[UPDATE02]Labor Day in the Twin Cities: The Police State the Media Aren't Covering.

The past 24 hours in the Twin Cities have been remarkably chaotic, yet the mainstream media isn't covering the real story. Scores of people have been arrested, hundred (if not thousands) shot at by police wielding tear gas, pepper spray, etc. Medics and journalists have been attacked by the police (yes, the same journalists who are not covering the event). There have been numerous confirmed reports of individuals being snatched off the streets. Mass transit has been suspended and protests that have permits disrupted.

Amazingly, this has all being going on with unprecedented documentation. Legal observers (i.e., the lawyers who have gone to Twin Cities to ensure that people's first and fourth amendment rights are respected) have themselves been both harassed and arrested by the police. And photographic, audio, and video of many of the most egregious events has been been uploaded online within hours (and sometimes minutes and/or live) of their happening.

There have now been close to 10 different raids at locations around the city (targeting everything from independent media to Food Not Bombs). You can find out more at:

• http://tc.indymedia.org -- updates and in-depth reporting from independent media
• http://twitter.com/coldsnaplegal -- live legal updates from legal observers reporting in from protests throughout Twin Cities
• http://theuptake.org -- live video uploads from journalists located throughout the Twin Cities

[UPDATE01]It's now being reported that police arrested journalist Amy Goodman while she was covering the RNC for her show, "Democracy Now." The National Guard is also being mobilized and moving into the Twin Cities.

[UPDATE02]From Cold Snap Legal:

As of 10:30pm today, the arrest tally from Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office was: 284 total; 130 felonies; 51 gross misdemeanors; 103 misdemeanors. The jail is seemingly severely backed up and not everyone has been booked or processed, so these numbers clearly don’t represent the total arrestee count for the day. These numbers also do not necessarily include the numbers of arrestees whose identifications have not been verified.

In regards to the arrestees from this weekend’s raids, five of them are still being held at Ramsey County Jail on probable cause, which means that they might not be able to see a judge until Tuesday or Wednesday. One of the arrestees was released yesterday evening.

Though some people have been cited and released, the majority are still being held in jail. We’ve gotten many reports that people are not getting proper medical attention, are being refused their medication, and/or have been separated from the rest of the group.

Also, there are also many felony charges, which allow the state to hold the protesters for a longer period of time. Felony charges have historically been used as scare tactics against activists, and there is much less precedent for them to hold up in court. More often, these bogus charges are simply used to keep protesters off the streets and as a way to oppress and silence people.