Welcome to Minnesota: Out of town activists pulled over by police at gunpoint
Submitted by Rhubarbarism on Sat, 08/30/2008 - 16:54.
-----Cross-posted from www.rhubarbarism.com------------
A van full of activists from Texas was pulled over on Lake st. and 11th ave. in Minneapolis by police with drawn shotguns on Saturday afternoon.
Police ordered them out of the van at gunpoint, where they were handcuffed and searched on the busy sidewalk across the street from a dollar store, said Estaban, one of the detained activists. They didn't search the van.
They were released after between 15 to 20 minutes, an observer said.
The activists had been followed all the way from St. Paul by two unmarked cars, allegedly from the Ramsey County Sheriffs Department, they were also assisted by Minneapolis police, Esteban said. Also present were transit police and K9 units.
Esteban said the police didn't give a reason for the stop, or for their tactics of drawn guns. A policeman at the scene said the detainment was due to "bad information."
