Secret service denying G-20 protest permits

Perimeter Poses Permit Problems For Pittsburgh Protests
Groups Planning G-20 Protests Say They Can't Get Proper Permits

A number of marches are being planned to demonstrate on the second day of the G-20 economic summit scheduled Sept. 24 and 25 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

But with the global gathering slightly more than one month away, some groups that are organizing demonstrations said they've not yet been granted permits to protest.

A statement released Sunday by the Thomas Merton Center, a peace and social justice center in Pittsburgh's Garfield neighborhood, indicated it and as many as 40 other groups are planning a "permitted rally" on Sept. 25 from noon until 5 p.m. The march is planned to stop at the City-County Building and the Federal Building on Grant Street for speak-outs.

From there, the plan is to march down 10th Street to a location a block away from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where the G-20 summit will be held.

The statement indicated that that group applied for a permit but that the city couldn't "guarantee the groups right to march because the Secret Service will be taking over the event."

On Monday, Merton Center Leaders said they've been turned down for the permit because a security perimeter for the event hasn't been determined.

City officials said they can't approve special event permits until the Secret Service decides where it will set security perimeters for the G-20 summit.

Channel 4 Action News' Bob Mayo spoke to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl on Monday. Mayo reported the mayor is appealing for patience and that the city is trying to find a way to accommodate protesters.

"Logistically, we're trying to plan out where those (demonstration) sites are, where they make sense, are they close to the convention center -- where, of course, many people would prefer. "How do we do that logistically?" Ravenstahl said. "So, these are things we're all planning out, and those who would say otherwise, I would say, just take a deep breath. We have a few weeks here. We are processing these requests. There are a lot of them coming in."

State Sen. Jim Ferlo told Mayo that he's "disappointed" with how the protest situation has been handled so far and that people have a first amendment right to protest, even without a permit.

"We're not going to be denied," said Ferlo, D-Pittsburgh. "We'll either be in Point State Park or we'll be in the streets, but we will fight to preserve and protect our right to free speech and to peacefully assemble."

WTAE Channel 4's Shannon Perrine reported that no protesters will be allowed in the park. The city got a permit to use it before the demonstrators applied, and the area will become a tent city to house as many as 3,100 visiting police officers who will be working security details.

By law, the city must provide two locations where people can be seen and heard from the convention center. The city has not announced where those areas will be, but all demonstrators will be encouraged to use them.

Protesters do not need a permit to march down city streets.

Merton Center leaders said many protest organizers are motivated by their opposition to economic and military policies.

"Anyone who has lost a job, a home, a loved one to war, lost value to a retirement plan, gotten sick from environmental pollution, or lived without adequate health care, water, or food has been directly affected by policies set by the G-20 and should join us on Sept. 25th, said Jessica Banner of the Thomas Merton Center's antiwar committee.

Several organizations, including schools, have already announced planned closures during the G-20 summit.

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Protesters do not need a permit to march down city streets
reports I've heard are that the military and truck loads of riot police will be present

i posted this earlier last week
Possible 35,000+ protestors coming for Pittsburgh G-20 Summit Sept. 24-25 2009
www.abovetopsecret.com...

being denied the permit small protests are being planned for this weekend

and I heard on the grapevine...being denied permits for the sept 24-25 the protesters will spreading to other cities so there will be protests in dozens of cities instead of one and the militias are on their toes

is this the catalyst?

reply to post by warrenb


Classic tactic: Wait to the last moment to decide who can and cannot march, hoping that far fewer people will show up due to the short notice.

I don't think thats going to work.. I think people are pissed off enough to march, permit or no permit.. hopefully the Police and the Gestapo don't try and smash the protesters.. we don't need another Seattle.

Also, PA has some of the craziest of all crazy Militias.. I remember seeing some of those guys as a kid in rural PA out side selinsgrove. I don't see militias going to G20 protests though for some reason..

[edit on 8/28/2009 by Rockpuck]

Good find warrenb. The black helicopters will be out that day.

good post warren. Maybe this well be the debut of the USSSUD? Never heard of them? They're the presidential praetorians, the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division. They have authority ANYWHERE that the president is. hmmmmm. Remember Caligula!

I hope the protesters make the G-20 want to never come to America again. They are taunting us after Seattle. Make them pay. To bad thats not my neck of woods.

reply to post by warrenb


There will not be 35,000 people there.

As much as I wish there would be a real and remarkable protest in America, there won't be on this occasion.

People are lazy. They'd rather sit back and watch TV.
Just look at the recent protest in Washington, that was organized through a political leaning, and even then, it was about everything from Healthcare to Racial issues.
That was why there were so many there (and the evidence is out there to show there were many, many people there, despite what Fanatical Democrats suggest).

For the G20, Americans barely know these other countries exist. They have nothing to focus on. And who is it being organised by? I can't see any one group actively pushing for this protest, it just seems like an organic "sentiment" of protestation, rather than any solid group of people.

Even if there were 35,000 people with the drive and determination to voice their opinion in an educated manner, the PTB will do everything to prevent those people from getting there and gathering.
Just as you saw in London, they'll block routes, block travel, delay trains, planes and highways.
They'll harass and scare people into staying away in any way possible. They'll photograph people and take details for their special "lists", they'll make arrests, they'll probably even issue the "idea" of a threat to those crowds in an effort to scare people away.

At most, I'd say expect to see a few thousand, maybe ten at most. And even then, they'll be kept far away, they won't be reported on, they'll be fragmented into groups and easily controlled.

I wish it weren't the case.
But you don't have the will amongst the population, and where you do have the will amongst a focussed few (usually the youth), they'll be so easily controlled and silenced as to be pointless.

I hope I'm proven wrong. I really do. Good luck to you.