From August 25 - 28, 2008, thousands of delegates, corporate boosters, public officials, and media professionals will descend upon Denver to nominate the Democrats' presidential candidate.
While the spindoctors discuss the latest polls, another America will be in the streets raising their voices on issues rarely mentioned in televised "debates" or candidates' speeches such as:
- poverty and homelessness,
- the prison industrial complex,
- corporate control of our government and media,
- scapegoating immigrants,
- the Democrats' complicity in the Iraq War,
- Guantanamo and torture,
- the racist, wasteful, and destructive Drug War,
- the Patriot Act and illegal wiretapping,
- workers' rights and a living wage.
Recent conventions have seen citizens penned into caged areas called Free Speech Zones in the name of security. Today, the media laud a "youth movement" that is heading to the polls for inspirational candidates like Barack Obama. But when these same young people gather in the streets, they are often treated like potential terrorists.
Federal and local law enforcement assume that peaceful activists pose a security risk. Consistent with Bush policy, they've taken a preemptive approach to the perceived threat by suppressing speech before anything illegal occurs. For decades, the Denver Police Department conducted undercover surveillance and maintained "Spy Files" on local activists who were engaged in peaceful organizing around war, US foreign policy, immigrant rights and police brutality. The new, militarized approach to suppressing dissent has been documented in National Lawyers Guild publications like Punishing Protest.
The Denver Police Department and the Denver City Attorney have promised that protesters accused of breaking any law will be arrested. The City's refusal to adopt a more reasonable policy of citing non-violent offenders and release them on summons will likely lead to a strain on limited City and County resources and infringements upon citizens' constitutional rights. (See "Mass arrests at Democratic Convention?" Denver Post, May 1, 2008).
Our mission is to provide mass defense and legal observing for all demonstrators who request our help. The People's Law Project is currently developing strategies for the mass defense of protesters, establishing systems to collect evidence of police misconduct, and coordinating with other legal advocacy and community groups. The NLG People's Law Project encourages law enforcement and activists to engage in peaceful behavior. The NLG People's Law Project is not involved in the planning or promotion of any particular demonstrations, marches, rallies, or protests at the 2008 DNC in Denver.
If you are interested in volunteering to represent protesters or for legal observing, contact us by emailing: director@dnc-plp.org.