Tuesday, September 02, 2008

More on Amy Goodman’s Arrest and the Struggle for a Free Media

Posted by Chris Johnson

Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar were arrested yesterday by St. Paul police outside the Republican National Convention. Kouddous and Salazar were covering the protests and filming when they were arrested and detained. Both Kouddous and Salazar had proper press identification but were manhandled by police. Salazar was dragged by her leg and received scrapes and a bloody nose. Kouddous was slammed against a wall which has resulted in chest and back pain. Amy Goodman was arrested after she approached police and asked to speak to a commanding officer regarding her producers. Police then yanked her by the arm and arrested her. Video is below…

Amy Goodman was released and is being charged with obstruction of a legal process and interference with a peace officer. There have conflicting reports on whether Kouddous and Salazar have been released, but I just placed two calls to the Ramsey County Detention Facility where they confirmed that both were still being held and have not yet been booked. I attempted to confirm the reports that both were being charged with a felony of suspicion to riot, but the jail could not confirm this at the time. I have left a message with the Mayor’s office of St. Paul for comment, but at the time of this article, have not had my call returned. I should also note that my first call to the Ramsey County Detention Facility resulted in the woman on the other end of the line becoming very confused as I attempted to spell: Sharif Abdel Kouddous. When I told her that I would be spelling three parts of his name she stated, ”just how many names does this guy have.” I informed her that I was asking about one person to which she replied, “I bet this guy had a hard time learning how to spell this in kindergarten.”

While an employee of Ramsey County Detention Facility feels that detaining journalists is a time for jokes, all those who hold freedom of the press as an important right should be calling for the immediate release of Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar as well as for dropping all charges against them. In a society that depends on an independent press it is imperative that journalists are not arbitrarily arrested and held on trumped-up charges. Below is a video of Amy Goodman discussing the arrests after her release.
You can call the Mayor of St. Paul to weigh in on this issue at: 651-266-8510

You can also reach the Ramsey County Detention Facility at: 651-266-9350

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Chris Johnson says:
02 Sep 2008  at  11:40 pm | #

Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar have been released from custody.  As of this evening, the charges are still pending against all three staff members of Democracy Now!  I will continue to pass along any updates as this story unfolds and will provide a recap of the dissent at the RNC upon the conclusion of the Convention.

says:
03 Sep 2008  at  07:03 am | #

What are the elements that are required to convict someone of either of the following two charges:
1."obstruction of a legal process”
2."interference with a peace officer” ?

I think that these charges are a variation of “crimes against the state” , that was employed by the likes of Stalin.

These laws are written by legislators to give the state unfettered power over the people. They are purposely vague know that the costs of any legal process would present too high a hurdle for the average citizen to endure. The state including the legislators cower behind conditional immunity while the citizen is exposed to constant peril and abuse. So long as those citizens that are abused are relatively small in number when compared to the total number of citizens in the herd, the herd is complacent and the abuses are absorbed. What is needed is to make use of the obscurity created by the herd and to make these legislators answer for their acts.

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.” - T. Jefferson

says:
03 Sep 2008  at  08:16 pm | #

Thanks for the follow up Chris!

Vera Z says:
04 Sep 2008  at  09:25 am | #

I hope their lawyers are taking into consideration that this is a violation of their First Amendment rights and even after Amy is released they I hope they don’t drop the ball.  This case should go before the Supreme Court.  Vera Z

Chris Johnson says:
04 Sep 2008  at  09:29 am | #

Ramsey County officials are in the process of deciding whether or not to file charges against Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar.  I called the Ramsey County Attorney’s office of Susan Gaertner to inquire about the pending charges and was told that no charges have been filed and no case has been submitted for review at this time.  The woman told me to go to the following website for more information:

http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/attorney/index.htm

The number if you would like to make your voice heard is:  651-266-3222

I also spoke with the office of St. Paul City Attorney John Choi regarding the charges that have been filed against Amy Goodman.  She has been charged with “Obstruction of a legal process” and “interference with a peace officer”.  I spoke with this office and voiced my displeasure with the charges that have been filed and demanded that they be dropped immediately.  I was told that my name would be added to a list as they had already received “numerous calls” regarding this issue.  I inquired for an update on the status of this case but the office would not release any further information at this time.

If you would like to voice your opinion directly to the office of St. Paul City Attorney John Choi and demand that the charges be dropped, the number is:

651-266-8710

says:
04 Sep 2008  at  08:15 pm | #

I seldom watch the local news so I am asking if anyone else has seen any coverage of this incident in the local media?

says:
06 Sep 2008  at  12:06 pm | #

… anyone else has seen any coverage of this incident in the local media?—from dieterschmied (#6)

It was covered on PBS’s program NOW on Channel 48 Friday night.

Dewey says:
06 Sep 2008  at  01:54 pm | #

They needed a “nightstick shampoo”. Fuckin’ hippies!

says:
06 Sep 2008  at  02:26 pm | #

Dewey, you have a habit of making foolish comments. They are journalists and freedom of the press is one of the most important protections that our constitution is supposed to give us.

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