Interviews with I-Witness After "Anarchist Kidnapping" Police Harrassment, 9/3/08: video

I-Witness Video had a bizarre and rattling run-in with police at their office in St. Paul on Wednesday. Cops entered the building which is shared by several organizations including the National Lawyers Guild. Police claimed that they had information that hostages were being held in the building by anarchists and they wanted to look around. I-Witness Video denied police access to their space. Police jumped up to look through a transom window over the I-Witness office door. While police did not raid the office at that time, it led to I-Witness being evicted from their office space, further disrupting their documentation work at the RNC.

It was just this past Saturday when the Food Not Bombs house at which I-Witness was staying locally in St. Paul was raided by police.

The first video below is with Gena Berglund from the NLG as independent media reporters began to arrive in front of the I-Witness office about 2pm, shortly after the police intrusion. In the following video, Emily Foreman from I-Witness is interviewed about recent police harrassment against their collective. Finally, Ileen Clancy from I-Witness gives a press statement to assembled reporters.

Ileen Clancy implores: "The people of St. Paul need to let their Mayor know if they don't agree with this kind of behavior. There needs to be a public discussion. Is this appropriate, you know, if people who are not criminals can be harrassed by the police in such a thuggish manner, in such a threatening manner?"