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Troops Raid Utah Rave with Guns & Gas!!!!

Posted: August 24th, 2005, 1:00 pm
by mtmynd
I don't know if anyone around here has heard of this, but here it is -


From a blog written by one that was at the Utah Rave when it was raided by troops, police and dogs this past Saturday- (this is only a partial report... more in the below linked article).
At around 11:00 I was enjoying the good vibes and great music. Then at about 11:30 pm a helicopter began circling the party. Out of nowhere huge semis filled with national guard, swat, and the police rolled up. Soldiers came out of the bushes and rushed down to the party. Carrying M-16s, Ak-47s, nightsticks, and tazers. They proceeded to attack random people and push their might around on people who had done nothing wrong.

I saw about 7 people attacked (before being forced to leave). I saw two of them right in front of me. One was a guy who was walking around with a camcorder stunned at what was happening. A soldier told him to give him the camera now. The raver said no it is my camera. The soldier then proceeded to grab the camera, throw it to the ground and then began beating the kid. In the end they threw him to the ground violently an put their knee into his back while handcuffing him. All for wanting to keep his property. When I last saw him he was knocked out and unmoving.

Another girl next to me said to one of the soldiers that she didn't know how to get home as they had just arrested her friend. The soldier told her to walk home. My friend tried to grab her to bring her with us, but the soldier began yelling that she had touched him (which she hadn't). WIthin seconds, five soldiers had jumped on her and were literally beating the crap out of this innocent women. She was punched in the face, thrown to the ground, and kicked while down. All for worrying how to get home safely. She is now suing.

The soldiers proceeded to attack anyone with cameras or camcorders, obviously wanting to restrict the film that got out about it. This was not a legal attack, it was a blatant violation on our rights as American citizens. And the swat, police, politicians who authorized this, and the national guard knew this. That is why they were removing potential evidence.

We were treated as terrorists, innocent kids without weapons or even violent thoughts in their minds were manhandled, treated like terrorists, and forced to stop doing what we were by constitutional rights allowed to be doing. Our rights were completely removed from us. It was if we had visited the 1960s or communist China.
This incident happened Saturday night before (I believe) Dubya came to visit the Govenor of Utah. Any connections...?

1st link: http://www.sploid.com/news/2005/08/22/t ... 118551.php

...and the followup:

http://www.sploid.com/news/2005/08/23/u ... 118793.php

Posted: August 24th, 2005, 1:22 pm
by Zlatko Waterman
friend mtmynd:


Geez, what a contrast with this account from a local newspaper:

http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2961967

Perhaps we're in for a Sixties re-run?

War moms pissed at the Prez-- sex, drugs and rock and roll "out of control"?

Hmmmm.

Where is Dick Nixon when we really need him?

Answer: in the ground at Yorba Linda. I went there to the Nixon Library-- a surreal experience.


--Z

Posted: August 24th, 2005, 1:57 pm
by Glorious Amok
hmmm, it does seem connected to me. concerned parents don't generally have the power to conjure up troops and helicopters.

this related article is especially disconcerting...

"George W. Bush arrived in Salt Lake City this morning, where he delivered a speech demanding that Americans unquestioningly support his administration’s bloody occupation of Iraq."

and could somebody please explain to me the Tribune's assertion that ravers "attract sexual assaults"? how exactly does someone attract a sexual assault?

Posted: August 24th, 2005, 1:58 pm
by mtmynd
Isn't that article something!

I've been reading posts on this link -

http://www.music-versus-guns.org/

...written by various people in attendance. It's amazing to me the amount of fear, intimidation and violence (toss in some tear gas) was used in closing down this legal rave. Some well documented posts to be found there.

BTW: did you click on the live video of the assault...? Damn weird.

Posted: August 24th, 2005, 2:36 pm
by Lightning Rod
yes, this story interested me as well

a friend called me yesterday from Dallas about it

he sent me this link:

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Dance_party ... tah%2C_USA

Several years ago I was the MC and stage manager at a rave club in Dallas. For a couple of years we had 3-5 bands a night playing there. It was all off the books, unlicenced. We didn't sell liquor or drugs (but we didn't discourage the patrons from bringing their own). The place was huge (30,000 sq ft.) and some nights we would have 1500 people there.

The cops never bothered us. They knew that there were underaged drinkers and people taking illegal substances and dancing with wild abandon, but they also knew that we provided security and that we were looking out for the kids.

They came and talked to us a couple of times but never harassed the establishment even though it was totally illegal and they could have closed it down for a variety of code violations etc.

Kids got to boogie. They knew this. And they would rather have it happen in a congenial atmosphere.

I agree that it is scary to see masked ninja cops charging in to places where our children are partying and throwing them down like criminals.

Posted: August 24th, 2005, 3:24 pm
by mtmynd
Glorius - after giving it several minutes I still reach a blank in locating an answer for your last line: "how exactly does someone attract a sexual assault?" It is apparent that the press release, in order to justify the raid, liberally used catch-phrases (sexual, illegals drugs, underage children, DUI;s, etc.), to gain support from Joe/Jane Public, and maybe that was the intent - fear for your kids!!

Posted: August 24th, 2005, 3:26 pm
by mtmynd
elRod - If a republican/conservative President was coming to town things may have been different! :wink: