Thursday, September 24, 2009
Men who are not police force a protester into a car and drive off in Pittsburgh
These are not police. They are wearing camouflage, NOT police uniforms. The vehicle that this protester is wrestled into (without being read any rights or any other statements) is NOT a police car.
There were certainly scuffles between police and protesters around the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh today but this 'arrest' (I don't know if you could call it that) is something new, something sinister.
Paramilitary squads now operating openly in the United States. Keep in mind that in other countries in the not-so-distant past, paramilitary squads did things the police could not do, including torture, murder and 'disappear' people.
I don't know if this was a leftist or a rightist protester, nor do I know who sent out the goon squad or what their agenda is. It doesn't matter. If they can do this to him, they can do it to you or to me.
UPDATE: Some chatter around the internet suggests that these MAY be members of the Pennsylvania National Guard. If they are and are operating under federal authority then that would be a clear violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the use of federal troops (including federalized national guard) to conduct police operations within the United States. If they are national guard troops and if they were operating under the direction of Governor Ed Rendell then they have the legal right to act, but the method of arrest in which the protester was not read his rights and was wrestled into a car which then departed for an undisclosed location is still of questionable legality.
FYI - there is no legal rule that a person must be read their rights at the time of arrest, only that they must be read their rights prior to any questioning. Since I did not see any questioning taking place, this issue of being "read rights" is a red herring.
ReplyDeleteStill out of line for police conduct, though, unless the protestor was doing something really dangerous.
"Out of line" by my own judgment that is, but I'm pretty impatient with rude state agents. If state-authorized peace agents, probably not illegal.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe the National Guard would not identify themselves. Who provides security for G-20 events? The host country or the multinationals sponsoring it?
ReplyDeleteIf these people turn out to be hired Blackwater guards, you bet nobody is going to be read people their rights during a kidnapping by mercenaries.
I believe the Iraqi courts recently made this determination and insisted that Blackwater be prosecuted inside their country when they act improperly.
Imagine the outrage on the Far Right if this had happened to a teabagger at one of those town hall meetings.
Sofa King is correct...Not to mention many of the times National Guardsmen, are called out to support the local police they are on Title 32 orders which are mandated by the state. Those uniforms were not even correct because very few military men or women were the GucciFlage(woodland) camo. The others looked like they could be marines by uniform but their movments were all wrong. I think what you have posted was a kid napping.
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