Wednesday, September 3, 2008

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 2 -- Much of this city's downtown was blocked by a ring of steel barriers and police in full riot gear and gas masks on Tuesday, as hundreds of protesters marched from the Minnesota State Capitol to the Xcel Energy Center, site of the Republican National Convention.

Ten people were arrested, according to St. Paul police, and pepper spray was used on protesters. On Monday, nearly 300 protesters were arrested, and 137 of them were charged with felonies, St. Paul police said.

The main protest yesterday was by the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, with marchers chanting slogans and waving banners backing a wide variety of causes, including better access to health care. Some carried sunflowers and banged drums. Many marchers wore face masks and goggles to mitigate the effects of the pepper spray. Some covered their faces with bandannas. Police lined the march route, many of them using their mountain bikes as mobile crowd barriers.

"I believe health care should be a right," said David Strand from Plymouth, Minn. "We have people freeze to death in wintertime here in Minnesota because they don't have access to housing."

Amelia Garcia from Illinois said she had joined the march because she was in St. Paul for a Rage Against the Machine concert. "I like the fact that people are getting their message across," she said.

Farheen Hakeem, a Green Party candidate for the Minnesota legislature, said: "I have never seen so many policemen, and I was out on Monday. It's very intimidating, and I think it is unnecessary."

-- Holly Watt