Affidavit purported to outline RNC conspiracy plans

By Michael Fraase

Wednesday, 03 September 2008 08:28PM CST

Section: Law

AffidavitBoth the StarTribune and the Pioneer Press have published reports of an affidavit (.pdf; 3.5Mb) filed yesterday that, if accurate, outlines serious criminal actions planned by conspirators from 67 cities to “crash” the Republican National Convention here in Saint Paul. Criminal actions specified in the affidavit include kidnapping delegates, releasing dangerous chemicals, sabotaging the infrastructure of the Excel Energy Center, and injuring horses used by police.

The most disturbing alleged planned action is this one included in the affidavit:

“An individual by the name of ‘Henry’ told the action camp group that he was throwing a liquid filled balloon and that members of the group should stay away from the area where he was throwing it because it would be very dangerous. ‘Henry’ stated the balloon was filled with a chemical that would be very dangerous and if caught, he would go to jail for a long time.”

The primary sources for the information contained in the affidavit were two informers and an undercover member of the Ramsey County sheriff’s department—all unidentified. Unidentified sources are always problematic, especially so in an affidavit.

Nonetheless, if the affidavit proves to be accurate, evidence of a criminal conspiracy can’t be denied. A total of 284 arrests were made on Monday and 130 of them were made on suspicion of felonies. Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told the Pioneer Press that “most of the felony arrests were anarchists from elsewhere.”

Should the affidavit prove accurate, it fails to excuse the preemptive raids by the Ramsey County sheriff, the overreaction and brutality of law enforcement during the convention, nor the targeted arrests and detainments of journalists.

Permalink | (0) Comments

Page 1 of 1 pages