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'Massive protests' planned

Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 27, 2007 at midnight

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Plans were unveiled Monday for four days of "massive protests" during the 2008 Democratic National Convention, including a four-day "festival of democracy" that may be held in Civic Center.

But even as plans were laid for protests, concerns were raised about police spying on lawful dissent.

The Recreate 68 Alliance, which includes several groups involved in the annual Columbus Day protests in Denver, said it would work to bring thousands of activists here during the August 2008 gathering.

"You'll see large mass actions similar to the immigration rallies" last spring, predicted Glenn Spagnuolo, of the All Nations Alliance.

Spagnuolo said activists had just begun meeting to plan their actions.

The group wants to sponsor a festival to run during the convention and bring speakers, entertainment and free food to a local park.

"We hope to work with the city to create a festival that will be fun and exciting and peaceful," said Mark Cohen, of the All Nations Alliance.

However, the group didn't rule out street protests. At the 2004 Republican and Democratic conventions, protesters were limited to a fenced "free speech zone" away from the convention venues. The organizers of the Denver protests said that was unfair.

"They restricted their access to their intended audience," said Thom Cincotta, of the National Lawyers Guild. "Our whole country should be a free speech zone."

Questions of civil liberties seem likely to be an issue during and before the convention.

On Sunday The New York Times revealed that the New York City police department had infiltrated dozens of groups planning lawful protests of the 2004 Republican National Convention.

Undercover officers posed as activists and spied on groups protesting the war in Iraq, the death penalty and other issues.

The NYPD justified the operation as an anti-terrorism tool.

Denver has its own history of police spying on protest groups. For decades Denver police compiled files on activists and had dossiers on thousands of protesters who were never accused of breaking the law.

There was a public uproar after the practice came to light, and in 2003 the city reached a legal settlement with many of the people it had monitored.

Under the "spy files" settlement, the city agreed that police officers must have a reasonable suspicion that a person or group is involved in a serious crime before watching them.

Cincotta said the lawyers guild would challenge any interference with legal protests.

"We call on the city to adopt a policy of official tolerance toward all demonstrations," he said.

Spagnuolo's group has had a good relationship with Denver police Chief Gerald Whitman, he said, and he hopes they could meet soon.

Attempts to reach Whitman for comment were unsuccessful.

A spokeswoman for the Denver 2008 host committee, which is in charge of the convention, declined to comment on the planned protests.