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Alice Speri
June 22 2016, 10:23 a.m.
Photo: John Minchillo/AP
Anyone venturing into a 3.3-square-mile “event zone” surrounding next month’s
Republican National Convention will be prohibited from carrying tennis balls,
tape, rope, bike locks, sleeping bags, or any object they could stand on to
rise above the crowd and speak. They won’t be allowed to carry swords or water
guns. But if they have a license, they’ll be permitted to openly carry real
guns, including assault weapons.
As Cleveland gears up to host one of the most controversial GOP conventions in
decades, Ohio’s permissive gun policy isn’t the only red flag raised by
prospective protesters and civil rights advocates. Many also warn that the
regulations put in place by the city place “unacceptable restrictions on free
speech” and risk escalating conflict, rather than diffusing it, by forcing
rival groups of demonstrators to share tight quarters and schedules while
keeping them out of sight and earshot of delegates and the media.
The restrictions imposed on the large event zone drawn around Cleveland’s
Quicken Loans Arena — known locally as “The Q”— have earned the city a lawsuit
filed by the ACLU of Ohio and widespread criticism across the spectrum of
groups planning to show up at the convention to make their voices heard.
A man carries a semi-automatic pistol while he waits in line to purchase
groceries at a Safeway grocery store in Alexandria, Va., Nov. 21, 2015.
Photo: Cliff Owen/AP
“It’s the first time I’ve gone to a protest where there’s been so much talk of
guns and the fact that people can carry them legally,” said John Penley, a
64-year-old Navy vet, Occupy Wall Street activist, and career protester, who
said he has lost count of how many conventions he has attended. “They throw
pro- and anti-Trump protesters together, and throw in the fact that maybe
people will be carrying weapons. … It seems like what they want to do is
increase the chances for conflict.”
The nearly 30 groups that have applied for permits to protest at the convention
have been told marches can only take place between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., with an
hour off for lunch, while most action inside the convention hall is expected to
take place in the evening. Marches are restricted to a 1-mile route over a
bridge where they can hardly be seen. “The route takes a sharp right away from
the Quicken Loans Arena and kind of dumps people into an industrial wasteland,”
Christine Link, the executive director of the ACLU of Ohio, told The Intercept.
“There’s nowhere to get a bottle of water, and it’s a long way back to your
car.”
Protesters fear they will be effectively silenced by the isolation, but also
worry about the close scheduling of groups on polar opposites of the political
spectrum. For instance, members of the radical leftist Revolution Books are set
to share one of two small gathering places with Westboro Baptist Church, an
anti-gay hate group best known for picketing high-profile funerals. “As you can
imagine,” Link said, “these groups are not going to be very friendly to each
other.”
The ACLU lawsuit was filed on behalf of three groups: Citizens for Trump;
Organize Ohio, a coalition of grassroots organizations planning an anti-poverty
march during the convention; and the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless,
which is not planning to protest but argues that the broad event zone imposes
an unfair burden on an area that includes three homeless shelters and two
homeless encampments.
The groups that applied for permits are only a fraction of those expected to
show up at the convention. “Anarchists don’t typically ask for permits,” Link
observed. Those hoping to protest by the book have had to deal with
malfunctioning electronic request forms, delays, and a lack of communication
from the city. The restrictions now imposed on protesters are only going to
push more people to rally without authorization.
“They have to know that most people will never go along with this,” said Larry
Bresler, a member of Organize Ohio. “It’s like they have no understanding
whatsoever of what can be expected to go on during a convention.”
Cleveland’s Division of Police referred all convention-related questions to the
mayor’s office, which did not respond to requests for comment.
Paramilitary Preparations
Cleveland received a $50 million federal grant to gear up for the RNC. A
complete list of items the city has obtained has not been made public, but
according to the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), which has been monitoring
preparations, it includes 10,000 sets of flex cuffs; “nonlethal munitions” like
bean bag pellets; pepper spray; 2,000 sets of riot gear; 2,000 retractable
steel batons; 3.7 miles’ worth of steel barriers; as well as body armor,
including ballistic helmets, face visors and shields, and chest, arm, leg, and
groin protection. The list also includes video surveillance equipment, laptops,
night vision devices, and 16 Pointer Illuminator Aiming Lasers, which a
technology retailer describes as being used for “night direct-fire aiming and
illumination.” The NLG also raised concerns that Cleveland may deploy Stingray
cellphone tracking devices to track down activists, as well as a Long Range
Acoustical Device (LRAD), a crowd-control tool emitting painful sounds to force
people to disperse.
The LRAD, which was designed after the al Qaeda bombing of the USS Cole in
Yemen, in 2000, was originally intended for U.S. warships to warn off vessels
approaching without permission. The device was used for the first time against
protesters in 2009, during the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, and a bystander who
suffered permanent hearing damage sued the city. Police departments across the
country have continued to use the LRAD to disperse protests and rallies,
including in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City.
“That militarized equipment or any security equipment that they buy for the RNC
remains there long after the delegates leave,” said Jocelyn Rosnick, a
coordinator for the Ohio Chapter of the NLG. “We believe that people have a
right to know what’s coming into their city.”
Cleveland also paid $1.5 million to an insurance broker to secure a $10 million
policy for liabilities relating to the convention. “Protest insurance” has
become common for cities hosting political conventions and is intended to
protect the city and its employees, including officers, against any claims and
losses arising from its role as RNC host, including its “law enforcement,
safety, and security services,” city officials wrote in a call for bids. But
the implication of the insurance policy — that the city assumes it will be sued
over its handling of protests — doesn’t sit well with civil rights advocates.
“These policies go far beyond general slip and fall type coverage,” said
Rosnick. “They also indemnify the city for lawsuits related to constitutional
violations and other civil liberties concerns.”
While Cleveland’s police have mostly responded to protests with restraint, for
instance during the rallies following the killing by an officer of 12-year-old
Tamir Rice, a Department of Justice investigation found that the department has
engaged in a pattern of excessive force in its regular operations. In a
December 2014 report, the DOJ determined that “insufficient accountability,
inadequate training, ineffective policies, and inadequate engagement with the
community” contributed to Cleveland police’s “use of unreasonable force.”
Following the report, a police monitor was brought in, and reforms were
promised. “But there hasn’t been enough time to fix anything,” said the ACLU’s
Link, who questioned the department’s preparedness to handle the large number
of protesters coming to town for the convention. “That’s the worry we have:
This is not a sophisticated, well-run police department.”
The convention center itself is under the control of the Secret Service, which
has imposed a separate set of restrictions, including a ban on weapons. An
online petition to allow licensed owners to carry guns inside the convention
center gathered nearly 55,000 signatures before it was revealed that it was set
up as a parody by a gun-control advocate.
Protesters planning to rally outside — with or without permits — worry that
poor planning by the city and the hateful rhetoric that has marked much of the
Republican race may turn into a dangerous combination. Some have already
elected to stay home out of fear of violence, leaving those choosing to protest
at an even greater risk.
Bresler, of Organize Ohio, said he met with organizers of the pro-Trump camp
and that both groups are committed to nonviolent protest. “But you don’t always
know who’s going to come in and join, and what’s going to happen,” he added.
Pensley, the career protester, predicts that only the more radical will show up
in Cleveland, while both liberals and radicals will descend on Philadelphia,
for the Democratic National Convention.
“A lot of people I know who usually would be protesting at both conventions are
skipping out on Cleveland because they are scared,” he said. “And I don’t blame
them.”
Contact the author:
Alice Speri✉alice.speri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@alicesperi
˅ ⎕ 41 Comments
Cleveland Bans Soapboxes and Sleeping Bags, Not Guns, Near Republican Convention
/staff/alicesperi/ /staff/alicesperi/
/staff/alicesperi/ /staff/alicesperi/
Alice Speri
June 22 2016, 10:23 a.m.
Anyone venturing into a 3.3-square-mile “event zone” surrounding next month’s
Republican National Convention will be prohibited from carrying tennis balls,
tape, rope, bike locks, sleeping bags, or any object they could stand on to
rise above the crowd and speak. They won’t be allowed to carry swords or water
guns. But if they have a license, they’ll be permitted to openly carry real
guns, including assault weapons.
As Cleveland gears up to host one of the most controversial GOP conventions in
decades, Ohio’s permissive gun policy isn’t the only red flag raised by
prospective protesters and civil rights advocates. Many also warn that the
regulations put in place by the city place “unacceptable restrictions on free
speech” and risk escalating conflict, rather than diffusing it, by forcing
rival groups of demonstrators to share tight quarters and schedules while
keeping them out of sight and earshot of delegates and the media.
The restrictions imposed on the large event zone drawn around Cleveland’s
Quicken Loans Arena — known locally as “The Q”— have earned the city a lawsuit
filed by the ACLU of Ohio and widespread criticism across the spectrum of
groups planning to show up at the convention to make their voices heard.
https://prod01-cdn07.cdn.firstlook.org/wp-uploads/sites/1/2016/06/AP_348399283323.jpg
https://prod01-cdn07.cdn.firstlook.org/wp-uploads/sites/1/2016/06/AP_348399283323.jpg
A man carries a semi-automatic pistol while he waits in line to purchase
groceries at a Safeway grocery store in Alexandria, Va., Nov. 21, 2015.
Photo: Cliff Owen/AP
“It’s the first time I’ve gone to a protest where there’s been so much talk of
guns and the fact that people can carry them legally,” said John Penley, a
64-year-old Navy vet, Occupy Wall Street activist, and career protester, who
said he has lost count of how many conventions he has attended. “They throw
pro- and anti-Trump protesters together, and throw in the fact that maybe
people will be carrying weapons. … It seems like what they want to do is
increase the chances for conflict.”
The nearly 30 groups that have applied for permits to protest at the convention
have been told marches can only take place between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., with an
hour off for lunch, while most action inside the convention hall is expected to
take place in the evening. Marches are restricted to a 1-mile route over a
bridge where they can hardly be seen. “The route takes a sharp right away from
the Quicken Loans Arena and kind of dumps people into an industrial wasteland,”
Christine Link, the executive director of the ACLU of Ohio, told The Intercept.
“There’s nowhere to get a bottle of water, and it’s a long way back to your
car.”
Protesters fear they will be effectively silenced by the isolation, but also
worry about the close scheduling of groups on polar opposites of the political
spectrum. For instance, members of the radical leftist Revolution Books are set
to share one of two small gathering places with Westboro Baptist Church, an
anti-gay hate group best known for picketing high-profile funerals. “As you can
imagine,” Link said, “these groups are not going to be very friendly to each
other.”
The ACLU lawsuit was filed on behalf of three groups: Citizens for Trump;
Organize Ohio, a coalition of grassroots organizations planning an anti-poverty
march during the convention; and the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless,
which is not planning to protest but argues that the broad event zone imposes
an unfair burden on an area that includes three homeless shelters and two
homeless encampments.
The groups that applied for permits are only a fraction of those expected to
show up at the convention. “Anarchists don’t typically ask for permits,” Link
observed. Those hoping to protest by the book have had to deal with
malfunctioning electronic request forms, delays, and a lack of communication
from the city. The restrictions now imposed on protesters are only going to
push more people to rally without authorization.
“They have to know that most people will never go along with this,” said Larry
Bresler, a member of Organize Ohio. “It’s like they have no understanding
whatsoever of what can be expected to go on during a convention.”
Cleveland’s Division of Police referred all convention-related questions to the
mayor’s office, which did not respond to requests for comment.
Paramilitary Preparations
Cleveland received a $50 million federal grant to gear up for the RNC. A
complete list of items the city has obtained has not been made public, but
according to the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), which has been monitoring
preparations, it includes 10,000 sets of flex cuffs; “nonlethal munitions” like
bean bag pellets; pepper spray; 2,000 sets of riot gear; 2,000 retractable
steel batons; 3.7 miles’ worth of steel barriers; as well as body armor,
including ballistic helmets, face visors and shields, and chest, arm, leg, and
groin protection. The list also includes video surveillance equipment, laptops,
night vision devices, and 16 Pointer Illuminator Aiming Lasers, which a
technology retailer describes as being used for “night direct-fire aiming and
illumination.” The NLG also raised concerns that Cleveland may deploy Stingray
cellphone tracking devices to track down activists, as well as a Long Range
Acoustical Device (LRAD), a crowd-control tool emitting painful sounds to force
people to disperse.
The LRAD, which was designed after the al Qaeda bombing of the USS Cole in
Yemen, in 2000, was originally intended for U.S. warships to warn off vessels
approaching without permission. The device was used for the first time against
protesters in 2009, during the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, and a bystander who
suffered permanent hearing damage sued the city. Police departments across the
country have continued to use the LRAD to disperse protests and rallies,
including in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City.
“That militarized equipment or any security equipment that they buy for the RNC
remains there long after the delegates leave,” said Jocelyn Rosnick, a
coordinator for the Ohio Chapter of the NLG. “We believe that people have a
right to know what’s coming into their city.”
Cleveland also paid $1.5 million to an insurance broker to secure a $10 million
policy for liabilities relating to the convention. “Protest insurance” has
become common for cities hosting political conventions and is intended to
protect the city and its employees, including officers, against any claims and
losses arising from its role as RNC host, including its “law enforcement,
safety, and security services,” city officials wrote in a call for bids. But
the implication of the insurance policy — that the city assumes it will be sued
over its handling of protests — doesn’t sit well with civil rights advocates.
“These policies go far beyond general slip and fall type coverage,” said
Rosnick. “They also indemnify the city for lawsuits related to constitutional
violations and other civil liberties concerns.”
While Cleveland’s police have mostly responded to protests with restraint, for
instance during the rallies following the killing by an officer of 12-year-old
Tamir Rice, a Department of Justice investigation found that the department has
engaged in a pattern of excessive force in its regular operations. In a
December 2014 report, the DOJ determined that “insufficient accountability,
inadequate training, ineffective policies, and inadequate engagement with the
community” contributed to Cleveland police’s “use of unreasonable force.”
Following the report, a police monitor was brought in, and reforms were
promised. “But there hasn’t been enough time to fix anything,” said the ACLU’s
Link, who questioned the department’s preparedness to handle the large number
of protesters coming to town for the convention. “That’s the worry we have:
This is not a sophisticated, well-run police department.”
The convention center itself is under the control of the Secret Service, which
has imposed a separate set of restrictions, including a ban on weapons. An
online petition to allow licensed owners to carry guns inside the convention
center gathered nearly 55,000 signatures before it was revealed that it was set
up as a parody by a gun-control advocate.
Protesters planning to rally outside — with or without permits — worry that
poor planning by the city and the hateful rhetoric that has marked much of the
Republican race may turn into a dangerous combination. Some have already
elected to stay home out of fear of violence, leaving those choosing to protest
at an even greater risk.
Bresler, of Organize Ohio, said he met with organizers of the pro-Trump camp
and that both groups are committed to nonviolent protest. “But you don’t always
know who’s going to come in and join, and what’s going to happen,” he added.
Pensley, the career protester, predicts that only the more radical will show up
in Cleveland, while both liberals and radicals will descend on Philadelphia,
for the Democratic National Convention.
“A lot of people I know who usually would be protesting at both conventions are
skipping out on Cleveland because they are scared,” he said. “And I don’t blame
them.”
Contact the author:
/staff/alicesperi/ /staff/alicesperi/