Around 6pm on Saturday, a week before finals, the annual Wheeler Block Party at Western Illinois University, turned into a "G-20 style" crackdown by a multi-jurisdictional force from the Illinois police agency with the department of Homeland Security, Macomb police officers, McDonough County sheriff department, and state police.
Riot police used mace, dogs, tear gas, and LRAD sound canons.
According to Julio Raussaeo, student of journalism at the school, he was threatened by police for filming the crackdown, because it was "infringing on their jobs."
Over 100 citations were issued by Macomb Police.
Raussaeo claims that the use of crowd supression by riot police was planned in advance. He says that Alfred Goldfarb, the president of the University sent out a mass email and took up a a full page in the student newspaper a week prior to the event warning of an increase in police security. (Source: rtr.org)
Goldfarb wrote in yesterday edition of the student newspaper:
Law enforcement personnel were present in the vicinity throughout the day. It was only after emergency medical personnel began treating dangerous levels of alcohol intoxication and when participants began engaging in dangerous activities, including vandalizing property and throwing bottles and other objects at local law enforcement officers who were not in protective gear, that the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System Mobile Field Force, comprised of officers from throughout the state, was called in for crowd control to ensure the safety of all present. The University supports the law enforcement agencies in their attempt to ensure the safety of our students and our community. (Source: Western Courier)
Demonstration planned for today for 12:15 at the University Union against the abuse to their 4th amendment rights.
According to Rausseao, Western Courier also says that the mainstream and student press have tried to spin the demonstrators as anarchists.
Update from earlier today.
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Why is this posted here?
If you want to make the point that we live in a repressive society then use the actual G20 protests as evidence not a bunch of drunken college students celebrating indulgence. The G20 protests was an actual political protest over legitimate problems not some college hurrah. This video is so counter productive I thought it must be a planted video by an oppositional figure, but that appears to not be the case.
This makes us all look like chaos-Anarchists who are unhappy we can't start fires in public places. Seriously.
Perhaps re-read the summary.
Perhaps re-read the summary.
The term G20 was used to describe the manner of crackdown.
Not the students.
Since I was the one who asked
Since I was the one who asked that this be posted here, I guess I'll answer. This is posted here because it seemed as though most of the media, and apparently the rest of the citizens of this area, did not feel this was an occasion worthy of note. As you have proven.
To anyone outside of the US, this video is shocking and horrifying. In most of the world, riot police do not use mace, dogs, tear gas, and LRAD sound canons on drunken students (and they don't sound drunk to me). 'Celebrating indulgence' is kind of what is expected of college students at block parties, most countries aren't clubbing and tear gassing them for it.
"This makes us all look like chaos-Anarchists who are unhappy we can't start fires in public places." No. It makes you look like Zimbabwe. Except with more expensive toys.
In support of posting the video and Heather Marsh
The crime displayed is the deliberate provocation and the resultant over reaction by the security forces.
Whether it be G20 storm troopers or DHS riot squads, the common factor is the faceless threat of repression. In either case the point was to display the authority to quash any unsanctioned behavior. Also, in each case the action was a justification of the expenditure and the existence of the force. In Toronto, the arrest of obviously peaceful people was necessary to justify the creation of the holding cells. The 'security forces' traveled miles from the G20 venue trolling for bodies to fill the detention facility.
These "Security Forces" manufacture incidents to justify their existence.