Chicago Police Pummel NATO Protesters with Batons (Raw Video)
The police are supposed to respond with appropriate amount of force and no pummel and beat all protesters even those who are peaceful.
The police only make matters worse by indiscriminate violence against protesters.
The police also make things worse by forcing crowds into ever decreasing amount of space.
Once corralled or Kettled in this way telling people to back off or back up becomes as it were problematic when no real escape route is opened up. So the situation becomes more tense rather than less which creates a chaotic scene in which protesters are being pushed against one another as the police close in on protesters giving protesters no room to maneuver creating more tension , anxiety and claustrophobic environment from which many can not readily free themselves from the situation.
NATO Arrest On Michigan Ave Bridge
Published on May 18, 2012 by MNjuggalo420
Arrest on Michigan Avenue Bridge in Downtown Chicago During the 2012 NATO Summit. Officer Telling me to back up when that physically impossible at the moment with people behind me and a knee high barrier you have to cross. The video is a short edit, does show me backing up and leaving.
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Chilling Effect : Police and FBI concocted imaginary terrorists plots in the USA
It seems that just before any major protests the police or FBI in the USA conveniently expose some terrorist plot thereby putting doubts in the minds of the public about the real intentions of all those planning to take part in protests.
This becomes a means to scare the public at large so the police can use more aggressive techniques and tactics to harass even peaceful protesters.
The police therefore are guilty of demonizing otherwise peaceful legal protests and /or acts of civil disobedience.
Civil Disobedience and Non-Cooperation include tactics such as blocking traffic ; refusing to leave a designated area thereby Occupying that public or private space ; passively non-violently resisting arrests ie going limp or locking arms while seated on the floor ; and of course videotaping recording the event itself and the physical acts of arrests by police without protesters resorting to violent acts.
Those in authority if acting with a genuine concern for the safety of non-protesters and to protect property the usual means is that the police try to identify any protesters who are or intend to use violence as opposed to those who do not.
Because a few individuals or small group use violent tactics this doesn't give the police the right to treat all protesters as a threat and can therefore be harassed with beatings and the uses of massive amounts of pepper spray or other chemicals .
Using deceptive techniques the FBI and police urge a group of activists to agree to use violence to achieve their goals.
If these undercover agents are the ones encouraging violent actions then this becomes a case in which the police acted illegally and unethically .
If the undercover agents encourage violence then this is a case of entrapment.
In this recent case in Chicago the police are accused of setting up these alleged terrorists.
The police in the media exaggerated the threat for instance by calling home made Molotov Cocktails "bombs" and by claiming the targets included the Mayor of Chicago's home and and an Obama election campaign headquarters.
The lawyer for the defendants in this case argues that the initiatives concerning violence all originated from the undercover police or agent provocateurs. So it is the police who pushed these protesters to consider using violent tactics.
There is also the accusation of planted evidence that it was the police who brought the Molotov Cocktails to the residence of the alleged terrorists.
Chicago police accused of planting evidence in 'Molotov cocktail' plot from Guardian.co.uk, May 20, 2012
Police say men planned to target Obama election HQ but supporters of the men say they intended to protest at the Nato summit
Lawyers for three protesters arrested on terrorist-related charges ahead of the Nato summit have accused police of entrapping them and encouraging an alleged bomb-making effort.
The three were arrested on Wednesday night when members of the Chicago police department battered their way into an apartment in the Bridgeport area of the city.
According to court documents released on Saturday, the three men considered targeting Barack Obama's re-election headquarters and the home of Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The Chicago police department said the men, described as self-proclaimed anarchists and members of the "Black Bloc" movement that has disrupted international gatherings in the past, were arrested on Wednesday and charged on Friday with conspiracy to commit terrorism, providing material support for terrorism and possession of an explosive incendiary device.
The three men charged were listed as Brian Church, 22, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Jared Chase, 27, of Keene, New Hampshire, and Brent Betterly, 24, from Massachusetts.
At a hearing on Saturday bail was set at $1.5m for each of the three. Their next court appearance is on Tuesday.
...Deutsch, the attorney representing the suspects, said at the hearing that police had planted weapons at the scene of the arrests.
"This is a way to stir up prejudice against a people who are exercising their First Amendment rights," Deutsch said. "There were undercover police officers that ingratiated themselves with people who come from out of town."
In a case earlier this month five self-described anarchists were charged with plotting to blow up a bridge near Cleveland after planting fake explosives underneath that federal agents had sold them.
Natalie Wahlberg, a member of the Occupy Chicago movement protesting against income inequality, said: "The charges are utterly ridiculous. CPD [Chicago police department] doesn't know the difference between home beer-making supplies and Molotov cocktails."
The National Lawyers Guild, a group of volunteer lawyers representing the protesters, said on Facebook that police "broke down doors with guns drawn and searched residences without a warrant or consent".
Whose Firebombs? Inside the Alleged "Conspiracy" By Curtis Black, NewsTips.org | News Analysis, May 20, 2012
...Chicago police have a long history of infiltrating peaceful protest groups and fomenting violence – it’s one reason the Red Squad was banned by a federal court order (later lifted at the request of Mayor Daley) – and infiltration of protest groups seems to be standard operating procedure for “national security events.”
And nationally since 9/11, an embarrassing proportion of “anti-terrorism” cases have involved plots proposed, planned, and enabled by police agents. That seems to have been the case – in just the past month — with the Wrigley bomber as well as the alleged bombing plot of a group of Cleveland anarchists who supposedly “discussed” disrupting the NATO summit. Sometimes you wonder whether such efforts are directed at keeping us safe or “putting points on the board” – or, when big protests are planned, generating scare headlines.
“This is just propaganda to create a climate of fear and to create this public perception that protests are violent,” said Michael Deutsch of the National Lawyers Guild.
Given our history, it’s as plausible a theory as any. Certainly some skepticism is in order. And hopefully no one will be scared out of exercising their First Amendment rights on Sunday.
...But it’s also worth remembering what Don Rose said on the 40th anniversary of Chicago 68, when asked if there were anything the protestors should have done differently:
“The only thing in retrospect is, it would have been better to have teased out some of the police spies in our own organization. As it turned out…much of the violence [by demonstrators] was perpetrated by police moles. I suppose if we’d been more vigilant about who might be the moles and traitors among us, it might have been different.”
Men accused of plotting attacks around NATO summit
By MICHAEL TARM, Associated Press –May 20, 2012
CHICAGO (AP) — Three activists who traveled to Chicago for a NATO summit were accused Saturday of manufacturing Molotov cocktails in a plot to attack President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home and other targets.
But defense lawyers shot back that Chicago police had trumped up the charges to frighten peaceful protesters away, telling a judge it was undercover officers known by the activists as "Mo" and "Gloves" who brought the firebombs to a South Side apartment where the men were arrested.
"This is just propaganda to create a climate of fear," Michael Deutsch said. "My clients came to peacefully protest."
On the eve of the summit, the dramatic allegations were reminiscent of previous police actions ahead of major political events, when authorities moved quickly to prevent suspected plots but sometimes quietly dropped the charges later.
Outside the courtroom, Deutsch said the two undercover police officers or informants were also arrested during the Wednesday raid, and defense attorneys later lost track of the two.
"We believe this is all a setup and entrapment to the highest degree," Deutsch said.
The suspects were each being held on $1.5 million bond. Six others arrested Wednesday in the raid were released Friday without being charged.
The three who remained in custody apparently came to Chicago late last month to take part in May Day protests. Relatives and acquaintances said the men were wanderers who bounced around as part of the Occupy movement and had driven together from Florida to Chicago, staying with other activists.
Court records indicated no prior violent behavior.
Longtime observers of police tactics said the operation seemed similar to those conducted by authorities in other cities before similarly high-profile events.
For instance, prior to the Republican National Convention in 2008 in St. Paul, Minn., prosecutors charged eight activists who were organizing mass protests with terrorism-related crimes after investigators said they recovered equipment for Molotov cocktails, slingshots with marbles and other items.
The protesters, who became known as the RNC Eight, denied the allegations and accused authorities of stifling dissent. The terrorism charges were later dismissed. Five of the suspects eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges, and three had their cases dismissed altogether.
Molotov cocktails are dangerous weapons, but it "kind of stretches the bounds to define that as terrorism," said Michael Scott, director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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