RNC 2008: (Minor) Mayhem In The Streets

Photo by John Hoff (September 1)

Arg. Word comes in this article of minor mayhem during the first day of RNC 2008...

So I guess I'm going to stay later than I wanted and blog what I know.

During today's march, I did hear some kind of "bang!" which seemed to be a flew blocks away. And then a lot of media people--including me, a blogger--ran away from the main march, trying to see what happened. I saw some individuals who looked like a SWAT team or some kind of tactical response team hauling a** out of the area in a Humvee with a large, open back door. One journalist I met asked me if his face was red, since he'd gotten some pepper spray. He stated he'd seen a young man shot with a rubber bullet.

These actions were far from the main protest route. The main route itself was incredibly peaceful. I did see a lot of folks in black running out of a neighborhood, and running into the protest, seemingly taking refuge. I saw one ripping the bandanna off his face as he ran toward the protest route. A photo capturing some of that is above.