Miami Model

For almost 2 years, the Miami Police Department has desperately been trying to ensure that the 2003 FTAA police operations plan remains a secret, even from the city's own Civilian Investigative Panel which is charged with investigating the large scale police brutality that took place on November 20-21, 2003. MPD has finally revealed it's reasoning for the secrecy: releasing the plan could "jeopardize future operations nationwide" because "authorities THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY have adopted the plan". This is a stunning, yet frightening admission, as it confirms the deep suspicions of political activists who have personally witnessed the same repressive tactics travel from city to city, protest to protest. This also lends further support to the ominous statements made earlier by Miami Police Chief John Timoney, that the FTAA was "the first big event for Homeland Security...the first real realistic run-through to see how it would work."

The Pittsburgh Police Department displayed an excessive use of force at a demonstration yesterday outside a military recruitment station located near the University of Pittsburgh. Five were arrested, two were hospitalized and several others received injuries as a result of police unwarranted use of Tasers, pepper spray, retracting batons and K-9 units. Two others were issued citations when they complained about police misconduct.

WASHINGTON -- May 20 -- The National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Committee, with lawyers from Southern Legal Counsel and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Florida, filed a lawsuit on May 19, 2005 in the Southern District Federal Court in Florida, seeking to bar law enforcement from enforcing a sweeping security perimeter around the site of the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly in early June in Fort Lauderdale, as well as challenging a series of antiquated laws regulating the use of public property for expressive activities.

The Miami-Dade Independent Review Panel has released its final report on the actions of the Miami-Dade Police during the FTAA meetings in Miami last November.

Excellent summary of what to expect in RNC with respect to permits, protest pens, police violence, searches, secret service and legal support.

Save Our Civil Liberties protests the so-called "free speech zone" at the DNC.

IMC articles [ 1 | 2 ]

Corporate coverage [ google search ]

[ download the media handout ]

CIVIL LIBERTIES TAKE CENTER STAGE ON EVE OF BOSTON DNC
City’s Commission Moves on Protest Rights, Civil Liberties Panels Convene at Boston Social Forum

Boston – The rights of citizens and visitors to speak out during the upcoming Democratic National Convention (DNC) has become a hot issue on the eve of the event.

The Save Our Civil Liberties Campaign has organized two sessions at the Boston Social Forum aimed at challenging the Miami Model of Homeland Repression.

Cement barriers, 8-foot-tall chain-link fencing, and heavy black netting have been installed around the protest zone outside the FleetCenter, angering protesters who say they will be penned in and closed off from Democratic National Convention delegates.

Based on so-called "credible" reports, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has warned that Osama is now "planning to disrupt the November elections". A large scale attack on American soil is said to be planned by Al Qaeda during the presidential election campaign. "Possible targets" include the Democratic National Convention in July and the Republican Convention in New York in August. While a Coup d'Etat triggered by a code red alert is a distinct possibility in the months ahead, we must understand that the militarisation of civilian institutions in America is an ongoing process.