Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn) Condemns Police Attacks on Journalists

Dispatch from the Angry Middle:

Finally... someone from Congress weighs in. You'd think this would interest them - at least marginally - since they supposedly represent us huddled masses in this withering democracy.

Posted by now journalistic hero, Amy Goodman:

Amy Goodman: Democratic Congress member Keith Ellison of Minnesota has been back in the Twin Cities this week closely monitoring the treatment of protesters and journalists at the RNC. He joins me now here.

Welcome to Democracy Now!

Rep. Keith Ellison: Glad to be here, Amy.

Amy Goodman: And thanks for helping out last night. It's a very serious situation, of course. Hundreds of people remain in jail. This rule of thirty-six hours, can you explain how it works?

Rep. Keith Ellison: Well, first of all, the thirty-six hours doesn't count weekends. And so, if you get --

Amy Goodman: Or Labor Day, which was yesterday.

Rep. Keith Ellison: Or a holiday. So if you get arrested, say, on a Friday night, you could be getting out -- hopefully, if you can -- maybe Wednesday midday. So it really is something that can take quite a bit of your freedom away.

Amy Goodman: You're -- in addition to being a Congress member, you're a lawyer?

Rep. Keith Ellison: For about sixteen years, I practiced law right here in the courts of Minneapolis-St. Paul and all over Minnesota.

Amy Goodman: It was Minneapolis police, by the way, who arrested us, even though we're here in St. Paul. Why is that?

Rep. Keith Ellison: Well, because they brought in probably a number of jurisdictions to help their complement of officers who would try to do policing activity here for the RNC. So I wouldn't be surprised if they have other jurisdictions besides Minneapolis. Might have a number of suburban districts and maybe even some from further away than that.

Amy Goodman: And, of course, National Guard.

Rep. Keith Ellison: Yeah, no doubt about that. Secret Service.

Amy Goodman: And is there a fusion center here in the Twin Cities?

Rep. Keith Ellison: You mean, a coordinating center? Yeah, I'm quite certain there is. I can't give you details on that, because, quite frankly, I thought that it was going to be a relatively routine situation. But when you see some of the footage that I saw, it was anything but routine. It looked quite extraordinary, to tell you the truth.

And when you hear about journalists getting arrested, it's very disturbing. I mean, the news gatherers -- how can the people know, if they don't have news gatherers to gather the news and show them? But when those folks are being intimidated and even roughed up, it's pretty -- it actually is a threat to democracy and the First Amendment.

Amy Goodman: Right, we don't know if the Associated Press photographers have gotten out, if the Pepper spray videographers have gotten out. Even the New York Post guy, we don't know what happened to him at this moment. And, of course, there are many, many people who are on the streets who get rounded up just by virtue of being there. When they move in with such a fast pincer move from all corners and surround a block -- this was basically a parking lot -- there is nowhere to go.

Rep. Keith Ellison: Right. There's nowhere to go. And, of course, they know that, as well. It's not like they haven't mapped out the whole area and don't know exactly what forces are moving in which directions. They do know. And, of course, it's pretty clear that Nicole and Sharif were making their status as press widely known, and it was easy to hear it; you know, clearly on the tape, it was easy to hear. So that's pretty disturbing to me, and I'm actually pretty upset about it.

Amy Goodman: So you weighed in last night as they were in jail. You called the police commissioner.

Rep. Keith Ellison: I called and let them -- just provided the information. You know, this is who you have. This is the deal, stuff like that. So, you know, I just think it's important to make sure that when journalists are trying to do their work, that they are allowed to do it.

Amy Goodman: This is only the second day, and, in fact, the Republican convention was not in even full gear because of Hurricane Gustav yesterday, though the protests in the streets were. You've got a number more days. What is the plan for the city?

Rep. Keith Ellison: Well, you know, that's what I'm trying to find out right now. I mean, before, quite frankly, I was perfectly content to allow the police to do the work they were doing, and I'm just going to go do the work I do. But now, I do have a new -- an urgent curiosity to find out what the plan is. When are massive uses of force going to be deployed? What circumstances will trigger them? Have we looked -- have we recognized the fact that we can actually cause more trouble than what would otherwise happen, when we bring forth this massive use of force as we saw on the tape? And so, I'm concerned about it. I think overreaction is as bad as under-reaction, and what I saw on that tape was pretty disturbing.

I still find it intriguing that it was a Secret Service officer who ripped the press credentials off of Amy Goodman and her producers, while they were already in police custody.

The Secret Service get their orders from... the President, don't they? Either the President or the Vice.

It is interesting to note that the same attacks on journalists have been happening in Iraq for the entire duration of the war; well, at least since the journalists stopped 'embedding' with the Army. More journalists have been targeted and killed in the Iraq war than in any previous war.

I guess Bush doesn't like journalists. To his way of thinking, their job is to spread pro-Bush propaganda. If they happen to stray off of their 'talking points,' he cracks down hard.

For the most part, the corporate media stays on (Bush) message quite nicely. Only foreign or independent (a.k.a. actual investigative) journalists are routinely and often permanently silenced.

Truth is a dangerous thing... if you have something to hide.

We all have a stake in protecting our freedom

To my Representatives:

If you expect me to believe that we are not living -- right now -- under a dictatorship, then please write back and let me know what you intend to do about the contents of the article I am attaching below. Thank you.

"I have a personal stake here, but so do all Americans who take their political system seriously. Thus I hope you and your colleagues will take some positive action to bring the Administration's conduct to the attention of a far larger, and more influential, audience than I could hope to reach." - Walter F. Murphy

As an American citizen, I know my Constitutional rights, and I also refuse to accept tyranny in any form. That's right, as an educated American citizen, I was raised to reject tyranny: raised on the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the rule of law. If this is all now dismantled, then I demand an explanation.

I plan to travel to Ireland next year. And yes I did attend a peace rally, finally, in Washington D.C. last January. I took part in the rally and march around the Capitol building in an attempt to get your attention about this bone-headed war. This is the first time I have ever done this, and it was at great cost to myself physically (I have severe Fibromyalgia, and the 16 hour bus ride each way was excruciating.) I felt that I had no other choice - you all have left me no other choice. No one was listening. It was my right as an American to be there, assembling peacefully with a permit in defense of my democracy. As I recall, John Conyers was there - I suspect he is still flying, as are the Hollywood celebrities who spoke at the rally.

Just giving you a heads up, that if I ever find myself on one of these bogus no fly lists, I will get into my car and drive to Washington to visit each of you personally (or wait outside your office) until you - my representatives in this broken government - make it right.

I'd prefer you made it right in advance.

The Patriot Act was obviously put into place as a means to persecute American citizens and expand the reach of a power-grabbing executive branch -- and no I do not feel safe. I don't recognize my country at all. I ache for those who really did die for our freedom... because its being taken from us, by stealth, while those who should be defending it stand by and do nothing.

"I confess to having been furious that any American citizen would be singled out for governmental harassment because he or she criticized any elected official, Democrat or Republican. That harassment is, in and of itself, a flagrant violation not only of the First Amendment but also of our entire scheme of constitutional government. This effort to punish a critic states my lecture's argument far more eloquently and forcefully than I ever could. Further, that an administration headed by two men who had "had other priorities" than to risk their own lives when their turn to fight for their country came up, should brand as a threat to the United States a person who did not run away but stood up and fought for his country and was wounded in battle, goes beyond the outrageous. Although less lethal, it is of the same evil ilk as punishing Ambassador Joseph Wilson for criticizing Bush's false claims by "outing" his wife, Valerie Plaime, thereby putting at risk her life as well as the lives of many people with whom she had had contact as an agent of the CIA. - Walter F. Murphy

I will not be bullied by anyone, especially my own government. I am a law-abiding citizen. I am also - apparently - more patriotic and informed than my President. It appears to me that the people who refuse to abide by the rule of law and our Constitution are mostly in Washington these days. If they can fly, I expect to be able to fly as well.

Thank you, and please excuse my anger... but you will notice that this Walter F. Murphy -- professor emeritus at Princeton University and "most distinguished scholar of public law in political science" who also happens to be a retired Marine colonel, fought in the Korean War, was wounded, and decorated for heroism -- is a lot more distinguished than I am. If he is on a no-fly list for speaking out against Bush, then I ask you: who exactly is allowed to fly these days? Exxon executives? Christian fundamentalists? Or just loyal Bushies?

My God -- my country is looking more like a banana republic by the day. Did you not all -- all of you -- swear to uphold the Constitution? Did anyone happen to read it first?

Fix this.

March in peace protest, get on the no-fly list

By Joshua Holland
Posted on April 9, 2007, Printed on April 10, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/joshua/50342/