a similar resolution calling on their Representative, Keith Ellison, to sign 333. Subsequent to the passage of that resolution, Rep. Ellison did co-sign 333. This encouraged me to attempt to replicate our success in my own district. Granted, we should not have to go to such lengths to get our representatives to honor their oaths of office.

So I wrote an e-mail to the chairperson of the DFL 4th Congressional District, J.P. Barone. He informed me that guests were welcome to speak at their executive committee meetings, and the next one was on August 21, 2007. Many members of Impeach for Peace came to the meeting in support of the resolutions that I had created. I presented the resolutions and gave a speech about the need for local action, given the lack of oversight of the Bush administration being conducted at the national and state level. I told them how the 5th Congressional District had passed a similar resolution. I also noted that there exists a majority support in the nation and 76% support among Democrats. After I was done with my presentation, J.P. Barone immediately expressed his lack of interest in passing such a resolution. He expressed concern over whether their committee had jurisdiction and also whether the 4th Congressional District should be passing this type of resolution, given his view that the 4th Congressional Districts function is to act as a cheerleader for the Democratic candidates. His last area of concern was whether or not passing such a resolution would be strategic in getting Democratic candidates elected in 2008. He did concede that there is little doubt in his mind as to the existence of impeachable offenses. What followed was a debate amongst the committee members primarily around whether or not they had jurisdiction to pass such a resolution. They suggested waiting until January and starting from square one with the caucus process. I expressed that, “Rome was burning,” and that the situation demanded more immediate action. I also suggested that the super majority support among Democrats empowered them to act on their behalf. Ultimately, when they voted whether or not to consider the measure themselves or to refer the resolution to the larger central committee, they voted against considering it but to have the central committee consider it in September. The central committee meeting comprises a larger group of members than the executive committee.

September 17, 2007, I arrived at the central committee meeting (of which J.P. Barone is also Chair). I again gave my presentation, and J.P. Barone mentioned his reasons why the resolution might not be appropriate. Once again, a debate among the members ensued with similar arguments as in the executive committee meeting. One of the members who was more familiar with procedure assured the committee that they did indeed have jurisdiction to pass such a resolution and also expressed a belief that it is the committee's responsibility to pressure their representative on issues. While people fell on various sides of the issue, one concern that came up during the debate was that the resolution had not been listed in the agenda for the meeting. It was expressed by a member that, had it been listed, many members who were not present may have shown up. Another member remarked that it was not IfP’s fault that the resolution had not been on the agenda since I had gone to the trouble of passing it by the executive committee the previous month, and that the resolution should not pay the consequence for this failure. The secretary spoke out defending himself, stating that he had sent out the agenda, but that his role is to pass along the agenda as given to him by the Chairperson, J.P. Barone. At this point, J.P. Barone admitted that he had not put it in the agenda but dismissed the inaction as an oversight. When it came down to the vote, they decided to first vote on whether their committee wished to consider the matter at all. The vote was nine members in favor, nineteen members opposed and three abstaining. It was revealed after the vote that at least two of the members had voted against the resolution because it had not been on the agenda. I also do not know how many members may have shown up to vote had they been informed by the agenda of this topic's consideration. I asked J.P. Barone if the measure could be reconsidered at the next meeting, given its failure to appear on the agenda. Despite his firm insistence that a parliamentary procedure be strictly followed up until this point, J.P. Barone unilaterally decided, “No, it had already been voted on.”

Now, despite my efforts, I am forced to live in a district that has become complicit in the crimes of the Bush administration. However, my pursuit in getting Rep. Betty McCollum to sign H. Res. 333 is not over. Stay tuned.

Jodin Morey
Cofounder, Impeach for Peace