Sep 5, 2008 6:29 am US/Mountain
Half Of Those Arrested At DNC Plead Guilty
DENVER (AP) ―
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Activists protest outside the Pepsi Center during the 2008 Democratic National Convention Aug.27, 2008, in Denver, Colo.
Max Whittaker/Getty Images
About half of those arrested just before and during the Democratic National Convention have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor offenses and have received sentences ranging from fines to suspended jail sentences.
Officials said 152 people were arrested Aug. 23-28 in Denver, including 91 taken into custody on Aug. 25 near a downtown city office building.
City Attorney David Fine said the sentences depended on the nature of the offense and the defendant's criminal history.
Brian Vicente of the People's Law Project, which is providing free legal counsel to some of the defendants, says 28 of those arrested Aug. 25 have requested trials. About 40 more are expected in court Oct. 2, when they could plead guilty or request a trial.
There have been far more arrests surrounding the Republican National Convention that began Monday in St. Paul, Minn., where more than 600 people have been arrested in the past week.
Denver police have said they discovered stashes of rocks, bricks and other items around Denver before and during the DNC that people could have used to plan violence. Police said that the removal of the items, whether they were intentionally stashed or not, may have played a part in keeping the peace.
On Thursday, police and public works officials disclosed that the confiscated items included multiple bags of feces stockpiled in Lower Downtown, an estimated 200 bottles of human urine in a vacant house, 30 to 40 stakes that were about 6 feet long, broken hockey sticks near the Colorado Convention Center, and a gas can and two propane tanks chained to fences in LoDo.
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