Aah yes, decent, law abiding Americans patriots/ sarc
Several thousand protesters march on convention in St. Paul
Some clashes between the anti-war protesters and police have been reported in a march that is planned to go until 3 p.m.
Last update: September 1, 2008 - 2:42 PM
Antiwar demonstrators marched today from the State Capitol to the site of the Republican National Convention, despite the big-name cancellations and following an earlier march by a smaller group that sparked a minor conflict.
The ad hoc group of protesters departed early from the Capitol and was met near the Xcel Energy Center, site of the convention, by counter-demonstrators and under the watch of police. Two news media photographers apparently caught pepper spray from law enforcement.
Protest organizers said their passion remains strong even though President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are skipping their convention speeches because of Hurricane Gustav.
As of 1:45 p.m., authorities reported five arrests, all stemming from property damage at Smith and Grand avenues. Five people were arrested for lighting a dumpster on fire and pushing it into a police car, said police spokesman Tom Walsh.
Police put the initial number of marchers at about 10,000 as the formal trek from the Capitol began this afternoon but revised the number to 2,000 later in the afternoon. Organizers had anticipated many tens of thousands to participate.
"There's far too few people here," said Lennie Major, a teacher from Mounds View. "We should have 10 times this many. This will only be a blip."
Among the chants as the main march started at 1:10 p.m. were, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, this racist war has got to go" and "Our streets, their war."
Just a few hours into the protest activity, city workers were ordered to shut down the free speech stage that was placed near the X. The stage was supposed to run for up to 12 hours a day during the convention as a forum for public sentiment. The workers would not say who ordered the shut-down or why.