YOU'RE INVITED!

Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 9:00pm
Triple Rock Social Club
629 Cedar Ave. (West Bank)
Minneapolis, MN

The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War is hosting a rock concert fundraiser. It is produced by Live with Substance. Come and enjoy an evening of great music, friends and politics.

The Coalition is raising money to have a big massive march and demonstration against the Republican National Convention. The demonstration will start at the State Capitol AND march to the Xcel center on Sept. 1. The will be the first day of the Convention.

In order to make the event successful come and join us.

The Usual Suspects
Truthmaze
Bad Accident
Death Ray Scientific (DRS)

Sponsored by:
Substance
www.livewithsubstance.org

Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War
www.marchonthernc.org

For Immediate Release: July 1, 2008

St Paul officials face lawsuit, violated rights of anti-war organizer leafleting at Obama rally

Press Conference
July 2. 9am

In front of Federal Building,
300 S 4th St, Minneapolis

A lawsuit for damages totaling $75,000 will be filed in Federal Court, July 2, by attorneys representing Mick Kelly. Kelly, an organizer for the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, was arrested outside the Xcel Center June 5 while passing out leaflets at the Obama rally. He was promoting the September 1 anti-war march at the Republican National Convention. Police placed him under arrest, then he was searched, put in a squad car and taken to the old police headquarters where he was cited for soliciting and peddling.

Mr. Kelly states, “The city of Saint Paul violated my right to speak out against the war and to encourage people to come to the march on the Republican National Convention. It is part of a larger pattern of the city attempting to suppress the right to dissent. For example, the city has refused to grant a workable permit for the September 1 protest. The blame needs to placed at the door of Mayor Coleman and the city administration as a whole.”

The suit names the City of St. Paul and the individual officers involved in the arrest. Kelly is represented by attorneys Ted Dooley, Gena Berglund and Peter Nickitas, all members of the National Lawyers Guild.

Attorney Ted Dooley states, “What happened to Mick Kelly was illegal. The mayor, the city and the police will have to explain it in Federal Court. This is a straight signal to St. Paul City officials: The people have the constitutional right to speak out against the war and injustice, even though the Republican National Convention happens to come to town.”

September 1, 2008 - Opening day of the Republican National Convention - Join us in St. Paul to March on the RNC and Stop the War!

Click on the image above for a PDF of the flyer for the September 1 march. Print it out and make copies - spread the word to your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. Lets make this the biggest and most important protest in Minnesota's history!

For more info on the September 1 march, see the website for the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War.

ACTION ALERT: Call on St. Paul Mayor & City Council to support Permit Appeal by the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War

On Wednesday, May 14, the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War received an alternate permit for our demonstration on September 1, 2008. This alternate permit was provided because both the route and the time in our permit application were rejected by St. Paul Police.

Thanks to public pressure from you, and pending legal action in federal court, we now have a permit that will take our march up to the Xcel Center.

However, the terms of the alternate permit will not accommodate the large, national demonstration we are planning. The space and time limitations are unworkable, and are designed to limit the impact we can have on the RNC and its media coverage.

Every street around the Xcel Center will be closed, to provide security to the politicians who will meet inside to congratulate themselves on 5 years of a brutal war on Iraq. Two parking lots adjacent to the Xcel are reserved for media trucks, which the RNC will rely on to broadcast their message of war, trying to convince the people of this country to cast their votes for more years of war and human suffering in Iraq, and more years of ignoring human needs here at home.

The alternate permit grants our Coalition the small space that remains: A 2000 square foot triangle, across the street from the Xcel Center. Our permit allows the use of that space for less than 2 hours, and requires that the march proceed along a 1000-foot long turn about, then turn back on itself, and return to the State Capitol Building on the same road we marched in on. This limited time and space cannot accommodate 50,000 protesters.

The alternative permit effectively protects the Republicans and their message of war, while restricting the rights of common people to demand peace, justice and equality. Limiting both time and space for the march – ensures that only some protesters will have a chance to raise their voice at the site of the Convention, while thousands may never even see the building. This is a plan we cannot accept.

According to the City ordinance, permit decisions can be appealed to City Council. This week, we will ask St. Paul City Council members to overturn the police department's decision, and grant our original permit request for September 1, 2008. We will also raise our objections to the alternate permit that was granted.

Moreover, the St. Paul Police Department is required to demonstrate a substantial public safety interest that necessitates rejecting the original request. We have received no explanation of how the alternate route satisfies any concerns raised by our original route. City Council members can get real answers.

We ask you to call on the St. Paul City Council to stand on the side of peace and justice, to issue the permit we applied for, to ensure a successful March on the RNC to stop the war on Iraq.

We expect our appeal to be heard at the City Council meeting on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, on the 3rd floor of City Hall at 15 W. Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul. The meeting begins at 3:30pm, and public hearings are scheduled for 5:30pm - it is not clear when the Permit appeal will be scheduled on the agenda. Please attend the meeting if you can, and contact St. Paul City officials beforehand.

Ask them to approve the original permit application, including a later and longer time, and a route that physically accommodates more protesters and provides more space at the Xcel Center. They can also help by getting the police to answer some of these questions:

1. Why was the original permit denied? What specifically about the route and time would create the traffic and safety issues stated as the basis for denial? How does the alternate permit avoid these issues?

2. Why does the March have to clear the Xcel by 2:00 p.m.? Will all demonstrators be banned from the "soft security zone" after 2:00 p.m.? If not, why can't the March go later in the afternoon? Can the March starting time be moved back to accommodate people from out of town who will be arriving? If not, why not?

3. Why do the free speech rights of the corporate media take precedence over the rights of the people? Two parking lots adjacent to X-Cel are both being given to the media, can't one of them be given to the people? Either parking lot would not be any closer to X-Cel than the demonstration zone, but would greatly expand the ability of people to reach the Xcel and turn around without problems.

4. When will the delegates arrive on 9/1/08? Is the plan to make the March pass by X-Cel center by 2:00 p.m. just so that it will be gone by the time the delegates start arriving?

Debbie Montgomery (Ward 1) * 651-266-8610

Dave Thune (Ward 2) * 651-266-8620

Pat Harris (Ward 3) * 651-266-8630

Jay Benanav (Ward 4) * (651) 266-8640

Lee Helgen (Ward 5) * 651-266-8650

Dan Bostrom (Ward 6) * 651-266-8660

Kathy Lantry, President (Ward 7) * 651-266-8670

Also, please contact Chris Coleman, Mayor * 651-266-8510

Background:
See a map of the City's proposal on-line here - http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_9262346
See the Coalition's proposed route on-line here - http://www.protestrnc2008.org/node/39

Sisters and Brothers,

On May 16 the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War will be in Federal Court. We are seeking an injunction that forces the City of Saint Paul to issue permits for our anti-war march on Republican National Convention September 1. We need your help. Contact Saint Paul's mayor and send letters to the Twin Cities press.

Starting May 12, we need our supporters and fellow protesters to contact Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman. Urge him to deliver a final permit to the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, for us to march from the State Capitol to the Xcel Center on September 1, 2008. Email Mayor Coleman at mayor@ci.stpaul.mn.us or call him at 651-266-8510. Feel free to use the talking points mentioned below.

We began seeking permits for this demonstration days after the Republicans announced they would hold their national convention in Minnesota. While we have a permit to assemble and rally at the State Capitol, the City of Saint Paul continues to withhold a permit for a march on the Xcel Center, where the convention will be held. Saint Paul city government is now saying "wait and see what we give you on May 31." This is unacceptable.

No important social question is ever settled in the courtroom. Issues that matter are settled in the streets and in the court of public opinion. We need folks across the U.S to demand that we get a permit to go to the Xcel Center - the site of the RNC. The eyes of the world will be focused there September 1.

In addition to calling and emailing the Saint Paul mayor's office with the demand to issue the permits, writing letters to the local newspapers would really help. We want to make it known that people from all around the country are coming here and insist that Saint Paul city officials give permits for our anti-war protest.

The two main local 'mainstream' newspapers are the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) and the Pioneer Press St Paul). Here is the information on sending letters.:

Star Tribune (250 word maximum)
Submit from their website
OR... Fax to 612-673-4359
OR... Mail to Editorial Department, Star Tribune, 425 Portland Av., Minneapolis, MN 55488.

Pioneer Press (150 word maximum)
Please send your letters in the body of an e-mail, not as an attachment, to letters@pioneerpress.com. Include your full name and your city of residence for publication. For verification purposes only, and not for publication, include your street address and daytime telephone number.

Please keep you letters short and concise. If you only send a letter to one paper, the Star Tribune is the more important of the two. If you send the same letter to both, send separate emails.

We recommend a few talking points for your letters:

1) Denounce the war. The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War is planning a major anti-war demonstration and the city of Saint Paul is refusing to grant a permit to go to the site of the RNC - the Xcel Center.

2) We are planning to march on the RNC. We expect / demand to be at the Xcel Center September 1.

3) The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War is getting the runaround from the city of Saint Paul. Permit applications have been in since days after the convention was announced. We have a right to protest the war. We need the permits now.

You efforts will help to create the political climate where we get the permits we need.

Sincerely,

The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War

Organizers of RNC anti-war protest set to respond to permit issued and permitting process

Monday, March 3 @ 4 pm
In front of St Paul City Hall (15 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul)

Organizers of the massive anti war march planned for September 1, the opening day of the Republican National Convention, and attorneys will respond to the permit issued by St Paul city authorities.

There are some real problems with the permit issued. The permit only affirms that we have the State Capitol grounds and it fails to define the route that the demonstration will use to march on the Xcel Center. Tens of thousands of people from around the country are coming here to do exactly that. We need to get this settled.

In addition, we will be responding to the series of disturbing reports over the past week that indicate that city intends to respond to the demonstrations at the RNC by curtailing our right to protest. This includes reports that all demonstrations will be confined to a single route and place to gather. This is unacceptable.

In the past city officials were talking about “the entire city of St Paul being a free speech zone.” Now they are talking about glorified protest pens. We also reject the framework that St Paul police have created to infiltrate and spy on groups that plan protests at the RNC. And we are opposed to the attempts by police officials to forbid any protests at the Xcel Center September 2-4.

On Saturday, March 1, the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War will rally at the State Capitol at 11 am and march to the Xcel Center. This will be the second in a series of recurring demonstrations to pressure the city of St. Paul to grant a permit for an anti-war march on September 1, the first day of the Republican National Convention (RNC).

A St. Paul city ordinance states that permits for a recurring event can be granted within 30 days of the request. As part of a new strategy first enacted in January, the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War applied for a recurring permit to rally in front of the State Capitol and march to the Xcel Center on the 1st of every other month culminating with the September 1st protest at the RNC. So far, city officials have granted permits for the January and March demonstrations but continue to withhold a permit for September 1st.

St. Paul police have given no indication that they will grant permits in a timely manner, instead focusing on their capacity to repress protest activities. Last week the Star Tribune revealed new guidelines for the St. Paul police to use when infiltrating activist groups. St. Paul police recently ordered 230 additional Taser weapons, enough for every officer on the force. They insist these policies are not related to the RNC.

"We're frustrated that the St. Paul police seem more concerned with spying on activists and intimidating protesters than with upholding our right to freedom of speech," said Katrina Plotz of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. "We applied for permits over a year ago. Having a permit is crucial for our ability to organize a national anti-war demonstration that will draw tens of thousands. We have the right to protest the war within site and sound of the Xcel Center during the RNC, and we expect a permit to guarantee that right."

"The protest on March 1 is important because it kicks off a month of protests against the war in Iraq," said Anh Pham, also a member of the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. "This is the 5th anniversary and anti-war activists still say no to war. As long as the Iraqi people suffer under occupation, progressive people will come to St Paul to say, 'No to the Republican agenda, No to wars for profit, Money for human needs and not for war, Troops out now!'" Organizers expect a turnout of 200-300 people for the demonstration on March 1.

A press conference will be held in front of St. Paul City Hall on Monday, March 3 at 3:30 pm. There, activists will answer questions about the permit process and discuss their concerns about the St. Paul Police Department's approach to the RNC.

2/9/2008 - Star Tribune - Activists unite at U meeting in planning GOP protests

2/10/2008 - WCCO.com - Protesters Making Plans In Minn. For RNC '08 (includes video)

2/11/2008 - MN Daily - Protest Planning Convention Held at U

Feb 2008 - Fight Back News - Video coverage of Organizing Conference for RNC anti-war protest (includes video)

Feb 2008 - Fight Back News - Leaders of immigrants rights and poor people's movements speak at RNC protest conference (includes mp3 audio from conference)

Feb 2008 - Fight Back News - Voices from the RNC protest organizing conference: Listen to some of the key speeches (includes mp3 audio from conference)

2/23/2008 - Workers World - Groups make plans to protest at Republican & Democratic conventions

2/19/2008 - PSLweb.org - Why we are marching on the RNC

2/15/2008 - Twin Cities Daily Planet - Protest planning convention held at U