Police repress protesters at Democratic National Convention

At about 7 p.m. Monday, riot police fired pepper spray and pepper balls, which are delivered by guns, against the protesters, who had attempted to carry out a protest outside of the police-designated free speech zone. The free speech zone is a small area in a parking lot near the Pepsi Center, surrounded by two layers of steel fence and concrete barriers and topped by razor wire.

The confrontation began on a sidewalk near Denvers Civic Center. SWAT police forced protesters backward, where a second phalanx of police was waiting, blocking their retreat. The police then completely surrounded the protesters, while reinforcements, including two armored vehicles, arrived. The protesters were held in this position for 90 minutes.

Twenty-one year old Joey Kenzie, a recent community college graduate, was among those surrounded by the riot police. Im a little in shock, she told the Denver Post. At one point we didnt know what we were going to do, we were going to get arrested or maced. I havent been able to vote for a president yet, but this was an epiphany. My freedom of speech was suppressed.

From among those pinned by the police, a protester was heard shouting, This is not America. This is what a police state looks like. Youre worried about Beijing? This is repression.

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