The RNC Welcoming Committee, an anarchist/anti-authoritarian organising body composed primarily of activists from the St. Paul/Minneapolis area, was formed to prepare for the RNC convention scheduled to take place in St. Paul, Sept. 1-4, 2008.
The YouTube trailer was produced to encourage people to come to Minneapolis for organising events hosted by RNC-WC that took place over the Labor Day weekend.
From the Welcoming Committee:
We Will Not Be Intimidated, 9/03/07
On Friday, August 31, nineteen people were arrested after police brutally attacked cyclists with Tasers, pepper spray, and excessive physical force. The cyclists were part of the monthly Critical Mass bike ride.
This month’s Critical Mass was a kick-off for the pReNC, a weekend of organizing against the Republican National Convention to be held in St. Paul in 2008. The RNC Welcoming Committee (RNC-WC), a group hosting the pReNC, gave a public speech before the ride exhorting riders to avoid confrontation throughout the weekend. While the police as a whole use excessive and brutal force in our communities on a daily basis, we feel that yesterday’s police response was highly inconsistent with their usual behavior.
The bikers did not provoke this incident, as they committed no violent or destructive acts. Unmarked cars filmed and targeted specific people. A State Patrol helicopter accompanied the entire event. Three police cars followed throughout the ride, attempting to intimidate the riders by sounding their sirens regularly and driving into the crowd, but issued no official dispersal orders.