Classy protesters attack GOP delegates injuring an 80 year-old man. Yes, Pro-Peace folks are just so peaceful huh?
The Republican Convention has been altered with state delegates collecting money for victims of Hurricane Gustav, Anti-war protesters did not alter their plans, turned violent and started damaging property and attacked an 80 year-old delegate.
About 150 red phones were set up in the ballroom and Cindy McCain not only helped make the calls, she and husband John McCain donated $25,000 dollars to relief efforts. In all, 90 delegates, volunteers, campaign staff and others in the Twin Cities for the convention were helping out at the telethon.
The telethon" started at 2 p.m. ET and had raised $1.165 million by 3 p.m. ET. One anonymous donor had donated one million dollars alone.
Inside the convention hall had been turned into a relief effort as the GOP suspended most activities and focused on helping the victims of the massive stor,
Outside, anti-war protesters, did not altered their plans at all.
What was supposed to be a "peaceful" anti-war protest, organized by a group called the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War, turned violent when another group called Funk the War started becoming violent. Delegates were attacked, windows broken, tires were flattened and bottles were thrown and reports from Yahoo News say at least one fire was set.
The Police used tear gas and the end result so far is 56 protesters, dressed in black and telling reporters they were "anarchists", were arrested.
The scene took place several blocks from the Xcel Energy Center where the Republican Convention is being held in St Paul, Minnesota.
The delegates that were attacked were members of the Connecticut delegation. The disembarked from their bus near the Xcel Energy Center and were approached by a group of protesters that tried to rip their credentials off their necks and sprayed them with an unknown toxic substance which stained their clothes and burned their eyes.
One of those delegates was 80 years old and he needed treatment for injuries.
Five of those arrested had set a fire to a garbage can and tried to push it into the police vehicles
At one point, people pushed a trash bin filled with trash and threw garbage in the streets and at cars. They also took down orange detour road signs. One of them used a screwdriver to puncture the back tire of a limousine waiting at an intersection and threw a wooden board at the vehicle, denting its side. Another hurled a glass bottle at a charter bus that had stopped at an intersection. The bottle smashed into pieces but didn't appear to damage the bus.
After the official march ended, police spent hours dispersing smaller groups of protesters, employing officers on horses, smoke bombs and tear gas.
Authorities have asked for and received 150 Minnesota National Guard soldiers to help them deal with protesters.
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