Radicals Vow to Disrupt GOP Convention

As a group representing hundreds of thousands of antiwar activists presses a judge to let it hold a rally in Central Park the day before the Republican National Convention, smaller organizations with communist and anarchist platforms are planning to crash private parties and protest outside corporate headquarters during the gathering.Working as a loose coalition of antigovernment and anti-capitalist activists from across the country, the groups say they are preparing four days of civil disobedience at dozens of locations in Manhattan aimed at disrupting any measure of order and comfort for GOP delegates and employees of some large companies.These protesters call their tactics “direct action” – as opposed to staged marches and rallies – and they say they plan to lend a radical voice to what might otherwise be peaceful demonstrations aimed at ousting President Bush and reforming America’s foreign and domestic policy. They don’t openly call for violence but do acknowledge it could happen during a confrontation.The Midtown offices of Citigroup, the Carlyle Group, the Rand Corporation, and Hummer of Manhattan have all been targeted by the anarchist umbrella organization A-31, whose name comes from the date of its planned protest, August 31. A roundtable of Bank of America executives at Tavern on the Green is also slated for disruption the same day.Details are vague – in part, organizers said, because the actions of the groups working under A-31 are left to the discretion of individual demonstrators. Talk of so-called die-ins – where protesters lay limp on the ground – and forming blockades is rampant among members.“Every day of the Republican National Convention will be a day of autonomous action by affinity groups employing a diversity of tactics, from crashing lavish parties of the Republicans, to committing and supporting acts of civil disobedience and showing up where the Republicans least expect us,” boasts the Web site of one anarchist group, Don’t Just Vote, “There’s no lack of opportunities!”The convention runs from August 30 to September 2.Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said yesterday 10,000 police officers equipped with power saws and bolt cutters designed to unlock demonstrators who chain themselves together would be deployed to secure the convention.During a mock protest at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, in which cadets posed as placard-waving demonstrators, a phalanx of police officers shouted orders to disperse through a bullhorn and handcuffed those who disobeyed.Inspector Thomas Graham, commanding officer of the department’s Disorder Control Unit, said police officers have been trained to crack down on unruly protesters who break the law by obstructing traffic, congregating in large groups without permits, and vandalizing property. Three hundred officers will be riding new scooters, and three new helicopters outfitted with infrared surveillance systems will share duties in the sky.“We expect the vast majority of protesters to come to New York to be law abiding,” Mr. Kelly said. “Those who break the law will be subject to arrest.”Spokesmen for the fringe protest groups – there are no official leaders – do not advocate outright violence, but they acknowledge that anything is possible and that some of their members may be arrested.“No one believes direct action should go as far as harming individuals, but there is debate about whether it should not include damage to private property,” said Eric Laursen, 44, of A-31. “Human life is paramount to private property, so if there are war profiteers out there killing people, why should we respect their private property?”Federal investigators, anticipating that some of the protests will grow violent, have reportedly infiltrated some organizations and are monitoring plans for demonstrations being published on the Internet.The Associated Press reported that the FBI has paid special attention to Web sites that list Molotov cocktails, slingshots, and bolt cutters as appropriate “offensive weapons” to carry during the protests.Earlier this month, the FBI issued warnings to news organizations to beware of plans by an organization called Crimethinc to hack their Internet operations during the convention.Bill Dobbs, a spokesman for United for Peace and Justice, the organization planning the massive anti-war demonstration the day before the convention, downplayed the warnings from authorities as an attempt to divide protesters into categories of good and evil to discourage people from exercising free speech.“We may not agree with the political viewpoints or the tactics of other groups, but a serious social movement means people acting on their conscience in a variety of ways,” Mr. Dobbs said. “We know that people are organizing civil disobedience and as they respect our tactics, we respect theirs.”The rhetoric used by some organizations conjure images of the raucous antiglobalization protests that rocked Seattle in 1999,when masked demonstrators smashed storefront windows during a gathering of the World Trade Organization.Organizers of the convention protests shy from comparisons to Seattle or Chicago 1968, when riots erupted during the Democratic National Convention there.Still, many groups are preparing for a clash with law enforcement officials.Kensington Welfare Rights Union of Philadelphia, which is mobilizing homeless people, public housing tenants, and others for an unpermitted march from the United Nations to Madison Square Garden on August 30, is holding “civil disobedience training” workshops for members next week.Protesters practice how to safely form blockades and appear nonconfrontational when approached by police.“We’re not trying to make things difficult for the police,” said Galen Pyler, 35, an organizer of the march. “We’re much more afraid of not getting our issues out there than marching without a permit.”Protest groups said the call for direct action and civil disobedience has been spurred in recent weeks by the city’s refusal to grant United for Peace and Justice a permit to rally in Central Park.“This whole fight over Central Park has everyone riled up,” said Damian Naxalvari, a 20-year-old deli clerk from Cleveland who was handing out literature in Union Square yesterday for the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade. “The climate of fear’s moved a lot of people to unite.”

Radicals Vow to Disrupt GOP Convention

Radicals Vow to Disrupt GOP Convention

More from the New York Sun

How Dallas Cowboys Undrafted Rookie Shiyazh Pete United the Navajo Nation at Phoenix

Postal Service Awaits Supreme Court Ruling Ahead of New Mail Voting Requirements, Federal Access to State Voter Rolls

Billy Idol Still Has Some Rebel Yell To Give

Jaguar Still Can’t Seem To Turn the Corner

‘10 Kilos’ Gets Weighed Down by Familiar Genre Fare

‘The Marching Band’ Plays a Familiar Tune, But With Spirit and Social Awareness

USS Doris Miller

Johnson Warns Kushner Not To ‘Bet Against’ House Republicans After President’s Son-in-Law Meets With Jeffries

More from the New York Sun

How Dallas Cowboys Undrafted Rookie Shiyazh Pete United the Navajo Nation at Phoenix

Postal Service Awaits Supreme Court Ruling Ahead of New Mail Voting Requirements, Federal Access to State Voter Rolls

Billy Idol Still Has Some Rebel Yell To Give

Jaguar Still Can’t Seem To Turn the Corner

‘10 Kilos’ Gets Weighed Down by Familiar Genre Fare

‘The Marching Band’ Plays a Familiar Tune, But With Spirit and Social Awareness

USS Doris Miller

Johnson Warns Kushner Not To ‘Bet Against’ House Republicans After President’s Son-in-Law Meets With Jeffries