CODEPINK was back to protesting in the same spot, just a block from the Xcel Energy Center, where four of its members were arrested Wednesday. But, where they faced a line of police in riot gear blocking the street Wednesday, today officers in soft uniforms watched from the sidewalks, occasionally telling traffic to keep moving.
Gail Murphy, one of CODEPINK's founders, said the police and the protesters had come to a truce of sorts. During Wednesday's event, "We spoke to them as human beings," she said. "We asked them to look at us as human beings. We really tried to treat them as human beings, and I think they returned the favor."
This time, Murphy said, when CODEPINK arrived and a police captain came forward, she extended her hand, and they shook. The officer told her if anyone tried to block the intersection they would be arrested, and Murphy agreed. "That's the way I'm used to dealing with professional police," she said, adding that dialogue of that sort hasn't been happening in St. Paul. "Help us understand what we can and cannot do. We need to understand the rules of the game. They would not talk to me yesterday."
She said security forces had months to train and should have known that CODEPINK is not a violent group. The organization is best known for disrupting congressional hearings and speeches with shouting, chanting, signs and their bright attire.
"From my perspective as a D.C. resident and activist ... I was so shaken by the lack of training that the commanders and the police have in dealing with the protesters," she said.
On Sunday, she said, a group of 10 CODEPINK members holding a banner on a bridge found themselves surrounded by more than 100 police.
The group near the Xcel Center today adopted a deliberately playful theme.
"We're CODEPINK Cafe waitresses and we say were serving up peace, and all you'll get with John McCain is another helping of war," said spokeswoman Jean Stevens.
CODEPINK's other planned activities tonight include forming a human peace sign in Harriet Island and working to intervene against physical violence occurring at the Anti-War Committee's rally before its march today.
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