The Police State Grows...
This is very scary. And very "1984".
A University student arrested preemptively before the Republican National Convention will be one of the first people prosecuted under a terrorism clause in the Minnesota Patriot Act since it was passed in 2002.
http://www.mndaily.com/2008/10/12/u-student-plead-not-guilty-terrorism-charges
And this is an excellent point:
"Bruce Nestor, president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said the terrorism charges trivialize real acts of violence and potentially violate the First Amendment.
“This is an attempt to criminalize political dissent,” he said. “It has a chilling effect on anybody planning political activities.”
However, University law professor Dale Carpenter said if the state can prove the RNC 8 had intent to commit violence, the state has a pretty good chance of winning the case."
I don't endorse radical violent protest. I'm not convinced it is effective. But I also don't endorse pre-emptive arrest. This just smacks too much of Minority Report. It's a dangerous path we are on.
A University student arrested preemptively before the Republican National Convention will be one of the first people prosecuted under a terrorism clause in the Minnesota Patriot Act since it was passed in 2002.
http://www.mndaily.com/2008/10/12/u-student-plead-not-guilty-terrorism-charges
And this is an excellent point:
"Bruce Nestor, president of the Minnesota chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said the terrorism charges trivialize real acts of violence and potentially violate the First Amendment.
“This is an attempt to criminalize political dissent,” he said. “It has a chilling effect on anybody planning political activities.”
However, University law professor Dale Carpenter said if the state can prove the RNC 8 had intent to commit violence, the state has a pretty good chance of winning the case."
I don't endorse radical violent protest. I'm not convinced it is effective. But I also don't endorse pre-emptive arrest. This just smacks too much of Minority Report. It's a dangerous path we are on.