Girding for the protests

Arapahoe County goes slightly overboard; in Denver, so does ACLU

Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, June 26, 2008

If it weren't for the unsettling possibility that protests surrounding this summer's Democratic National Convention might get out of hand, the news this week from the grievance front would almost be amusing.

As it is, we have the ongoing follies about provisions Denver has made for protesters, the possibility of as many as 50,000 people cramming themselves into City Park every day in Tent State University's exercise in "real democracy," and the more serious concerns of Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson.

Robinson worries about DNC demonstrations spilling over to Denver Tech Center hotels where several delegations to the convention will be staying. Some of those hotels lie within his jurisdiction.

As a result, the Arapahoe County commissioners on Tuesday voted 3-2 to keep demonstrators from bringing various potential weapons with them, including any "metal, hard plastic or wood object that is sharpened or that exceeds the allowed dimensions set forth in the ordinance."

Also included in the proposed ban are gas masks, any devices designed to launch projectiles, and even water guns.

Arapahoe County Attorney Kathryn Schroeder says the ordinance is based on a similar one in Los Angeles that has passed muster with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. And the Independence Institute's resident Second Amendment expert (and Rocky media critic), Dave Kopel, doesn't appear troubled by it, either.

"Parts of [the ordinance] might be miswritten," he says, "but the general thrust is probably legitimate. After all, this wasn't drawn up in a vacuum. We're living in a world where people want to re-create [World Trade Organization riots in] Seattle and want to re-create '68."

We concede the point, but quarrel nevertheless with several elements of the ordinance. For example, it goes to almost surreal lengths to delimit the width and girth of permitted objects. Indeed, the size restrictions on "wood objects" are such that the sort of sticks demonstrators normally use for political signs would even be forbidden.

For that matter, how gas masks could be construed as weapons is a puzzle. While they could help keep protesters involved in a fray if tear gas were deployed, they would just as equally protect protesters who had nothing to do with the actions that provoked the use of the gas in the first place.

Meanwhile, in Denver, the Colorado American Civil Liberties Union is once again voicing its displeasure, this time about the accommodations for protesters at the Pepsi Center. Both Glenn Spagnuolo of the Re-create 68 Alliance protest group and Colorado ACLU attorney Mark Silverstein say the endpoint of the parade route is not close enough to the delegates - as if the Pony Express will be required to transport the protesters' message over the roughly 100 yards from their designated lot to the Pepsi Center's front door.

The city this week announced that the designated protest route will carry demonstrators north on Speer Boulevard to Larimer Street, then west through the Auraria campus before turning north again on 7th Street across Auraria Parkway and into the Pepsi Center's massive, wire-mesh-fenced Parking Lot A.

City officials had promised that demonstrators would be within sight and sound of convention-goers, and Lot A certainly qualifies.

To be sure, Lot A is actually two lots - north and south - separated by a landscaped median and set back from the arena. The view of the Pepsi Center from the south section, into which protesters would initially file, is somewhat obstructed by an architectural feature of four steles and a stylized Pepsi logo in the form of a large sphere. Ironically, because of a gentle slope to the lot, the farther away from the arena, the better the sightlines.

The view from the north section is better, but here, too, views are limited by an outbuilding and plantings, including trees.

Neither area qualifies as Siberia, however - meaning the complaints about Lot A ring hollow.

• June 26, 2008

  1:09 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jacka writes:

  GOP lawyers - pro bono work available Aug 20-28th to expedite processing of political protesters in Denver.

  Support your fellow citizen's 1st Amendment rights.

• June 26, 2008

  5:32 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  drkenne writes:

  Remember, the violence that erupted in Chiago in 1968 was ignited by Daley's police and not the student demonstrators. Sounds to me that the police are geared up and hopefully anticipating riots this time around. R68 is about sending a message through peaceful demonstrations, that things need to change. R68 is about bringing back the voice of disent. R68 is about bringing back the feeling of outrage Americans once had. R68 is about bringing this wasteful and unjust war to an end.

  Violence will only occur if the police decide they want to recreate 68!

• June 26, 2008

  6:03 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  dilligaf writes:

  Will not be surprised if some how the GOP will do something to get trouble started. This is a party that will stop at nothing to get elected. Example smear tactics toward Ross Perot's daughter to force him out when he was a big threat. And of course Watergate. They would be like little kids at Christmas if there is trouble.

• June 26, 2008

  6:51 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  sheepherder writes:

  Give me a break drkenne! R68 is NOT about anything peaceful! Read their website! And the police are there to protect free speech, right up until idiots like Glenn and his ilk follow through with their plans to break the law. You are so ignorant!

• June 26, 2008

  7:25 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  sheepherder writes:

  To top it off, I would say that some of the cops will agree with the point that things need to be changed, but Glenn and drkenne (same person?) will be throwing piss bombs at them trying to start trouble. And R68 bringing in Black Block won't start trouble? R68 is nothing more than a terrorist group bent on mayhem in Denver during the convention. Citizens should be outraged they even got a permit. The true voices of dissent won't be heard over the rumble R68 will create. Thus, the reason so many other protest groups (peaceful) broke away from R68. They didn't agree with their thug like tactics.

• June 26, 2008

  7:37 a.m.

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  sheepherder writes:

  Agree Froward...I think everyone hopes it won't happen, but it's kind of a forgone conclusion at this point. I think people from both sides would like to see think thing blow up. I have always wondered of the Chitown coppers got that thing going, but I can't see cops doing that in these times. I do know some of the Chitown cops got hit with crap, and I don't care what you are wearing...thats worth a fight!

• June 26, 2008

  8:08 a.m.

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  Elwood writes:

  I hope some of the $50 million goes to surveilance cameras so the police can ID the instigators. Hidden mikes would be a great addition too, so they can hear which leaders giving are orders to start the trouble.

• June 26, 2008

  8:13 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  vudumom writes:

  What happens when the people in tent city refuse to leave when they are supposed to? They are determined to stay overnight and not abide by the 11 p.m. checkout time. This tent city is going to be a major distraction for the police. There will be rampant drug use, alchohol use, nude people running around, free sex expression and lots of trash and waste. If they are expecting 50,000 people lets face it , it will be a nightmare. If they don't want to take their tents down and go somewhere else for the night who will blink first? Not to mention the criminal who will be in the crowd taking advantage of stoned naked people. I'm hoping women in the protest do not get raped. If they do they will have a hard time prosecuting anyone. I would worry more about getting a supposed 50,000 people to leave a set up tent city than some protest marchers. I think city park will be ground zero for trouble on many levels.

• June 26, 2008

  8:33 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  dilligaf writes:

  Oh boy the cons are in rare form today.
  THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!!
  More scare tactics. Boy are they good at that.

• June 26, 2008

  9:17 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  JimmyB writes:

  One of the biggest differences between the anti-war demonstrations in Chicago and those which will occur this year in Denver, the police, the demonstrators and the media will ALL be documenting the activities of those involved with a myriad of video equipment.

  If a video should happen to show any demonstrator as an "instigator" of violence during the upcoming Democrat Party convention, Forward69, would have everyone believe, the offending demonstrator MUST be a republican plant and troublemaker.

  Somehow, Forward69 knows ALL demonstrators, who are NOT "republican troublemakers", are ALWAYS peaceful, respectful of the law and other people's rights and property.

  Yeah…….right.

  To be sure, the vast majority of demonstrators will not engage in violence of any kind, but to say only those who do are "republican troublemakers", with no verifiable proof, is not only asinine, but just another opinion.

  Forward69's demonstrated (no pun intended) hatred of Republicans makes his statements more than a little suspect.

  Not ALL Republicans are evil, nor are all those Forward69 champions angelic.

  As far as vudumom's paranoid predictions of what WILL happen in "Tent University"; that's gotta be some crystal ball you're working with, lady.

• June 26, 2008

  10:18 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  anarchist writes:

  Froward, "fact is", there you go again talking facts yet never produce anything but rhetoric. Where is your proof it will be republicans and not a mix, or democrats, or independants that will start trouble? Maybe this would incite democrats to start some.
  http://www.denverpost.com/ci_9695027?...
  More shell games and vote rigging for obama Froward?
  "republicans' are so fearful, they have been defeated by the terrorists already.", does that include the domestic ones, Pelosi/Reid and Dean? maybe Dobson?

• June 26, 2008

  10:40 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  anarchist writes:

  vudumom, "There will be rampant drug use, alchohol use, nude people running around, free sex expression and lots of trash and waste.", sort of brings back memories of Woodstock, I wonder if I should dust my tent off and check my air matress for leaks?

• June 26, 2008

  10:45 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  anarchist writes:

  dilligaf, the Governor is a democrat, and so is denver's Mayor, surely you wouldn't suggest they would allow anything to go awry, after all, they are democrats. Are not most of the "planned" demonstrators (R68) also democrats? So if something does go awry can we then say bad democrats for not stifling the constitution and bill of rights before obama takes office?

• June 26, 2008

  11:09 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Cowboy63 writes:

  dilligaf writes: "Will not be surprised if some how the GOP will do something to get trouble started."

  So the excuses are already starting. "The GOP made me do it!"

  I'm sure the Democrats will make big enough fools of themselves without any help. You know it too, or you wouldn't already be trying to find "Republican spies" two months out!

• June 26, 2008

  11:19 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jay writes:

  the protests will be one thing...the potential mass of humanity camping in city park is another.

  if the trend catches on that folks will be collecting in the park, then the city is going to need to prepare accordingly.

  we're less than two months out and i don't hear a lot of preparing going on....

• June 26, 2008

  11:29 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Geof writes:

  Nothing has happened, and very little probably will, but that won't stop some from trying to stir up some fear and trouble.

  America is the most insecure country on the planet, even with the largest military the world has ever seen. Talk about subconscious guilt manifesting itself into a festering pre-panic.

  I've plugged this page into my favorites, and will check back in about Aug 29th, just to see who the Chicken Little's were. Until then - scream, writhe, twist and rage all you want, you whiny neopatriots - your hideous day is done.

  Omaha
  Betty
  Backs
  Obama

  Where's Osama?

  "No more sittin' down on the job" - 1/20/09

• June 26, 2008

  12:09 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  anarchist writes:

  Froward, it was you yourself that predicted there will be trouble, "Unfortunately Identifying the republican troublemakers will be far more difficult this time around.", thats from your post of 7:31am 6-26-08, fact. From that post it seems you are making your own propagandized and dire predictions for trouble at the DNC, did you turn republican?

• June 26, 2008

  12:12 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  freethinker07 writes:

  Froward69,

  And if the police don't attack anyone will Recreate68 and the others who are planning to bring body armor to a demonstration, apologize? I doubt it.

  What I predict will happen is that some idiot will threaten a cop with a weapon and will do it such that the people behind him don't think he is armed. The cop will respond properly and people will blame the cop for overreacting.

• June 26, 2008

  12:22 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  dilligaf writes:

  I guess I'm a little confused. These protesters must be coming here to protest the democrat convention. So that tends to make me believe they don't like democrats. Who do they think they are REPUBLICANS?

• June 26, 2008

  12:45 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  DownwardDog writes:

  Geez, you guys are already looking for a scapegoat it things go bad...

  Newsflash: Republicans don't care about your convention. Go ahead and have your protests, your sit-ins, your love-fests, etc. in your Democraticly controlled city and leave us the hell out of it.

  The protesters are your people and your problem.

• June 26, 2008

  12:59 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  rickg19611 writes:

  So Democrats are fearful that Democrat protestors will riot in the Democrat controlled town, and make Democrats look bad.

  Democrats.... they always manage to find a way to embarrass themselves.

• June 26, 2008

  1:09 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  DownwardDog writes:

  The last thing that Republicans want to do is insert agent provocateurs into this thing. If there is any sort of disruption, I expect that there would be a full investigation and the last thing that Republicans want would be to have any ties back to them. They would rather spend their time on the golf course and let the Democrats deal with their problems their way.

  Besides, what Republican in their right mind would ever want to work with Glenn Spagnuolo? That guy is a professional rabble-rouser.

• June 26, 2008

  1:28 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Andy writes:

  Conservatives are not ones to riot in the streets. Republicans are law and order people. Any rioting is our responsibility.

• June 26, 2008

  2:46 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  catlady writes:

  Forward 69 says, "yeah dilligaf!!! "Drill everywhere, Vote republican, DON't investigate anything, Finite, polluting resources are the future... or we all are gonna die"! simpletons...

  fact is; because republicans' are so fearful, they have been defeated by the terrorists already."

  Forward, you really are not that smart are you? Smart(and many Republicans among them)know that we must exploit the resources we currently have. You cannot expect science and industry to produce an overnight solution. We must, for the interim, use coal, oil and gas to power this nation. We need to become energy independent and everyone with a clue know that means eventually getting off fossil fuels. We will have better alternatives, but in the mean time I drill through your mother to get access to ANWAR.

  Froward, your hate of all conservatives and Republicans in particular has clouded the modicum of sense that you have been afforded. I pity you. Oh and global warming is a sham.

• June 26, 2008

  2:51 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  catlady writes:

  Oops pardon the typos. Smart people (and many Republicans among them) know that we must exploit the resources we currently have.

  And... I would drill through your mother to get access to ANWAR.

  (I was taught by aging hippies in publik skewl thus I never learned to properly proof read or type.)

• June 26, 2008

  2:56 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  timeandagain writes:

  I think that Glenn Spangnuolo and Mark Silverstein should just hang out in Glenn's Highlands Ranch cookie-cutter home (yes, he really lives there!) and "spoon" eachother. Why would they bother with all this silly protesting stuff when they each know what they REALLY want!!!

• June 26, 2008

  3:16 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  jay writes:

  i'm with catlady.

  let's drill here, drill now...in the land already approved for drilling and already leased and stockpiled by the oil companies.

  why not develop some of the resources already at our disposal instead of fighting over more?

• June 26, 2008

  6:39 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  drkenne writes:

  Ignorance begins when intelligent conversation ends. BTW I'm no more Glenn than Sheepherder is Karl Rove

• June 27, 2008

  6:11 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  anarchist writes:

  Which gets more news media coverage, a peacful uneventful demonstration, or a riot? When a city has a team that wins a major event, does the quiet neighborhood celebration make the news, or the overturned cars and arrests? Party affiliations aside, news coverage is attention, and attention is what the protesters seek.

• June 27, 2008

  7:46 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  sheepherder writes:

  drkenne, you definately must be part of that crappy group. Everytime you post you sound like the R68 posterchild. I have no doubt you are a R68 thug posting here to bring other morons to your cause.

• June 27, 2008

  8:32 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  sheepherder writes:

  And WHO says I'm not Karl Rove?

• June 27, 2008

  8:35 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Alive writes:

  List of items to stock up on for the DNC:

  1. A willingness to be entertained
  2. TV
  3. Popcorn
  4. DVR for later enjoyment
  5. Air conditioning
  6. Checkbook to pay for the damage (If you pay taxes that is.)
  7. The ability to ask the question, "Define change?"
  8. The general awareness that none of this crap is going to fix anything

• June 27, 2008

  8:35 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  vudumom writes:

  I think the attention is warranted for the Pepsi Center protest. However I think the city is not admitting or ignoring that the City Park situation is far more dangerous for the police.
  The tent city people suppossedly said that they peace in would bring about 50,000 people to the City Park. They have claimed they would set up tents and defy a park rule that says no overnight camping. They have said they would smoke pot openly ( Tvert Mason take note).
  They said they would have a nude-in. Public nudity is still against the law. I think I read somewhere that they also expect taxpayer to pay for portable bathrooms. If this event comes off as scheduled are the police prepared to enforce the laws? If not it sets up a situation for smaller groups to do the same thing and get pounded. It also makes Denver look like wussies if they do nothing. If they do enforce the law they it will not be pretty.
  Either way it is going to cost the taxpayers alot of money to support these different protests and clean up.
  A clear damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.
  Denver will come off looking bad either way and the city will screw it up.
  Set the Tivo's and get out the popcorn.

• June 27, 2008

  8:41 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  anarchist writes:

  Alive, vudumom, is that plain or butter flavored popcorn?

• June 27, 2008

  9:32 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  sheepherder writes:

  Kettle corn here please...

• June 27, 2008

  9:42 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Alive writes:

  anarchist,

  Anything low fat for me. I have that being middle aged thing going on. lol

• June 27, 2008

  12:11 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  sheepherder writes:

  Throwing bottles at the cops can burn 250 calories an hour according to the R68 weight loss plan!

• June 27, 2008

  12:50 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  sheepherder writes:

  With the added "Coward run back into the crowd" an additional 50 calories can be burned.

• June 27, 2008

  1 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  sheepherder writes:

  The "I hate the United States" march can burn up to 600 calories.

  The "You will listen to my crap speech, but I will block the delagates from voting" march can burn up to 800 calories!