Police chase Minutemen/John Birch counterprotesters

Here are some youtube clips available from the event. It is very interesting that the right-wingers were merging their anti-immigrant event with an anti-North American Union theme. The suspicious alliance of groups opposing the NAU has previously been covered on Indybay. Even though many leftists/some liberals make up the global justice movement which loudly criticizes antidemocratic international trade organizations and agreements such as NAFTA/WTO/G8 dialogues/IMF loans and so forth, the North American Union protesters seem to have a paleoconservative constituency. It is also notable that the size of the crowd is quite a bit larger than the minutemen/antiminutement standoffs in the south-bay area which tend to be 1-2 dozen people in size.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLDtfRhougw&mode=related&search=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndy3BFgvtfk


Reportback (from http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2007/08/261169.shtml )
To make the situation more festive a number of balloons filled with water and glitter were thrown in the direction of the fascists. The cops responded with brute force, employing pepper spray and assaulting numerous people (including members of the press). Some people were sent to the hospital,
while others were chased by cops on horses through the city streets, tackled and assaulted by the cops (with one demonstrator claiming that he
felt like the cops were attempting to break his arm).

One Olympia resident, Mark Wedeven, an active member in the social justice community, a carpenter and a father of a young child was specifically targeted by the cops, assaulted and was brought to King County Jail where he is under investigation for 3rd degree assault of an officer.

Please help by putting pressure on the jail.
Call the jail number (206 296 1234) and inquire about Mark's condition, his charge, his bail amount (if it has been set yet, what is it, etc.), when his arraignment will be, etc. Tie up the phone systems and let them know how upset you are.

Keep updated for more posts on either Portland or Seattle Indymedia.

On another note, something very interesting happened at the demonstration. A dozen or so demonstrators came with protective shields that proved very effective in defending the resistance from the fascists and many advances by the cops.

Check out the victory statement posted in Seattle
Indymedia:

http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2007/08/261162.shtml

Mainstream media coverage:

http://www.komotv.com/news/local/9239366.html

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003843360_march19m.html