Demonstrators of various stripes have commanded special attention at past national political conventions, logistically and legally.

Myron P. Medcalf and Heron Marquez Estrada
Star Tribune
Nov. 15, 2006

With nearly two years to go before the gavel falls at the 2008 Republican National Convention, anti-war demonstrators already are planning to march on the convention arena in St. Paul.

The Anti-War Committee, based in Minneapolis, has applied for marching and demonstration permits from the city of St. Paul.

Delegates "have 17,000 hotel rooms; I hope we have numbers at least as many," said Jess Sundin, a member of the Anti-War Committee.

Even if the pool of protesters is half that size, St. Paul may face the same kinds of massive logistical and legal challenges that have cost other political convention hosts millions from lawsuits filed by demonstrators alleging free speech violations and excessive force.

"If [demonstrators are] looking for ways to become famous, you pick a place like this," said Bernard Parks, former police chief in Los Angeles, where the 2000 Democratic National Convention was held.

The Anti-War Committee filed for city permits now to provide ample time for legal challenges if they're turned down, Sundin said. It's the only group to file for a permit so far, but many others are expected to follow suit.

The day before the 2004 Democratic National Convention began in Boston, 2,000 antiwar demonstrators and 1,000 abortion foes held separate demonstrations. A month later, at the Republican convention in New York, more than 1,800 protesters were arrested in five days.

On the other hand, the worst-case scenarios for those conventions, the first since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, never panned out. Boston police prepared for up to 2,500 arrests, but made only four. New York police carefully planned a "rapid response" strategy to handle demonstrations, but in the end allowed some groups to march without permits after last-minute negotiations.

Getting ready

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota (ACLU) says it expects more protest groups to sign up for the Twin Cities convention, and is getting ready to help them get access to the convention site.

"We've already started discussions and lining up attorneys," said Chuck Samuelson, executive director of the state ACLU. "They have these conventions every four years and they take away the First Amendment rights of everybody except the people they agree with."

Most of the controversy, Samuelson said, probably will surround the barricaded areas where convention demonstrators have been confined in recent years — "First Amendment free-speech zones, that's what they're called, and they're illegal, I think," he said.

In 2000, Los Angeles paid out more than $4 million in legal settlements to demonstrators, reporters and bystanders who accused police of using excessive force during the Democratic convention. Authorities had accused protesters of hurling concrete blocks, stop signs and rocks at officers.

Four years later, hundreds of demonstrators said they were wrongly arrested at the Republican convention in New York. A month before that, in Boston, protesters said their rights were violated at the Democratic convention when they were kept away from delegates, confined in a fenced-in area lined with razor wire and secured by police.

St. Paul won't know the federal government's precise security expectations until the city files next year for National Special Security Event status, which would make the U.S. Secret Service the leader on convention security.

Part of the package

But police are already looking for groups that might pose possible security challenges. St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington said he thinks all parties should meet to discuss expectations.

"We've learned, in our own experience, it makes a lot of sense to work with those protesters," Harrington said. "In a sense, the convention is an exercise of democracy."

To help ensure a safe event without free-speech disputes, St. Paul City Attorney John Choi said he plans a pre-convention conference with lawyers, activists and city officials.

Choi said he recognizes that some groups may come to the convention with the intention of sparking a lawsuit. "We expect many people are coming here wanting to make a point," he said. "Maybe that point is getting arrested."

Despite confrontations between demonstrators and police at past conventions, the Anti-War Committee's Sundin said St. Paul authorities shouldn't worry about violent demonstrations. "We are all longstanding organizations," she said. "We pose no threat."

Samuelson said he expects the Minnesota ACLU eventually will get involved in lawsuits to guarantee convention access. He said he expects that authorities will be prepared to handle tens of thousands of arrests, possibly using a large venue to hold those arrested and process them.

Ramsey County Chief District Judge Gregg Johnson said that his judges are working on plans to handle mass arrests, including multiple arraignments during the day and bringing in more judges.

Local and national Secret Service officials said they had not yet established boundaries for protesters outside the Xcel arena. But Twin Cities planners were braced for such details even before submitting their convention bid, said Erin Dady, St. Paul's marketing director.

"Protesters are on our radar," she said. "That's part of the package of hosting a convention."