Aug 23, 2008 12:00 pm US/Eastern
'Peace Team' Aims To Prevent Violence At RNC
MINNEAPOLIS (CBS) ―
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The group practiced finding one another in a crowded south Minneapolis home while blindfolded. Banging pots and pans made it hard to hear one another speak.
CBS
Sennator John McCain comes to the Twin Cities to accept his party's nomination in less than two weeks.
At the last Republican Convention in New York four years ago, Police arrested nearly 2,000 protesters. In Minnesota, a unique group is hoping to keep the peace around the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
The group practiced finding one another in a crowded south Minneapolis home while blindfolded. Banging pots and pans made it hard to hear one another speak.
The point is to prepare them for an even louder crowd hundreds of times larger at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.
They are training to be part of the Minnesota Peace Team, a group that wants to prevent violence, whether it comes from protestors or police.
"There are so many people, we're not going to cover the whole thing by any means and that's not our intention. But our intention is to say 'St. Paul and Minnesota is our home. We have a peaceful attitude and we want people not to be hurt when they come to our town,'" said Katherine Wojtan with the team.
Sarah Bloomberg dragged her somewhat reluctant mother to the meeting, where they role-played as protestors.
"I was just like 'Whoa! I so quickly from having cause to just yelling and screaming with everyone else,'" said Sarah.
They got tips on how to de-escalate conflicts and keep themselves safe.
The team has met with police a couple of times and the police think of them as a neutral group.
The Peace Team said they've heard from a handful of protestors who think they want to stop the protests. The team said that's not the case.
"We really respect the right of anybody to come and voice their opinion. When it verges on hurting people, that's where we draw the line. That shouldn't be part of voicing your opinion," said Wojtan.
They are hoping they won't have to follow through on any of their training. The team expects to be 100 members strong by the convention. They added this is just the beginning. They plan to stay in place for other big events in Minnesota.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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