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Unrestrained Stories:
False Police Claims of Protestor Violence
Tim Ream - 8/10/00

Summary

A disturbing trend is developing regarding police pre-emptive response to mass protest. In numerous situations since WTO protests in Seattle in late 1999, police have issued misinformation claiming unsubstantiated evidence of violent plans by protestors gathering for mass actions. The false information is then used as a pretext for unwarranted police actions. The misinformation concerning protestor plans have ranged from chemical weapons to bomb-making. None of the numerous claims of violent plans have been substantiated. Nonetheless, many media outlets appear to have been predisposed to repeat information provided by police without fact-checking or seeking responses from the organizations accused. The damage to free speech and the mass protest movement has been extensive.

Introduction

Mass protest of government policies on this continent is at least as old as the property destruction that characterized the Boston Tea Party, involving hundreds of activists in 1773. Since the anti-war protest of the 1960’s and anti-nuclear protests of the 1970’s, few instances of mass protest have garnered national media attention. That situation changed radically on November 30, 1999 when activists from around the globe shut down Seattle meetings of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This story garnered widespread international attention; fueled further by the violent police response to peaceful protestors, the declaration of a no-protest zone and millions of dollars worth of property destruction to multinational corporate buildings in the city center.

The Seattle Police Department reputation was damaged severely by officers’ lack of control and brutal response in the streets. In the protest’s wake, Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper quickly resigned. Police departments charged with preventing similar disruptions in their cities since the Seattle actions have scrambled to find ways to prevent mass protest.

A disturbing pattern of response has appeared over the last six months. It is loosely characterized by three steps. First, police departments, often in conjunction with city government, begin a multi-faceted media campaign designed to make protest organizers appear to be involved in preparations for violence. Police departments have assembled and distributed collections of flyers claiming violence, released videos of protest from other cities, held meetings with individual media organizations and created a mythic notion of an organization dedicated to violence and central to the protest usually identified as “anarchists” or “Eugene Anarchists.”

Once the public is predisposed to expect violence from activists, the second step in the process involves a specific claim of evidence suggesting an imminent act of violence. These claims will later be retracted, corrected or will simply remain unsubstantiated. They have included claims of stolen bomb-making materials, a bus load of poisonous animals, a factory to produce pepper spray, acid filled balloons, a cyanide poisoning or the simple fact that known terrorists have evaded police surveillance and now may be prepared to act without restraint.

The third step in this tactic follows the second closely or simultaneously. It involves a police action publicly justified in the climate of imminent terrorism. It has the effect however, of a prior restraint on free speech and intimidation of those who would speak their mind against their government. Examples have included seizing training and puppet making facilities; seizing training, art and medical supplies; and seizing hard drives and political literature. Potential protestors have been arrested, beaten and had bail set at ridiculously high amounts to hold them past the event around which the protest was scheduled.

Recent Examples

Philadelphia Republican National Convention – August 2000

The Philadelphia Police Department raided a warehouse where activists were engaged in creating puppets to protest at the Republican National Convention (RNC). Seventy activists were arrested, materials were seized and the warehouse was shut down. The police claimed prior to the raid that they believed that activists were storing C4 explosives. Also, activists were allegedly preparing weapons in the form of acid-filled balloons presumably to throw at the police. The warehouse was claimed to be a staging ground for both producing weapons and preparing a riot. Police also claim to have arrested people associated with a bus containing small animals, some of which were poisonous. Police claim that these animals were to be used to attack delegates of the RNC.

No C4 explosive was found. Nor were any other weapons or acid found. The bus driver transporting the animals claims to be a pet shop owner.

At the time of this report’s release many of those activists remain jailed. Bail has been set at amounts that preclude easy release generally ranging around $15,000. One activist was held on misdemeanor charges and $1,000,000 bail subsequently reduced to $100,000. This has effectively prevented activists from speaking out against the RNC and the subsequent Democratic National Convention (DNC) about to begin in Los Angeles.

Washington, DC IMF/World Bank Meetings - April 2000

The day before mass protest of World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington, DC police raided a training and art supply warehouse popularly referred to as a “convergence” space. Police reports claimed that they found materials for making Molotov cocktails, a laboratory for mass production of pepper spray and bomb-making materials. This, in part, justified arrests that ran to near 1200 people for the week.

In a later retraction, police admitted that the Molotov cocktail supplies were plastic containers and rags that smelled of solvents. The pepper spray factory was nothing more than a kitchen and bomb-making materials were limited to simple plastic water pipe. All of these materials are consistent with activities related to the convergence and art projects.

As a result of police action the infrastucture and political messages in the form of signs and puppets were taken by police and did not appear on the streets or in media coverage. Undoubtedly numerous people stayed home for fear of associating with violent terrorists utilizing bomb-making factories.

Minneapolis International Society of Animal Geneticists - July 2000

Several days before the protest was to begin, police claimed that large quantities of ammonium nitrate had been stolen from a nearby storage area and that unidentifed protestors were suspected of involvement. On the day of the major march, police claimed that a cyanide bomb had been detonated in a MacDonalds restaurant. The FBI called this an act of terrorism and the local anti-protest law enforcement action was placed under federal control. The next day the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, including hooded officers raided a house where some protest organizing had taken place. Residents were beaten, arrested and taken to a hospital. Hard drives and political literature were seized along with less than an ounce of marijuana and a small amount of psychedelics. Police at the raid claimed that an undercover agent had warned that residents at the house wore hunting knives to attack police in the event of an arrest.

Charges on all but one resident have since been dropped. Police announced that they now have no reason to believe that activists were involved in the ammonium nitrate theft. A health department inspector said that there was no cyanide threat, the poison being more concentrated in apple seeds than in the smoke bomb that fogged the MacDonalds. Needless to say, the retractions did not receive the level of press coverage of the original actions. Discussion of the ethics of animal genetics received little discussion.

Tacoma Kaiser Aluminum Lock-out of Steelworkers - March 2000

In the wake of the successful alliance built between labor and environmentalists in Seattle, action was planned in Tacoma to support the locked-out United Steel Workers of America. The Direct Action Network, Steelworkers and more than a dozen other groups allied to call for a weekend of actions. As that weekend approached, police warned the press and community leaders of the violence that was likely. They claimed that “anarchists from Eugene were missing” and actions at the Kaiser plant could start a chain reaction and “blow up the whole port of Tacoma.”

In this case, initial scare tactics were sufficient. Steelworker leadership backed out of the alliance one week before the actions and the protest fell apart. No mass labor-environment action coalition has happened since.

Eugene, OR Eugene Active Existence - June 2000

A six week anarchist conference was the subject of numerous police press releases concerning alleged threats of violence and the precautions the Eugene Police Department employed to avert trouble. Police distributed to the media a portfolio of dozens of flyers spanning five years that they claimed revealed protestors’ violent threats. They created a video simulation of a dummy police officer burned by a police-constructed firebomb that anarchists might use.

Two days before the final planned march, police arrested two young men for allegedly burning a truck. They are currently being held on $900,000 bail and face 15 to 86 years in prison if convicted.

Conclusions

Mass media and public perceptions are being systematically manipulated by police departments and other government agencies faced with upcoming mass protests in their cities. These manipulations are designed to squelch protest and thereby the message of dissent. A common thread in the current series of nation-wide protests is a sense that control of government is no longer in the hands of common people. Governments are effectively squashing the challenge inherent in this message.

Editorial pages and conversations on the street are full of critiques that protestors are not clear about what they stand for and seem more interested in violence than meaningful change. This is as clear a sign as any that protestor voices have been effectively silenced and police positioning of protestors is carrying the day.

In addition, activists are scared. Anyone who has been involved in the mass protest movement through a major event of the last six months has friends who have been brutalized at the hands of the system. Of the nearly 2500 protest arrests that have happened since November 30, 1999, more than three-quarters have had all charges dropped and only a small percentage of arrests have resulted in convictions.

These facts notwithstanding, there is little national debate on police strongarm tactics. The reason seems clear. Despite the injustice activists face for speaking their beliefs, the public allows these police tactics because they have been made tofear activists. Unfortunately, the evidence for their fear is the result of misinformation by these same police agencies.

The costs to police agencies since Seattle are minimal. No chief has been pressured to resign, noofficer has been charged with misbehavior and requests for special approriations in the millions of dollars for gear and overtime have been granted.

In Los Angeles we should expect these successful tactics to be repeated. Step one has been completely implemented. The public knows of thousands of National Guard soldiers standing ready, units to diffuse weapons of mass destruction are on stand-by, the public has been asked to phone police whenever they see someone wearing the political symbol associated with anarchism: the circle A. The first protestor arrests resulted in felony charges filed and $20,000 bail for a failed banner hang. Sometime around August 12th or 13th we should expect some stunning news of impending protestor violence. Sometime within a day or so thereafter we should expect a large scale pre-emptive raid or arrest. By the end of the DNC it will be clear that the stunning news claiming protestor violence earlier in the week will remain unsubstantiated.

When the full range of political dialogue is no longer being tolerated by the government, and the general public remain silent about this repression it will not simply disappear. With debate stifled, energy for change will instead transform and move underground. Evidence of a growing movement of covert acts of sabotage indicate that the movement underground is picking up steam.

this is one of the best analyses i've seen of why the movement is getting thrashed.

i daresay it's time for protestors to find competent legal counsel, successfully sue the m-f'ers who are simply thugs in police uniforms, and use the money to build a more robust indymedia organization.

law-abiding police and their unions: it's time to renounce these tactics that the politicians have imposed, and work for peace and justice.

it's about time.

This is the kind of quality reporting we need more of!

-Edison

Thanks so much for the above report: no offense whatsoever to any and all others, but it is of the quality we need to see more of here!!

While the whole concept, of Indy Media sites, is to provide access to uncensored reporting, thus allowing for a whole range of quality, which in my opinion is true freedom of the press in action, there arises every now and then a true gem. This editorial is such a gem. I have been trying for over a week to summarize my thoughts and feelings about all that is taking place in America today. This editorial hits the nail right on the head and will be widely distributed and shared with others in my community.

Thank you for taking the time to share it with the world. I look forward to reading more from you.

Yes, a great article. I was wondering if there is any information about what the actual convictions were for and how many felonies. To the best of my knowledge, since Seattle there has yet to be a conviction for assault of another person.

Also it should be noted that protesters as of a few days ago won their court battles against the police and the city in Seattle. When we lose in the streets, we can win in the courts (although the press under-reports this).

One other incident I recall hearing about was that in Windsor during the OAS protest a car was searched by the police and sticks of incence were found. The two occupants of the car were charged with attempted arson as the incence sticks were claimed to be slow matches for lighting fires.

Given the Rampart scandal in LA, not only should we fear what the police say to the public that is misleading, but we should be wary of fabricated evidence.

I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada . Recently the WPC (World Petrolium Congress)had their meetings at the newly built convention centre named after the telephone monopoly in western canada but payed for by the people. The building itself is a full block wide on a street that used to be lined with historical buildings . Two years ago i saw a man surveying on the corner which at that time was a park called speakers corner the symbol of free speech in my city. I questioned him and he replied with an old fasioned "It's okay honey we are just taking pictures". Now on that corner sits another concrete atrosity blocking the sun. So it seems ironic the first convention was the WPC. I at this time was working in on of the hotels downtown in the kitchen. About three weeks before the event the media hype of violent protests began. We were told professional protesters trained in camps we being sent to the city. They sectioned off streets around the WPC including the street i worked on with armed police. I had to carry three pieces of i.d. and a signed letter saying where i worked just to walk down the street. It was present at work as well with signs above every telephone describing proper procedure for bomb threats. Even my boss had comments against the so called violent tree hugggers. I was torn having to continue working knowing i was against this whole thing. I was a prisoner in my own city ,with a lack of information . I tried everything to try and contact an action group ,including the internet but all websites relating to the protest sites had "disappeared". All local news channels and mainstream newspapers ran footage of the protests in seatle and warned the public not to get involved . Despite my desire to make a difference i was powerless due to mis information. As a result the protest was limited to 1500 people in a city where there is too many people to get a seat on the bus. Only after the WPC had left the city did i finally see any coverage supporting the protesters,who had communicated with the police the whole time assuring non violent demonstration. That article only ran in the weekly free news and entertainment paper FFWD. Shortly after that the police chief announced her retirement. This silence can continue no longer

I live in Seattle and am watching as the WTO ACcountability Review Committee winds down its review of the events of the WTO week. One thing that has become clear is the use of misinformation by the police to justify their actions. The police reported that protesters had gathered lighter fluid of the shelves of a local store to make molitov cocktails. In fact the manager of the store pulled the merchandise. The police reported that protesters were filling gas canisters at a local gas station. They admitted later that this was a bogus report. They need the threat of terrorism to justify the attacks on our rights. Unfortunately the media has accepted most of what they say without investigation. The retractions are never as visible as the original reports.

I have followed the Philly and D.C. activities with concern. Thank you for clearly stating this issue which needs more public attention.

This article is an excellent summary. I was in Seattle and Washington DC, and the author has written an accurate account. However, the media need to be viewed as part of the conspiracy by the ruling class, and the police as the ignorant dupes and puppets--usually with pathological problems. We witnessed here in Illinois novice college students solving capital crimes that expert police and prosecutors could not solve. The police know force and nothing else. The propaganda originates above the police department level.

Instead of don't give up the ship, I should have quoted John Paul Jones,who said "I have not yet begun to fight." Your article is good, execellent, and but one more in a series of articles and reports results from the attempt to criminalize activism, because such activism is an embrassment to those in power, to this so-called democracy that is so hightly touted, but denied to its own people, who protest injustice and seek the right to protest injustice. Your article does an execellent job of the manipulation of the public, through the use of the media and the big lie, said often enough and loud enough, to make people who know no better and who do not receive fair and accurate news, by of the mainstream medias failure to do its job and censorship by omission. The local Marquette Mining Journal, Sat. 8/12/00, published a letter of mine. The first sentence was "I don't suppose many people, in this area,or the nation, are aware of what happened, and is happening in Philadelphia, to the protesters..." and finished it with "Activism should not be criminalized!" Sorry this is so long, will end now. Stay with it and I will be watching and listening and trying to pass the word along.

Take care,

Fred

Just so everyone knows ...

There *are* lawsuits pending right now against the police departments of Washington, DC and Philadelphia for their actions, by the National Lawyers Guild. Of course, these lawsuits aren't getting any press from the corporate media, but believe me, the police will feel the consequences.

People need to flood the corporate-owned media with letters letting them know that we want accurate and unbiased reporting. Until the media is no longer a factor, free speech is just a dream.

Transform Mumia into a Mummy!

After the "revolution" has been ratcheted up to the "second level" as outline by --JdPrez at LAimc. I recommend you go to the second level in riot gear accessories as well. Don't leave home without one. Be the first in your neighborhood to go home in one these. Make a fashion statement. Express yourself. Go to this web site for a complete selection of apparel.

This accusation of planned violence (a fabrication)
can be dated, by myself, to the Gulf War Protests.
Perhaps you have older examples.
I was arrested with "the Cathedral 8" during the war parade
(welcome home) in New York along with father Castle and other activists. We were charged with trespass (in a Cathedral on a Sunday!) for sitting in pews. We were quietly waiting for the speaker General Schworzkof (sp?) to show up. The accusation in court was that we INTERFERED WITH A BOMB SEARCH by the FBI. We did no such thing.
It is interesting as it shows this plan to accuse people
of being bombers is , in my opinion, hatched by Federal law enforcement agencies, hatched in advance, no matter what the situation and used in any instance of the need to arrest people withou cause.
Mary Titus
New York City

People need to have a friend who works in a sewing shop. They can give tips on how to construct a cheap banner. If you and your environmental org go to pay a sign company for a banner that says "Black Lung Kills One Person Every 6 Hours" you will have to pay 90$. This is money you need to buy rice, vegetables, fruit and honey. Also childcare and a few auto repairs. I want to say hello to Radio B-92 in Yugoslavia and Radio 68_H in Indonesia. Also to The University of Iowa. Radio Free georgia 89.3 FM is doing well.

.while overall this was awell written and informative article there was at least one instance of misleading"reporting" I'm from D.C. and I was there to imply that the majoity of the 1200 arrests were due to the threats of violence is bullshit the police and the media certainly did engage in a misinformation campain to create a false image of scary,..violent protesters that .had nothing to do with the over 600 arrests of people doing non-violent civil disobediance and almost all of the other arrests occured at the protest against theP.I.C. on 4/15 00when you take a well .written article and distort it with partial truths you do .yourself and the "movement" a great disservice don't be so lazy,sloppy or dishonest isn't that what the mainstream media"s job is supposed to be there are enough people trying to .discredit the "movement" without doing the job for them

Examples like the ones mentioned above of police building a campaign of lies that are easily refuted needs to be on page 1 of the conventional press. Historically cover-ups and the dissemination of lies by people in power has attracted plenty of media attention by investigative reporters working in the public interest. Now we have examples of police lies that even the police have been forced to retract in the face of the facts. Why aren't these in the paper? If you're reading IMC than I'm sure you know why however that doesn't mean the fight to end the cops' anti-dissention propaganda should be abandoned. We must call our local press' hotlines, you know the ones that asks for "tips" or "newsbreaks" and tell them about the cops propaganda campaign, especially when the cops themselves have been forced to retract. While it may be in the corperate media's interest to repress stories that show the guilt of their advertisers, there is no conflict in self-interests for journalists when the cops are concerned. What with the Ramparts scandal making page 1 we need to capitalize on the publicity.

I'd like to agree with all this, but also to stress that this pattern of behavior includes the Chicago 1996 "Democratic" National Convention. The stunts they pulled there should be familiar. As with an event in Los Angeles, they alleged that the local independent media organization (CounterMedia) covering the event had "a bomb" in their media van, and seized it for the duration (one story I heard was that they were "sending it to FBI headquarters to be tested"). They smashed video cameras of more than one person covering protests. They made a raid on the puppet-making headquarters, though by Philadelphia standards this was "mild", since they allowed the puppets to be displayed during one of the early marches and only seized them (together with the pepper spraying of various people) the day before Clinton showed up. (In Los Angeles there was some court order prohibiting it, so apparently they only confiscated puppets for shorter intervals or from smaller numbers of people). There was the inevitable bogus trial of five "leaders" picked out from the group, on absolutely ludicrous felony charges selected apparently either humorously or as a method of underscoring their complete confidence in their ability to abuse so-called legal processes; for instance, they accused the animal rights fanatic of burning a police horse with a lit cigarette. Eventually they made their dominant charge that the five of them (from various organizations) had conspired to throw a plastic bottle at police.

It cannot be stressed enough that even if such ``harassment'' tactics remain only at a level pitch, they are not simply time honored American tradition, however bogus "democracy" in this country has always been. The factor that changes everything is the degree to which technological advances make seizures and arrests more dangerous to liberty. A person arrested in the 1960's was only subject to fingerprinting, for example --- now, the police are pushing to use the opportunity for DNA testing, which then allows them to begin to isolate those genetic factors which predispose people to activism and protest, and find CURES for them. Even now, it is possible to determine the isoform of tryptophan hydroxylase a person has and predict that certain people are more prone to violence. That is just ONE gene; mass arrests allow them to find others. Likewise, seized equipment was only prone to destruction --- now, it could be bugged; the whole innards of a videocamera could have been replaced by something sending secret signals (not that I think that would be necessary; they've probably already arranged that with the manufacturer!). Prisoners once had to worry only about poison or diseases in the food --- now, there is only-the-NSA-knows-how much research about the best ways to use neurotoxins to blunt people's potential. When these police project paranoid, bizarre schemes onto protestors, it is of course an act to falsely justify attacks... but it is also a reflection of the kinds of actions they themselves consider. The people who bombed and massacred at MOVE and Waco no longer need to expose themselves to such criticism to carry out schemes of evil intent.

The heading above is a sad one for me to pronounce,but it's truth is now zooming up onto 30 years of power consolidation by the powers that be, since the government was finally completely ripped out of the hands of the people by a coup that was put into motion in the late 1800s',strange as that may sound to most of you.Two world wars were STAGED and setup by the Internationalists to contain and manage the large socialist and communist movements that they themselves manufactured as a way to split people and families apart philosophically and politically with a really brilliant actually,Depression that was totally setup and successfully staged by the richest elites in America(With alot of help from their European relatives and compadres).The Internationalists if you will,that in conversation will be quite stoney faced and grumpy if their ownership in totality of the United States is even jokingly referred to in a not serious tone.When it was apparent to them that they could assassinate a sitting U.S.President without even having to give up a shooter and completely skate free without even the discomfort of answering any questions under oath, The American public suddenly didn't seem just stupid,but stupid, vapid, and completely devoid of that one quality, that had given them pause,since our semi legit revolution.People stupid enough to buy the complete implausibility of the explanations given surrounding Kennedys murder,welllll, no one that could be that stupid individually and collectively,could possibly be as human and as lofty in development as we.
As far as the Vietnam War went, the government accomplished what they set out to do which was to provoke the North( A Soviet Bloc Partner)into a conflict that would force them to arm themselves with tech of sorts and act as an nonvolunteering buffer between China and the offshore oil and shipping routes, not to mention the lucrative trade with Taiwan,Indoneshia and Australia.We didn't gain a thing but cheap thrills for all our peaceful and not so peaceful anti war protests.But we lost alot of good brothers and sisters along the way,all the while foolishly believing that we could affect and cause positive change from within.Are you experienced? Do you understand? Hell they were shooting and killing us almost up to the last day of the war. That's accomplishment???? Cells........Everyone must awaken to the fact that this is not now nor has it ever been a democracy,for,of,and by the people.It's only ever been that in peoples minds, not in reality.If you stay in peaceful protest mode, one day you'll awaken from your dream, so that you can go down and claim your children from the loving arms of the police, and wonder why things don't seem any different than when you had your one year to make a difference.There is absolutely nothing in Gods creation that you can bargain with, with these people, to make them give you one minute of their time, let alone an inch of ground.After all they and their families have controlled three quarters of the Earth and humanity for a few thousand years now.They'll only pay attention when there is no longer anyone between them and you.France made the mistake of letting some of them escape during their revolt. Have you checked out the French lately? And you think these cops are brutal.Stay calm and keep a smile on your face........Cells.......Well I'm 57 years old and all this typing has made me late for my old man snooze.Luckily I've got a riot gun and an AK so I can still safely snooze on the lawn.And remember.....Cells.....And if you want a democracy, you'd better be able to keep up with us old guys,We've had to learn to be pretty ruthless in our old age.Forget Protest.It doesn't work.Didn't even work for Ghandi.Well, thank you for your hospitality and the venue

I am from Australia and have just dicoverd your website. Excellent !!!. The violence in Seattle, Melbourne and recently Genoa is a state organised attack on the peoples demorcratic rights. On CNN website there is a feature article on urbanwarfare. Basically the army in the US is being trained for urban warfare. Just as in Australia there is a rise in the training of police in paramilatary tatics.
This is nothing more, than the prerparation of our so called democratic goverments to protect the interests of the multinaltional giants and their corporate greed. Laws have been passed in Australia where it makes it easier for the goverment to order soldiers against civilians, it is named the 'shoot to kill' legislation. Another law up for debate gives powers to police, if 15 mins after they issue an order for a picketline, a march or protest to disperse, even if the gathering is paeacful, thay can use force to disperse the crowd and fines of AUD$1000 can imposed on individuals. In Melbourne there is a weekly campaign against the Nike sportswear retailer, to bring the attention to their explotive work practices in third world countries. The police violently arrested several protestors. Some weeks later it was revealed that Nike offered considerable discounts to police offciers in uniform.!! So much for democracy and human rights. But the good people globally united will win!!