Taser Bait, on the streets of Denver

Update: Denver police stage bizarre behavior

by Brenda Norrell

Photo: An Aurora, Colorado, police officer draws his weapon on peaceful marchers, calling for freedom for political prisoners at the federal courthouse in Denver on Monday. Photo Brenda Norrell

DENVER -- It was an incredible morning in the streets of Denver, with the voices of the people spilling out through this city during the Political Prisoners March and Rally. It was clear that there is another divide underway, those who are in the Democratic National Convention with their expense accounts and those in the streets, lending powerful voices to define the future. With most US citizens in a state of post traumatic stress syndrome, the brave faced off with Denver police and marched through the streets this morning. What began as a small crowd near the Civic Center grew as hundreds joined the march through the heart of the city to the federal courthouse.

Among those speaking out was Ben Carnes, Choctaw, who read a message from Leonard Peltier. King Downing, with ACLU's Campaign against Racial Profiling, described how he was arrested in a racial profiling incident and won his case. Mumia Abu Jamal's message was heard from death row in a recording for the event. Jamal described the true portrait of US democracy.
At one point, a police officer drew his weapon on the crowd in front of the federal courthouse. A legal observer with the Lawyer's Guild confronted him and after a standoff, the officer walked away. Still, there was a feeling that we could all soon be "taser bait."

UPDATE: Denver police spent the day intimidating and provoking peaceful protesters. By day's end there were entirely too many police with too much time on their hands. They were eager to arrest people in Denver. It didn't matter if the people were simply walking down the street. Medics were even detained.
Flashing a wide variety of weapons, Denver police positioned police gangs around the peaceful Food Not Bombs. Police even made a single file procession through the heart of Food Not Bombs' peaceful dinner. As people were eating, Denver police made one of the silliest processions ever through a dinner of rice and lentils.
After spending the late afternoon in bizarre staging and intimidation tactics in the Civic Center area, Denver police began spraying people with pepper spray and shoving people randomly by day's end. Finally, apparently bored and itchy to arrest, they arrested people for their convention dog cages. It was a sad and embarrassing day for Denver police, proving that lawlessness reigns for US police.

(To read the latest on the police attack with pepper spray and rubber bullets, see entry "Guantanamo on the Platte.")

Here is the list of speakers at the Political Prisoners Rally on Monday: Pamela Africa - MOVE Organization; American Indian Movement Spokesperson Leonard Peltier Defense Committee - Ben Carnes, with a message from Leonard, direct from Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary; Rosa Clemente - United States Vice Presidential Candidate for the Green Party; Kathleen Cleaver - The Panther Nine from San Francisco; King Downing - National Coordinator of the ACLU's Campaign Against Racial Profiling; Jenny Esquiveo - Spokesperson for Eric McDavid (Political Prisoner); Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. - Prisoners of Conscience Committee; Mumia Abu Jamal - Current Political Prisoner (Recorded from Death Row); Cha Cha Jimenez - Founder of the Young Lords (Puerto Rican Resistance Prisoners); Ricardo Romero - National Coordinator for the Mexican National Liberation Movement (MLNM); Natsu Saito - Author, Activist, and Human Rights Scholar (Guantanamo Inmates); Spokesperson for the Cuban Five and a special musical performance by Native hip hop youth activists The Savage Family.

The audios from the political prisoners march and rally will be posted at Earthcycles. We were live on the radio and web this morning on Earthcycles:
http://www.earthcycles.net/
In the streets of Denver, Brenda

Statement from Leonard Peltier
by Leonard Peltier Monday Aug 25th, 2008 10:08 AM
Greetings my friends and relatives, First of all, I can't express to you, near as much as I'd like to. The sincere appreciation I have that you would gather together remembering all the political prisoners, hostages and myself the way you have. Gatherings like this are extremely important because it reminds people of the sacrifices that are made daily through out the world for freedom, justice, and a clean and sane environment for our future generations. The powers that exploit our resources and people will always be there, generation after generation. And the creator will always call upon people to stand against that exploitation. Even if the creator does not call. Any just man or woman, with any semblance of justice, be it spiritual, social or environmental, He will find cause to take issue with those enemies of humanity and nature. One of the reasons I am so appreciative is because I want you to know, from where I stand the gatherings that you do mean so very very much to the other political prisoners, other hostages and myself. It is an extreme importance that political prisoners and hostages not be forgotten. Not necessarily for the sake of the prisoners and hostages themselves, but for the sake of future generations. To appreciate and protect and jealously guard the freedoms they possess; that was paid for with someone's life. I think the most difficult times for a political prisoner or hostage, is when people start to forget what their sacrifice was about, when people become complacent because of some economic level they have attained, and forget the sacrifices that were made and the danger of them losing those gains is imminent. And I know from personal experience, the joy I feel when I receive letters of appreciations or visitors and that is second to the joy I feel when I know that my efforts were not in vain. And there are young people taking up the cause and responsibility of regaining our lost freedoms and resources. I dearly miss the touch of friends, I dearly miss walking through a forest or across a meadow or even through the traffic of a busy street, or feeling the wind blowing against my skin, directly, rather than a window or some chain link fence. But with all this, I can't express to you how at a great loss I would feel if the reason and cause of the many political prisoners and hostages throughout the world was forgotten. Swept aside, because people become too comfortable with their status quo. I have been here for 33 years that is more than half of my life. I would give almost anything to go home. But I won't give up, I would give almost anything to be with my family. But I won't be quiet. I would give almost anything to say goodbye to this place, but I won't say goodbye to my beliefs and our struggle. I would give almost anything to walk out this door and never return. But I will never walk away from the love of my people. When I think of the things that I hear and see in the media, about how many different special interest groups, speak of various subjects, like the right to live, or pro-life, I cant help but think, of the children around the world, who never get a chance to live because of the exploitation of their resources of their country and their people. All of the destruction that is taking place here and abroad is a direct result of people, special interest groups, whose interest is primarily wealth and taking more than they need. The religious people or should I say The spiritual people of America, and anywhere else for that matter, should seek to aggressively band together to stop the unjust wars that truly impact primarily the common man, the common man who in his village or farm, city or anywhere else is destroyed, by bombs, from the various governments. Governments; Who in the name of nationalism and patriotism seek to gain political power and control over someone else's resource and political system. They should actively band together and identify the things they have in common rather than dwelling on their differences. Perhaps I am rambling too much in my statement, after 33 years in prison and 63 years upon this earth, much of this time spent thinking, praying, analyzing, and mediating, on the information that I gather from various forms of writings, books and observations, I somehow feel I have a little bit of a right, to say what I think and feel. I love you all and I am so honored that I would be invited to make a statement to you. And if I could hug each one of you individually, I guarantee you would damn well be hugged! I have never given up in my struggle for freedom. Freedom is a natural inclination of all living creatures up on the earth. Even a newborn will struggle when held too tightly. I deeply regret being in prison I deeply regret losing family members while in here, I deeply regret all the wonderful things in life that I have missed, but I will never regret standing up for my people for as long as I can draw my breath. My heart is with them always, and my heart is with you today. So long for now; I will remember you in my prayers and until next time. Keep the faith. Your relative always In the spirit of crazy horse, Leonard Peltier