Fear and Loathing | 2008 National Conventions

A Personal Account

2008-09-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

At the Milwaukee airport on my way back to New York. News blares from a TV spouting theories about how Sarah Palin will affect the Republican ticket. Through the window I see the airport's flat green and concrete landscape stretching (in my mind) toward St. Paul.

I keep re-living the fight or flight instincts I felt while covering the RNC protests. Unshakable lines of dark uniforms, gas masks, furrowed brows. The incessant chant of "Whose streets?! Our Streets!" making it hard to think. The stench of pepper spray. Commands barking down the police ranks. A protester pushes too far and the police line opens like the jaws of some black beast, spewing white flames and swallowing the man whole.

A part of me begs to run, yet I keep shooting. I'm training myself to think clearly and keep planted, capture the moment. It's not the first time I've found myself in a potentially dangerous crowd of impassioned people, or face-to-face with impatient cops. Intense newspaper assignments. The University of Florida championship celebrations. The Muslim festival of Ashura in India, where thousands of men in a small street cut and beat themselves in mourning. They've all programmed me a bit to feel out a mob and know when I should stay or go.

But this week there were times when I was scared. The first photographer I ran into in St. Paul was Phillip Andrews, covered in pepper spray. His face was so distorted in pain and covered in a white residue that I didn't recognize him until I asked his name. That same day, as I later found out, the police had pepper sprayed, roughed up and arrested photojournalist friends of mine.

I was shooting mainly for my portfolio. No affiliation, no safety net other than being a member of the media. Just me, my cameras, and media credentials from a Puerto Rican newspaper assignment in Minneapolis. According to the US constitution, that should be enough.

Thursday night- a rally at the capitol building. As John McCain was about to take the podium at the Xcel Center, down the road several hundred gathered at a small stage to say "good riddance" to the convention.

It was the usual disorganized anti-government message that blending resentments and issues- End the War, Free Speech, Free Palestine, Down with the biased Media. There was a Where's-Waldo-looking peacenik on stilts. A punky-looking couple making out in the grass. Some colorful mow-hawks.

Speeches became chants and the mob decided to march toward Xcel, without a permit. Riot police blocked roads and the mob pinballed around the capitol plaza searching for an opening, chanting angrily their right to protest. Tension built. A violent encounter seemed imminent, but didn't come.

Earlier in the week a cop in full riot gear had told me "We don't want to be on CNN." After Monday's mass arrests and violence the chief of police and his political friends apparently wanted to keep the spotlight on the Republicans, not on the relatively small dissent. Ironically, the more protesters and journalists hurt and arrested, the more ammunition for the media to report on.

For hours the crowd moved around and the police adapted. Eventually people started dispersing, so I figured it was time to call it quits. No more adrenaline rushes, no more pictures, no more fear of arrest or attacks. I was following a Gannett shooter looking for an open street- one the cops weren't blocking. I was turning the corner when a friend called on the phone. "Umm, they're breaking shit."

I'm not in great shape but somehow I sprinted a mile uphill, around the back of the capitol building- smoke and loud bangs in the distance. I sprinted some more. As I got closer I recognized it was tear gas and concussion bombs the police were throwing, so I went straight toward the action to take some photos.

Fear crept up again - Will they arrest everyone? Will I get sprayed? Shot with a rubber bullet?

By the time I realized I was at the center of the conflict it was too late. Bombs and tear gas were exploding all around me, cops screaming at everyone to go south toward the bridge.

"I'm media! Where do I go?!" I yelled to one cop. He pointed his rubber bullet gun at me and yelled "Go to the fucking bridge!" It was utter chaos, like a war zone. Police were throwing gas and bombs in between the bridge and the people who were being told to go to the bridge. Poor aim? Amid the mayhem I managed to click away a few frames, but began to notice what was going on. Police had surrounded the area and were corralling some 300 people, including a large number of media and legal observers, onto the bridge for a mass arrest.

Wednesday night, after the Rage Against the Machine concert in downtown Minneapolis, the police used the same corralling strategy, and I was let out immediately and with dignity. The police had been reasonable then, allowing Rage fans to march the streets for a while without doing anything rash. After releasing some anarchist energy, most Rage fans went home peacefully.

Thursday, something changed. Both sides seemed angrier and more willing to resort to violence. My sense was that toward the end of the protest people just wanted to leave, which is why they went uphill past the capitol where there were no police barricades. The bad apples that allegedly smashed windows may have ruined it for everyone. Maybe the police provoked them. Or both.

Once on the bridge they got on a megaphone and told us we were all being arrested.

I stuck with some network cameramen in hopes the police would see me as media, and I started making phone calls. Media guys next to me were calling bosses. I was trying to find out what lawyers Jim Winn and Nathan Webber (my photo friends who were arrested Monday) contacted when they were nabbed. Contacted Tim Hussin (who created this blog and covered the DNC), and my girlfriend. I reached for the phone in my pocket one last time when call a cop pointed at me, yelling "This one doesn't know how to follow orders!" He rushed and grabbed the phone out my hand. "I don't know what you could be doing with this!"

He ordered a group of cops to put me in cuffs. They grabbed my arms, jostled me but lifted me slowly so as not to break the camera equipment hanging from my arms. Little did they know my cameras are much more dangerous than my phone.

I was embarrassed and outraged. Tim Hussin sent me a text message telling me to see it as an adventure. That put me in the right mindset. From then on I was smiling.

Whether I ended up in jail or not, I knew this whole thing was a joke. In this country, the law does not hold media accountable for actions of people on whom they're reporting. It was absurd that I and other reporters, cameramen, and photographers had been arrested like common criminals. We had no responsibility or participation in the protesters' cause other than documenting it for the world.

The cop left in charge of my group of arrestees said he was one of only two Democrats on the bridge, and we had a little laugh, mine a nervous one. A parade of media were walking free down the bridge and I looked up to my captor with puppy-dog eyes.

"I'd really appreciate your help."

"Well, you must be media if you've got all those expensive cameras," he said.

Within minutes I was released and joined the other media to receive "unlawful assembly" citations.

I felt nauseous. Yet beneath my worries I had a certain sense of well-being. Despite all the problems this country has, our Constitution is solid. There have been terrible violations, like what happened to AP photographer Bilal Hussein who was detained in Iraq for more than a year without a trial. But for the most part it's solid. In many countries I could have been beaten and locked up, with no hope for a fair trial. Here, worst-case was probably a couple of days in jail and dropped charges. Some protesters might face felony charges, but most of the peaceful ones were allowed to walk the streets, letting the world know how they feel.

I've got a citation that I'm hoping will be dropped, and an indelible experience that will serve me in circumstances to come.

I hope you see in our photographs about the nature of our country- the good, the bad, what we have to be proud of, what we need to keep fighting to improve.

- Danny Ghitis

RNC - Love and War

2008-09-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Danny sits in the back of a police van. He was arrested but they decided to release media with a citation. Nice guys.

RNC -- Wednesday

2008-09-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

...more photos taken on Wednesday from Danny Ghitis

RNC Day 2

2008-09-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

2008-09-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

RNC Day 1

2008-09-01T22:13:00.000-07:00

Danny Ghitis, a freelance photojournalist currently based out of New York, will be continuing our coverage of the 2008 conventions with the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. To see more of his work and purchase photos, contact him here.

Below, MMA fighter Jeff "The Snowman" Monson confronts police at a roadblock.

protest day 1

2008-08-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

Sunday never made it up on this blog. It was one of the more intense days, and in the preservation of my sanity, I didn't update the blog that night. So, here it is. Unconventional Denver took to the streets.

Photos taken down at request of Rocky Mountain News. Visit their site for more photos.

obama's speech

2008-08-30T00:23:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTOS

Courtesy of the Rocky Mountain News

Rollin' on

2008-08-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

The March

2008-08-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

historyish

2008-08-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS

more to come.

Under Fire

2008-08-28T13:06:00.001-07:00

Obama's big moment is only hours away...

More than 75,000 people are expected.

Raging Against the Machine

2008-08-27T23:18:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS

Rage Against the Machine joined with Iraq Veterans Against the War and approximately 7000 protesters and concert goers to deliver a message to Barack Obama urging him to stick to his anti-war platform.

girls and their cars

2008-08-27T21:28:00.000-07:00

2008-08-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

A late night in the Cage

2008-08-26T22:15:00.000-07:00

What has become deemed as the 'freedom cage' is where protesters are allowed to sleep at night. With floodlights and cops.

Click HERE to see the photos

A Night in the Cage

2008-08-26T22:12:00.001-07:00

An Escalation in Violence and Police Brutality

2008-08-26T22:06:00.001-07:00

in between

2008-08-26T22:03:00.001-07:00

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTOS

2008-08-26T21:54:00.001-07:00

streets (cont.)

2008-08-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

little sleep.

Photos taken down at request of the Rocky Mountain News

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS courtesy of the Rocky

2008-08-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

“No pictures!” shouted an officer from behind a perimeter fence.

“Why not?,” asked Chas Robles, of Ridgecrest, Calif.

“Because the Secret Service says so,” the officer replied.

“That’s not right. You’re not my mom,” Robles said.

“Then go home to your mommy,” the officer retorted.

Feds charge three in 'Obama plot'

2008-08-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

Federal charges were filed Tuesday against three men who allegedly talked of killing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

But none of the charges concerned threats against Obama, and U.S. Attorney for Colorado Troy Eid stressed that the three never posed any serious danger to the Illinois senator.

"A bunch of meth heads put together; I don't know what they do," Eid said at a packed press conference with some 50 reporters from across the globe as the Democratic National Convention got underway. "There is no credible threat right now and there was no credible threat."

The three men face a variety of charges including possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of body armor by a violent felon, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The three are Shawn Robert Adolf, 33; Tharin Robert Gartrell, 28; and Nathan Dwaine Johnson, 32.

Adolf talked of killing Obama during his "inauguration," and in Denver, according to the criminal complaint, but it is unclear if inauguration referred to Obama's planned acceptance speech for the nomination at Invesco Field Thursday.

The complaint also says the three men reportedly referred to Obama with a racial epithet and that such a person should never live in the White House. They "could not believe how close he (Obama) was to becoming president."

The conversation took place at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center - Denver, where Johnson had a room, and the three thought Obama had a room there too.

The investigation started Sunday around 1:30 a.m. when Aurora police pulled Gartrell over because an officer believed he was driving erratically. Police say they found two rifles with scopes, ammunition, and a bullet proof vest in a rented blue Dodge Ram pickup. Police also found a suspected mobile meth lab in the back seat and 4.4 grams of meth in Gartrell's pants pocket, according to the complaint.

Investigators also say they found wigs, a black stocking cap, black tactical pants, camouflage clothing, several laptops, several books on committing fraud, and suspected stolen credit cards and phone cards.

Eid said investigators are still looking into whether the men are connected to any white supremacist group.

Adolf was arrested at the Cherry Creek Hotel in Glendale around 6:30 a.m. Sunday after jumping out of his hotel room window on the sixth floor to a lower roof, then to the ground, according to the criminal complaint. Police also recovered about 35 grams of meth from the hotel room.

A visiting reporter said a large contingent of national press corps covering the DNC was staying at the hotel, but "We slept right through it."

NYT Journalist Singled Out and Sprayed

2008-08-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

New York Times freelance photojournalist Christian Hansen after being sprayed by pepper spray while photographing a confrontation between an Anarchist group and the Denver Police on August 25, 2008. He was supposedly confused for a well known Anarchist protest organizer. ha.

The guy from "VisionQuest" and other B-Listers

2008-08-26T01:24:00.001-07:00

2008-08-25T22:48:00.000-07:00

'Our Streets"

2008-08-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

pepper spray and rubber bullets. arrests. more to come. i hope.

Too Much Hot Air in Denver

2008-08-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

Several tornados touched down briefly in the southern metro area late this afternoon, creating a riveting spectacle for area residents but doing little damage.

2008-08-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

2008-08-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

Stacked and Ready

2008-08-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

Police units from all over Colorado congregated today all over the city. It was quiet, but we felt something stirring. Mayhem is abound.

Click here for the photos

Duel

2008-08-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

Pro-life and pro-choice activists dueled it out this morning to start off the circus in the West. The stage: Planned Parenthood.

Click here to see the photos

2008-08-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

2008-08-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

If Denver police see the potential for violence or destruction brewing during the Democratic National Convention, they have been trained and instructed to swarm in and take down troublemakers with immediate and direct force, Mayor John Hickenlooper said.
In an interview with The Denver Post, the mayor was asked how police would respond if "bad actors"try to become a disruption during an event such as an otherwise peaceful parade.
"So if they're actually pulling out — let's call it the paraphernalia of violence — police are going to move right in and take them out of that group," Hickenlooper said.
Police have been briefed on common methods and tactics of protesters who may want to create civil unrest. A bulletin issued to officers warned them to watch out for shields, helmets, gas masks, cases of nails, metal piping and chemicals, among other things, that could be used to fuel a riot.

Round em' up and cage um:

Deputy Gary Rolando, right, helps test a mug-shot station at the Temporary Arrestee Processing Center, which opens Sunday.

* 52 law-enforcement agencies will be involved, not counting the Secret Service, FBI and other federal agencies. Denver estimates its force of 1,500 will double for the convention.

* Officers have undergone 114,000 hours of specific DNC training. That includes training on everything from how to use radios to crowd management, dignitary protection and bomb recognition. Officers received additional legal training on the First and Fourth amendments.

oogala boogala

2008-08-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

John McCain at The Aspen Institute in Aspen, CO. Fund raising...

a good ol' American showdown

2008-08-22T22:57:00.001-07:00

...haven't found a McCain superhero action figure yet. But the Maker's Mark DNC commemorative bottle makes up for it.

Welcome

2008-08-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

A local strip club bids you welcome.

Wild West DNC

2008-08-15T19:05:00.003-07:00

John McCain Kicks Librarian Out of Town Hall Event

2008-08-15T19:05:00.001-07:00

Turn on the Sprinklers?

2008-07-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

A college-age protest group that wants to camp overnight in City Park during the Democratic National Convention next month is going to have to find another place to sleep.

Mayor John Hickenlooper told radio host Mike Rosen, who writes a column for the Rocky, that Tent State University's plans for a sleepover for as many as 50,000 protesters are out of the question.

The mayor also told Rosen that the city might turn on the sprinklers if the protesters don't abide by Denver's 11 p.m. curfew.

Photo by Brian Lehmann/ The Rocky Mountain News