Anarchists attack a bystander
University of Minnesota staff were key coordinators of the recent violent protests at the Republican National Convention (RNC). The university employees are also members of the local clerical union of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees. The AFSCME is part of the AFL-CIO union.
Protests turned violent at the 2008 RNC located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Police have arrested hundreds of demonstrators for violent attacks on police officers and bystanders and other more nuisance crimes. The Saint Paul Police have identified an anarchist group called the RNC Welcoming Committee as being at the center of the violence. It's goal was to stop the convention.
The website ProtestRNC2008.org carries a press release which sheds light on the activities of the RNC Welcoming Committee. The online notification posted June 8th, 2007 by a woman named Jessica Sundin calls for a meeting at the University of Minnesota Student Union Center co-hosted by the RNC Welcoming Committee. Sundin is a clerk at the University of Minnesota. Another press release was posted by Sundin in the name of the RNC Welcoming Committee after the convention began.
Ms. Sundin told the Pioneer Press outlet TwinCities.com that she had discussions with the anarchists “but only to make sure they don’t disrupt the march.” Sundin claimed “They’ve made a commitment not to interfere”.
A website called fightbacknews.org describes another meeting held at the University of Minnesota last February. It claims that a gathering of sixty anti-war organizations including the RNC Welcoming Committee met to plan for the protest. Speaking at that meeting was Jessica Sundin. Also headlining the event was Phyllis Walker “president of AFSCME Local 3800, the campus clerical workers union”. That website describes the meeting as such:
“In the weeks leading up to the organizing conference extensive discussions took place among the forces that are planning actions at the Republican National Convention, including the anarchist-oriented RNC Welcoming Committee ...”
Videos of the speeches are on Google. These websites indicate that Walker, the union leader and Sundin, a union member coordinated for the RNC Welcoming Committee and that it was open knowledge at the time that it was an anarchist group. The “fight back” website also cites a speech in 2004 by union President Walker about a trade dispute with U of M in which she stated that the union should use “any means necessary”. In 2005 she was served with a summons for obstructing legal process but the charges were dismissed for her role in a campus protest.
The website UnionFacts.org lists Phyllis Walker as a member of the Executive Board of the State, County, and Municipal Employees AFL-CIO Council 5 from which she drew over $11,500 in salary from the Union in 2005-2006, the latest time-frame available at the website. The Council 5 website doesn't currently list Walker as an executive board member although it does list her as the local 3800 president.
Jessica Sundin was a coordinator of the protests. In media reports she tried to distance the law abiding protest groups and herself from the anarchist group. However, a thorough review of the online record shows that the RNC Welcoming Committee was integral to the planning led by Sundin and Walker.
In one article on the “fight back” website Sundin describes a trip to Columbia to meet with the now deceased infamous FARC commander Raul Reyes as a representative of the “US solidarity activists”. Reyes was a Communist guerrilla fighter known for cocaine trafficking and kidnapping Americans. Saint Paul Police have alleged a kidnapping plot by the anarchists aimed at the RNC.
Sundin described the FARC leader who was convicted of the murders of over a dozen Columbian police officers as such “I enjoyed his warmth and humor. He had a friendly, round face, a quick smile, and surprisingly gentle hands.” Of his death she wrote “The criminal Colombian government and their U.S. accomplices should be called to pay for this cowardly and criminal attack.” The Republican Party strongly supports the government of Columbia in its' fight against the FARC. Some experts consider anarchist groups to be based on communist ideals and fronts for communist activities.
Sundin's personal web page hosted by a U o M server under the heading “My Stuff” links to communist websites. Under “My anti-war stuff” she links to a declaration from the “Islamic Jihad Army” in Iraq which was killing US troops at the time. It's clear that she has posted these links in solidarity with the Islamic terrorist group. In another interview she remarked about her previous anti-war activities “We were inspired by the anti-globalism protests in Seattle and wanted to practice civil disobedience.” Those protests were marred by a violent anarchist rampage.
There is no indication that University of Minnesota officials or AFL-CIO leadership above the local chapter were knowledgeable of the local union members' activities or radical affiliations.
Ray Robison is the author of Both In One Trench: Saddam's Secret Terror Documents
Comments
That is disgraceful. I hope no state or federal funds supported these lunatics. Also, how can they claim to be anit-war and then act so violently.
youre trying to tie this weightless cop rumor about kidnapping to the FARC ???? seriously?
Hopefully the McCain Administration will pass a national Right To Work Act and ban unionization of federal employees.
I have no problems with legitimate non violent unions organizing private sector employees, however public sector employee unionization is just a shake down of the taxpayers.
This is typical Fox-type news coverage. Maybe these women used to be in the Girl Scouts - so your headline could be "Girl Scout reps coordinated anarchists for RNC". You end with "There is no indication that University of Minnesota officials or AFL-CIO leadership above the local chapter were knowledgeable of the local union members' activities or radical affiliations." But you purposely tie the AFL-CIO to these activities in the headline. Shoddy journalism.
@Observant Guest: Actually, the woman in the second video introduces herself as the President of the local union chapter which makes it kind of hard to deny they were union reps. Guess that should be non-observant guest.
Can't the people hurt going to the RNC sue the AFL-CIO? I hope somebody tries.
While I was watching the video of the hoodlums Breaking Windows for Peace during the RNC, I was reminded of one of the U of M's more infamous troublemakers - Michael Hazard Turnure. During my brief stint at the U in the mid-80's I recall him being at the center of a lot of property damage and white noise over . . . well, whatever they wre against back then.
I Googled him the other day. The only hit came from the Minnesota Daily that seemed to imply that he was a union building and grounds worker at the U. Now he's picking up broken glass; how's that for irony?
You've made some interesting connections. I think you can take validation, in part, by those who will shout down what you're sketching out.
Just a couple of additional items to show the involvement of AFSCME in this effort to disrupt the RNC convention.
1. Sundin's website links to a website called "antiwarcommittee.org". Sundin is listed as the Registrant for this domain name.
2. At the bottom of the "antiwarcommitte.org" is the address for the organization. It is: 1313 5th St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414. The same address that is listed for AFSCME Local 3937.
Given the close link between the Democrat party and the union, it makes one wonder how involved the Democrat party was in the disruptions at the RNC convention. Where there's smoke...
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