The main protest at the RNC in St.Paul is the March on the RNC, which the diverse group of organizers have been planning for two years.  Here, the organizers were briefing around 50 "marshals" who would be in charge of making sure the march was peaceful and safe for everyone involved.

Several thousand people marched with the official parade, but some groups had different agendas.

One group, "Funk the War," started marching down an unplanned route ahead of the official march, for which the St.Paul police were not prepared.

When they tried to move South, closer to the convention center, police beat them back with pepper spray and clubs.  The marchers continued in another direction as the police force amassed behind them.

Ad hoc medics treated people for pepper spray effects.  One photographer near me walked into a cloud of it and immediately vomited.

Less than 20 counter-protesters stood outside the heavily-fortified Xcel Convention Center, waving professionally-printed signs.

The police did not seem to know how to respond to the unsanctioned marchers, but they did manage to prevent anyone from getting closer to the convention.  Their pepper spray trigger fingers were itchy, though.

Some anarchist/communist/anti-capitalist protesters caused havoc outside of the official march.  We'll see more of them later...

The police forced the official march to go down a different route than the one that had been planned, but there was little arguing anyone could do.

The anti-capitalist bloc sought to prevent delegate buses from entering the protected parking lot.

When it became clear that any action would be futile against the growing contingent of riot police, they dispersed and made other plans.

I next ran into the bloc near the river.  When they attempted to move up Jackson St., police shot tear gas and flash grenades, sending most people running in a panic.

In retaliation, several people tore down a sign and jumped on passing cars.  Panicking motorists drove over the median and sped in the opposite direction.

The reinforced police marched west, forcing anti-capitalist protesters and tourists against another line of police and mounted officers heading in the opposite direction.  When I asked to pass through, a belligerent officer pointed a tear gas grenade launcher directly at me and said I should go the other way (which was impossible).  Once the police had enclosed roughly 150 of us against the river, they announced that we were all under arrest and commanded us to sit on the ground with our hands behind our heads.  Many of those trapped were on their way to a local concert, but their questions were met with tear gas guns pointed in their faces.

    The police started to arrest the group but stopped after detaining at least 20 people (seemingly randomly chosen).  Then they suddenly told everyone else to get out of the area.  I headed West without looking back.

I have no allegiance to any group here, and I'm not out to focus on either police brutality or protester violence.  Although I am sure that the majority of the protests will be peaceful, I am drawn to the conflict and tension building in the city.  The National Guard is already patrolling St.Paul, and several more roads have been closed off. 

The police are using the misguided actions of a minority of the protesters as an excuse to illegally raid houses and infiltrate non-violent protest groups.  Some people are starting to pay attention to these despicable tactics, but I suspect most of these efforts to stifle dissent and break constitutionally guaranteed rights will go unnoticed and unpunished.

Although police should be free to arrest violent protesters causing property damage, arresting journalists and mass-arresting anyone in an area leap further towards totalitarianism than anyone in America should tolerate.

Tomorrow is another day.