Today’s Talk

Amy Goodman grills St. Paul Police Chief About her arrest and two Democracy Now! Producers

September 3rd, 2008 by CD

AMY GOODMAN: I’m Amy Goodman from Democracy Now!, a daily public radio and television program. I was arrested yesterday by the police, along with my two producers. And I want to know what the policy is for reporters. We are fully credentialed, all of us, both from the convention and our own press credentials.

First, it was our two producers. It was over at 7th and Jackson. One of them, Nicole Salazar, had a camera. She was videotaping. The police moved in very quickly. She was stepping back behind the car. She was videotaping this whole thing. The police moved in at her. We have the videotape, played it on the show today. As she shouted “Press! Press!,” they said put your face in the ground. They pushed her to the ground. They put their boot in her back. Another one pulled on her leg, and they were telling her to keep her face down to pull along the gravel. Sharif Abdel Kouddous is our other producer. He was there. They threw him up against the wall. They bloodied his arm. They bloodied her face.

And I was called. I was on the convention floor interviewing the delegation from Minnesota and Alaska. I got a call, the producers are being arrested. I raced down here by foot. I went up to the riot police line. I said, “I would like to talk to a commanding officer.” This is all videotaped. And they took me, handcuffed me immediately, said, “You’re under arrest.” They pushed me to the ground. I said, “You can clearly see I have all the proper credentials.” I have my security clearance for the floor, for example, of the convention. So Secret Service came over, and they pulled it off. “Now you don’t,” they said.

So, my question is, they have—they face PC riot, probable cause riot. I’ve already been charged with a misdemeanor. What is your policy with the press? How is the press to operate in this kind of environment? And a last question is, our producers were here, but the police only allow in two people from each press, but this is empty, and all the police are here. They far outnumber us in the press. Why our reporters can’t be here?
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Democracy Now! radio host Amy Goodman

September 2nd, 2008 by CD

By Holly Watt
ST. PAUL — Democracy Now! radio host Amy Goodman and two producers were arrested while covering demonstrations at the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn. Goodman was released after being held for over three hours, but is still waiting to hear when Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar would be released.

“I was down on the convention floor interviewing delegates when I heard that two of our producers had been arrested,” said Goodman. “I ran down to Jackson and 7th Street, where the police had moved in.”

Goodman said that when she ran up to find out what was going on, she was also arrested.

“They seriously manhandled me and handcuffed my hands behind my back. The top ID [at the convention] is to get on the floor and the Secret Service ripped that off me. I had my Democracy Now! ID too. I was clearly a reporter.”

Goodman, who was released after being charged with a misdemeanor, said that Salazar had been hurt in the face, while Kouddous had been thrown up against a wall and hurt his elbow.

“Nicole told me that as they moved in on three sides, she asked them ‘How do I get away from this?’ and they jumped on her.”

Both Kouddous and Salazar could be held for up to 36 hours.

“One of the police kept shouting at me ‘Shut up, shut up,” she said. “It was extremely threatening.”