Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Thursday, May 15, 2008
Police announce route for marchers during GOP convention
ST. PAUL — A group of demonstrators protesting the war in Iraq will be allowed to parade as close as 300 feet from the Xcel Energy Center on the first day of the Republican National Convention, police said Wednesday.
But protesters — who plan to march from the state Capitol to the site of the convention and back again — say that’s not good enough.
The authorized route released Wednesday will allow marchers near the Xcel Energy Center at the corner of West 7th Street and West 5th Street — an intersection kitty-corner and across the street from the auditorium. The route is only authorized for Sept. 1, the first day of the four-day convention, said Assistant Police Chief Matthew Bostrom.
“This is as close as we can get to the skin of the building, if you will,” Bostrom said during a news conference. He said there will be no barbed wire or black cloth that entirely blocks the view of the building.
A group called the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War received a conditional parade permit more than two months ago but didn’t learn of its route until Wednesday.
“We’re very unhappy with it,” said Jess Sundin, a spokeswoman for the Anti-War Committee. “We’re expecting something like 50,000 people. We need big streets ... The amount of space that they are proposing we turn around in is not possible.”
The protesters wanted a route that would allow them to march on the streets immediately surrounding the Xcel Energy Center.
In addition, Sundin said, the permit allows marchers to leave the Capitol at noon and requires them to be away from the intersection nearest the Xcel Center by 2 p.m., which won’t give them much time to march or guarantee they’ll be near the facility when delegates are there.
No bicycles or vehicles will be allowed along the parade route.
Bostrom said the route could be modified before the convention, but the point where protesters are nearest the Xcel Center won’t be moved further away.
In addition, Bostrom said, facilities such as the Dorothy Day Center will remain open during the convention and the parade and will be accessible from certain directions.
Police spokesman Tom Walsh said the department estimates it will have 3,000 to 3,500 officers on duty during the four-day convention.
Sundin said the protesters will continue to pressure the city to change the route. A hearing is set for Friday in federal court to challenge various issues surrounding the permit.
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