Authorities seize weapons, equipment and urine in pre-RNC raids; 5 arrested

Authorities staged raids Friday night and Saturday on several locations where Republican National Convention demonstrators and protesters have been meeting, seizing a dizzying array of items, including a machete, a hatchet, throwing knives, axes, bolt cutters, equipment used in rappelling – and three 5-gallon buckets of urine. 

The Ramsey County sheriff’s office reported Saturday afternoon that search warrants were executed Saturday morning at three Minneapolis homes: 2301 23rd Ave. S. (described by protesters as the “Minneapolis Food Not Bombs house”), 3500 Harriet Ave. and 3240 17th Ave. S. 

On Friday evening, authorities raided the RNC Welcoming Committee's main “convergence center” in downtown St. Paul, sending the self-described anarchists scurrying to find another place to, um, converge.

Five people were arrested Saturday and are facing charges of conspiracy to riot, conspiracy to commit civil disorder and conspiracy to damage property. The five, who are being held in the Hennepin County Jail, are Nathanael David Secor, 26; Garrett Scott Fitzgerald, 25; Eryn Chase Trimmer, 23; Monica Rachel Bicking, 23; and Erik Charles Oseland, 21.  Addresses were not listed for the five, though it appears that most of them travel from city to city, organizing protests similar to the ones planned for the RNC.

Officers from the Minneapolis Police Department, the Hennepin and Ramsey county sheriff’s departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, armed with search warrants, executed the raids.

"This investigation pertains to actions of the RNC Welcoming Committee," Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said in a statement at midday Saturday. "The 'Welcoming Committee' is a criminal enterprise made up of 35 anarchists who are intent on committing criminal acts before and during the Republican National Convention.

"These acts include tactics to blockade and disable delegate buses, breaching venue security and injuring police officers. They have recruited assistance in their criminal conspiracy from other anarchist groups throughout the country. Through their plans and actions, they have exhibited a blatant disregard for the law and the safety of others."

Among the items recovered by authorities executing search warrants were materials used in creating "sleeping dragons," such as PVC pipe, chicken wire and duct tape. A "sleeping dragon" is a maneuver designed to lock protesters together into a human barricade.

According to a story in Denver's Rocky Mountain News in advance of the Democratic National Convention, protesters have not just handcuffed themselves to one another in other cities; they also put the handcuffs inside PVC tubes, which are put inside concrete. "They've figured out ways to keep the police from just using bolt cutters to cut them apart," Doug Linkhart, Denver's public safety committee chairman, said. "They also use buckets of urine and feces and various noxious substances to pour on themselves or the police" -- most likely the reason why local authorities seized three 5-gallon buckets of urine on Saturday. (Anarchists in other locations have also filled squirt guns with urine in advance of demonstrations.)

They also seized "wrist rockets," slingshots used to shoot ball bearings; a gas mask and filter; empty glass bottles; rags; flammable liquids; homemade caltrops (a device used to disable buses in roads); metal pipes; axes; bolt cutters; sledge hammers; kryptonite locks; empty plastic buckets cut and made into shields; materials for protective padding; and an Army helmet.

For its part, the RNC Welcoming Committee continues to post updates on its website. The Convergence Center, at 627 Smith Ave. S. in St. Paul, reopened at 2 p.m. Saturday after authorities closed it Friday night for a fire code violation, according to the website; protesters gathered earlier in Minneapolis' Powderhorn Park, but were redirected to the Convergence Center after it reopened.

St. Paul City Councilman Dave Thune, whose ward includes the Convergence Center, A St. Paul City Council representative, intervened with the Department of Safety and Inspections to get the space reopened, the Welcoming Committee reported.

Thune, along with other activists, condemned the raid. "This is not the way to start things off," Thune said. "This is sending the wrong message. Regardless of how you feel about these people, they had a right to be there."

The Welcoming Committee posted an update on its website at midafternoon Saturday:

"A public meeting was held in Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis today that was attended by hundreds of people in solidarity with the victims of police violence," the group said. "Several police raids were conducted on homes today and protest organizers were taken into custody. Police continue to target organizers of police activities

"Your presence is immediately needed at the Convergence Space to maintain a round-the-clock vigil."

The Coldsnap Legal Collective, a group that has mobilized to provide legal assistance to RNC protesters and demonstrators, is also posting updates on its website.

The collective has a downloadable "police misconduct report" available; the report asks for detailed descriptions of victims and police, and advises users to document the following: how the police and civilians were acting ("e.g., aggressive, scared"); why police arrived or were present; offensive language or hate speech ("e.g., racist, sexist, homophobic") by police; rude language or swearing by police; searches of person, bag, car, or home, patdowns, stops, inappropriate questining, etc., and what was said; whether the victim was handcuffed or restrained; any violence ("Be specific," the report urges); what type of physical force or weapon was used ("e.g., shove, punch, nightstick, pepper spray"); how many times and on what parts of the body was the victim struck; whether any property was damaged or taken; a description of the number, type and location of injuries (such as "two baseball-sized bruises on back," the report suggests); information on ambulance and medical personnel, including license plate numbers, names and identification numbers; and the hospital where any treatment was obtained.