CNN reporter hit with tear gas @ G-20

[Derek Ortt]

Since when is it illegal to protest? I thought we had right to free speech in this country? Since when is it legal to use a sonic weapon on our citizens? This doesn't look like America.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqg-sW6bCTo[/youtube]

Failure to have a proper permit. Very straight forward and the correct decision by police to forcibly disperse the crowd

[Lurker]

Since when is it illegal to protest? I thought we had right to free speech in this country? Since when is it legal to use a sonic weapon on our citizens? This doesn't look like America.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqg-sW6bCTo[/youtube]

Failure to have a proper permit. Very straight forward and the correct decision by police to forcibly disperse the crowd

They had the permit. They didn't have the right to ram the police line to get to the "off access" areas. My issue is they fired off the sound weapon and started threatening before they rammed the line. But I'm sure the courts will figure it all out as I wouldn't be surprised to see civil rights lawsuits filed.

[Lurker]

Think about it. MP's have authority anywhere in this world, if I am not mistaken, when it comes to military personnel. Was that protester an AWOL soldier? We don't know.

BTW, since when is it unlawful to use a sonic(sound) weapon in this country? I don't know if it is or not, but I don't know of any laws prohibiting it.

Just in case you think I am some right wing kook. I am far from i, I have been arrested for protesting before. When I was younger and less knowledgeable about everything I was one of the "radicals" among other names I was called.

And yes, if there were violations of the rights of the protesters, then by all means action needs to be taken.

I couldn't agree more. I need answers on the apparent military arrest. That is not a pleasant sight to see. I'm sure there's going to be an uproar. Alex Jones lives for these moments.

[vbhoutex]

Since when is it illegal to protest? I thought we had right to free speech in this country? Since when is it legal to use a sonic weapon on our citizens? This doesn't look like America.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqg-sW6bCTo[/youtube]

Failure to have a proper permit. Very straight forward and the correct decision by police to forcibly disperse the crowd

They had the permit. They didn't have the right to ram the police line to get to the "off access" areas. My issue is they fired off the sound weapon and started threatening before they rammed the line. But I'm sure the courts will figure it all out as I wouldn't be surprised to see civil rights lawsuits filed.

That is when it became an unlawful protest. Police were well within their rights to order them to leave and take necessary action to enforce that order. As far as "sound weapons" are concerned, I am not so sure that it wasn't a police siren as opposed to a "weapon".

[Ptarmigan]

The video depicting the military arresting protesters at the G20 Summit is staged. There is a YouTube video of it, but I will post it due to profanity it has.

[vbhoutex]

The video depicting the military arresting protesters at the G20 Summit is staged. There is a YouTube video of it, but I will post it due to profanity it has.

I do not find this surprising. I figured as much since it just didn't add up. Thus my first suggestion that it may have been mp's. I didn't want to make an assumption without knowledge. Thus my caution re: You Tube videos in my earlier post.

[coriolis]

I saw stories that stores were closing and boarding up in preparation for the conference and the inevitable protests. When these things happen in Europe and other countries there often is violence. I'm sure that the Pittsburgh police and federal authorities were on a heightened alert and realized the need to keep a lid on things. I would imagine that all it would take would be a little spark for a protest to turn ugly in a hurry. For that reason I understand the need to react decisively to the dumpster pushing. Something like that could escalate.

The protestors have their rights, but so does the public. Once protestors start causing property damage, obstruct traffic, or prevent people from going about their business, they cross the line and become criminals IMO.

The people who attend the summits are surely used to protests and are unaffected by them. I suspect that the protestors are not playing for influencing the attendees, but rather are playing for public opinion. A protestor can gain sympathy in the public eye for their cause by becoming a "victim" at the hands of police. On the other hand, violent protests would tend to turn the public off. Therefore it becomes a game to provoke the police but to play it into becoming a victim.

I think that many of the protestors are motivated to show up by the prospect of having some fun, or becoming a hero, rather than thinking that they're going to change the world.

[Lurker]

The video depicting the military arresting protesters at the G20 Summit is staged. There is a YouTube video of it, but I will post it due to profanity it has.

I don't think it was staged. If you look in the upper left hand corner you can see 2 police officers in riot gear. One has a rifle drawn the other turns his back and you can see the word police. The kid with the red bandanna closest to the event was also later arrested but by police officers. There's a video of his arrest where a lady makes comments about "this guy was just taken away for no reason" alluding to the military incident. But I can't post that video due to profanity. At first watch it is so shocking it almost has the "made for the movies" type event. But sadly I do think this was a real moment. I hope we get an outcry so we can some details.

Alex Jones claims the video is authentic.

[Brent]

Alex Jones claims the video is authentic.

This is the same Alex Jones who says 9/11 and the London 7/7 attacks were a military conspiracy? Yeah okay...

[Lurker]

Alex Jones claims the video is authentic.

This is the same Alex Jones who says 9/11 and the London 7/7 attacks were a military conspiracy? Yeah okay...

I don't think the video is fake. It is going viral and stirring some attention. Has anyone else seen it? You can clearly see the riot police with their tie ups - one has a rifle drawn. Then a few moments later the kid right near the event is arrested. Not to mention the car drove through the police line right through tear gas.

[Cyclenall]

It sure doesn't look good and I'm not surprised. If the groups had a permit then it wasn't correct for them to order them out. But that video is nothing, there are videos of the riot police tear gassing students on a staircase (trapped from both levels) for no reason when they were no where near the main protest line or in their way. Pretty much tormenting them for no reason . I consider that nothing but criminal.

[vbhoutex]

It sure doesn't look good and I'm not surprised. If the groups had a permit then it wasn't correct for them to order them out. But that video is nothing, there are videos of the riot police tear gassing students on a staircase (trapped from both levels) for no reason when they were no where near the main protest line or in their way. Pretty much tormenting them for no reason . I consider that nothing but criminal.

What are all the facts here? Were they on the prescribed/allowed route for the permitted protest or were they on a staircase that was someone else' property? Had they been told to move away from the staircase and refused? The laws about lawful assembly do not allow protesters to go wherever they feel like it nor do they allow them to go onto someone's private property without permission. I don't know the circumstances here, but certainly do not call anything criminal until I have all the information.

[Lurker]

It sure doesn't look good and I'm not surprised. If the groups had a permit then it wasn't correct for them to order them out. But that video is nothing, there are videos of the riot police tear gassing students on a staircase (trapped from both levels) for no reason when they were no where near the main protest line or in their way. Pretty much tormenting them for no reason . I consider that nothing but criminal.

I've seen those videos of the students at the University of Pittsburgh. There will most likely be civil rights lawsuits over this. Vbhoutex is right though we need to let all the facts come to the surface. One thing is for sure those videos are NOT fun to watch of the brute force enacted on our people.

[coriolis]

Alex Jones claims the video is authentic.

This is the same Alex Jones who says 9/11 and the London 7/7 attacks were a military conspiracy? Yeah okay...

Easy....

Let keep our responses measured, without fanning the flames.

[Cyclenall]

What are all the facts here? Were they on the prescribed/allowed route for the permitted protest or were they on a staircase that was someone else' property? Had they been told to move away from the staircase and refused? The laws about lawful assembly do not allow protesters to go wherever they feel like it nor do they allow them to go onto someone's private property without permission. I don't know the circumstances here, but certainly do not call anything criminal until I have all the information.

The staircase was part of their residence I think but it's to be confirmed (it could be public property). They were students and the video shows them trying to leave and one person asked if they were trapped and then the video cuts to the part where they are getting tear gassed and all. There is a little question of why they were trapped though.

I saw the video where the guy gets forced into that unmarked vehicle and I doubt it was faked however it's possible it was. To stage that the real forces would have to ignore that whole scene and armed police were standing to the left of the passing vehicle. A chaotic moment.

[Lurker]

I don't think the video was fake because the police would not have allowed the vehicle to pass their line. The kid closest to the incident was also arrested shortly thereafter most likely due to his interference in the incident.

[Stephanie]

On the news tonight they said that today's demonstrations had permits but yesterday's did not. Also, there were reports of stores with broken out windows from yesterday. Not very peaceful to me. Apparently today's protests were much more peaceful.

[vbhoutex]

What are all the facts here? Were they on the prescribed/allowed route for the permitted protest or were they on a staircase that was someone else' property? Had they been told to move away from the staircase and refused? The laws about lawful assembly do not allow protesters to go wherever they feel like it nor do they allow them to go onto someone's private property without permission. I don't know the circumstances here, but certainly do not call anything criminal until I have all the information.

The staircase was part of their residence I think but it's to be confirmed (it could be public property). They were students and the video shows them trying to leave and one person asked if they were trapped and then the video cuts to the part where they are getting tear gassed and all. There is a little question of why they were trapped though.

I saw the video where the guy gets forced into that unmarked vehicle and I doubt it was faked however it's possible it was. To stage that the real forces would have to ignore that whole scene and armed police were standing to the left of the passing vehicle. A chaotic moment.

Please tell us more since you apparently know more than we do about this(the bolded portion). I am not about to say that it didn't happen or was or was not staged(talking about the stairwell) as I don't have enough knowledge, but once again, from the previous post it sounds like they were not permitted. That in and of itself is unlawful if they were assembling to protest. As you yourself stated a lot needs to be determined before officials can be accused of doing criminal acts.

[Cyclenall]

Please tell us more since you apparently know more than we do about this(the bolded portion). I am not about to say that it didn't happen or was or was not staged(talking about the stairwell) as I don't have enough knowledge, but once again, from the previous post it sounds like they were not permitted. That in and of itself is unlawful if they were assembling to protest. As you yourself stated a lot needs to be determined before officials can be accused of doing criminal acts.

Here is the video, there is a guy at the end talking about how the riot police shouldn't be coming in their residence halls:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NSsj4a6v5U&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[vbhoutex]

I've watched the video and on the surface it is disturbing. However, do we know who all were students just watching from their staircase and who might be protesters that had taken refuge in a private residence hall trying to get away from police because they had broken the law? Police do not have the luxury of sitting on the side and watching everything to make some of their decisions like we do. Usually, many of the protesters in demonstrations such as those mounted at events like the G20 summit are "professional" protesters that travel just to try and disrupt the proceedings. They are not above breaking the law to cause that disruption and have shown that over and over. I'm not saying there is any way that peoples rights should be violated, but once again, it is easy for us to sit on the sideline and make judgments, but we may not know all the circumstances involved. If there were rights violations then the police should be held accountable, but I have my doubts if there will be any formal complaints filed.