Anarchist group vows to continue protests

By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff

ST. PAUL -- Nearly 250 people were being arraigned today on charges of damaging property and conspiracy to riot outside the Republican National Convention -- including 130 facing felony counts -- as the main anarchist group blamed for smashing windows, blocking traffic, and harassing delegates Monday vowed to continue its resistance throughout the week.

Local police and about 150 members of the Minnesota National Guard beefed up their presence outside the convention today in preparation for more acts of civil disobedience and violence designed to frustrate the plans of thousands of attendees.

Groups of National Guard troops in body armor, called in to support local law enforcement, stood at intersections and other approaches to the convention site, where the GOP will kick off its first night of major speeches.

"They are at multiple locations," said Captain Shannon Purvis, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota National Guard. "They are standing by helping with general security and prepared to back up law enforcement if they escalate."

On Monday, a largely peaceful protest of several thousand people calling for an end to the Iraq war turned violent when small groups of people wearing black and covering their faces with bandanas and gas masks threw bricks, slashed tires, and sought to disrupt traffic in downtown St. Paul. In one incident, some of them attacked the Connecticut delegation to the convention by tearing off some of their entry passes.

The main group, the RNC Welcoming Committee, calls itself an "anarchist, anti-authoritarian organizing body." It reported on its website that at least 61 of the 284 people arrested on Monday had been released.

In several messages posted to its website, it vowed to continue its tactics.

"We are excited about what the next few days may bring now that the illusion of business as usual has been shattered," the committee said in a statement.

Security forces appeared to use restraint in confronting the hundreds of anarchists. Some demonstrators who were involved in a clash at the corner of St. Peter and Exchange Streets on Monday claimed that rubber bullets were fired directly at them but there was no evidence or apparent injuries to support their claims.

Still, some of the tactics used by police and National Guard troops to subdue the demonstrators -- including the use of pepper spray and tear gas -- were criticized by some as overly aggressive.

Meanwhile, the arrest of several journalists covering the clashes -- including Amy Goodman, the host of the syndicated television and radio program "Democracy Now!" -- drew criticism from at least one group, Reporters Without Borders, which advocates for press freedom.

"The violence used by the police when arresting these three journalists, who identified themselves as such, was an unacceptable abuse of authority, a violence of the First Amendment and a clear demonstration of a desire to intimidate them and their news organization," the group said in a statement today.

UPDATE: Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader is also criticizing the police response.

"The role of the police is to control violence and illegal activity. There was neither in the events we are describing. The officers went far beyond that to violating the right to free speech and assembly," he said in a statement issued tonight by his campaign. "We strongly oppose the uncalled for arrest of numerous citizens, and the excessive use of force and tactics of intimidation including rubber bullets and tear gas, against lawful protesters. We expected more balance and common sense from the supervisors and trainers of the St. Paul police force."