by Mark Silva
ST. PAUL, Minn. - They won't back down.
Protesters preparing for the Republican National Convention who were targeted in a series of police raids Friday night and Saturday said the march will go on, on opening day.
Organizers hope to attract up to 50,000 people to the protest Monday, at the planned opening of the convention.
Four people were arrested at two Minneapolis homes and booked on probable cause of conspiracy to commit a riot, according to Gina Berglund, an attorney assisting protesters.
There were no arrests at a third home targeted. Later, the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office said a fifth person was arrested at an undisclosed location.
"A lot of people in the activist community are really on pins and needles about who's next," Berglund said.
Protester Michelle Gross said a fourth home, this one in St. Paul, was being raided Saturday afternoon.
Two people were outside the home in handcuffs while police awaited a search warrant, she said. St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh said a search warrant was being executed but could not confirm whether anyone had been arrested.
On Friday night, Ramsey County sheriff's deputies raided the organizing site of the RNC Welcoming Committee, which plans to disrupt convention activities. No one was arrested.
"They will not crush our spirit," said protester Lisa Fithian, who came from Austin, Texas, at a gathering of about 300 people in a Minneapolis park this afternoon. "Our organization will continue. We will be on the streets."
The Associated Press provided this report.
• 
• 
• 
Post a comment
(Anonymous comments will not be posted. Comments aren't posted immediately. They're screened for relevance to the topic, obscenity, spam and over-the-top personal attacks. We can't always get them up as soon as we'd like so please be patient. Thanks for visiting The Swamp.)