On the Frontlines in Omaha
The Police State Version of Freedom of Assembly
By Paul Eide <p_eide@hotmail.com>
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/omaharallyandpolice03sep07.shtml
September 3, 2007
Hello Ken
There was a supposed "Nazi Rally" in my hometown of Omaha
Nebraska over the weekend which to me smacked more of a military tactical
exercise than anything else. The following is my description of the events
accompanied by several photos.
Thank you.
Paul Eide
On Saturday, September 1st, I was awakened by the familiar yet unrelenting
sound of helicopter blades swirling overhead. This sound was not unfamiliar
to me as the Omaha neighborhood in which I reside is anything but crime
free, but it was certainly an odd time to be "fighting crime".
Upon venturing out to grab some breakfast, I realized that every block I
drove down was not only closed, but being monitored by a police cruiser and
a single patrolman. Because I don't watch the news as a general rule, upon
one such intersection I shouted out to a middle age lady and her friend on
the corner and asked what was up.
"The Nazis are having some type of rally. I live on this block and can't
leave or else they won't let me back in."
After exchanging a few other words, my wife and I pulled off and proceeded
to the next block and found the whole situation very odd, because we hadn't
heard anything about it ahead of time. Every block for the next seven blocks
was being monitored in a similar fashion.
Finally I stopped and yelled to a cop on a motorcycle, "What's going on
here?"
He responded, "The Nazis are having a rally today until four this
afternoon." To which I responded, "These must be out of town Nazis because
the Nebraska game is at 2:30 and we know who will win that battle." For a
moment, he dropped the facade of "Enforcer" and laughed at my joke before
his partner told us to move on.
Once home, I grabbed my camera and decided to venture out for myself and
absorb the energy. I walked to the end of my block, on 31st and Dodge [photo right] , and
realized that Dodge was closed in both directions from 30th all the way to
34th, which was odd because after 20+ years as a resident I have never seen
Dodge closed for anything but a major traffic accident. So, I proceeded west
on Dodge towards 34th to see what was going on.
On the way I stopped and spoke to a patrolman who was stationed at the next
intersection. After being razzed by a fellow citizen about "Them stupid
Nazis" and why they were allowed to do this on Omaha's busiest street and
main traffic artery, he told the citizen, "Well they applied for the permits
and followed the necessary actions so there isn't anything I can do. Call
the Mayor's office."
34th Street and Dodge, September 1, 2007
After the citizen walked away, I exchanged pleasantries with the patrolman
and said "So if me and my organization decided to hold some type of rally on public grounds all we have to do is fill out a permit request?"
"Yes."
"And we get to decide the location or does the city dictate it? Can't the
city deny a request for a potential location?"
"Well, yes but all you need is the certification and if you have questions
about that, you should contact the Mayor's Office."
Dodge Street in Omaha isn't just a major traffic artery, but it is so old it
is actually a Federal highway, the original highway on Omaha's history. With
this knowledge in mind and considering the fact that Federal highway equals
Federal property, not city or state, I asked the patrolman, "Well since
Dodge is actually a Federal highway, wouldn't it have to go beyond just the
Mayor's office?"
To which he surprisingly replied, "This conversation is over. You need to
proceed." He got right in my face and gestured with his arm that I needed to
continue walking west. I was genuinely surprised because until that moment
it had been a pleasant exchange, which suddenly turned VERY confrontational.
38th Street & Dodge
The police presence in the area set a strange pall over the neighborhood. I
learned along the way that the event was being billed as an "Anti Illegal
Immigration Rally", which lead to some weird interactions with passersby as
people tried to guess who was in support and who was against the proceedings
by race alone.
But it wasn't only that. Every street I walked on I was
harassed by cops about my destination in a neighborhood where this type of
behavior never occurs. "Where are you going? Why? Do you live on this block?" etc. Why would I need to be asked these questions if it was just a Nazi Rally?
There was a lot of tension in the air, both literally and figuratively
because there were three police helicopters on site that were occupying the
air space from 40th and Dodge (and one block in both east and west
directions) to 30th and Dodge covering at least 15 square city blocks
continuously.
Once I actually got to where the proceedings were supposed to take place, I
was alarmed by the number of policemen in full "Riot Gear," complete with
gas masks, ropes, helmets and batons. None of them were friendly. You got
the vibe that if one minor infraction occurred that would be easily handled
by one patrolman, it would suddenly be overblown into a situation that
required eight.
After I walked to an area off the main drag I looked upon the situation and
took it all in. I saw at least 100 officers in full riot gear, marching in
formation and realized it was finally here; it was happening in MY city, not
some far off, easily dismissed place like New York or California, but Omaha,
Nebraska. Facts were being misconstrued to a readily accepting public, in
order for the governing bodies of this country/state to put on a full-scale
tactical exhibition under the guise of an "Anti Immigration Rally". My
neighborhood was being disjointed and rendered totally incapacitated in an
hour or two of possession by the local authorities.
As I walked and talked to other solo picture taking citizens along the way,
I learned that 13 different law enforcement agencies had combined to monitor
to the days events, something that hit me as strange for an anti immigration
rally fronted by a group calling themselves the "National Socialist
Movement."
Omaha Riot Police securing shady building garage exit (above)
Omaha Police directs anti-Nazi protestor to appropriate containment pen to exercise his First Amendment rights.
The "Rally" itself was probably the least interesting part of the day. Around 25 members of the "NSM" {National Socialist Movement] stood in front of the Mexican Consulate
building (which is closed on Saturday's) encaged by police barricades which
restricted their movement to a 30 foot "pen" created by the barriers. Their
pen was right in the middle of pens created for both the antagonists and the
protagonists. The "Nazis" just took turns hurling insults in unison at the
anti-rally supporters and that was about the extent of the rally.
Brown uniform Nazis (above) addressing invisible supporters in containment "pen" seen below
Nazi group exchange insults with penned anti-Nazi 'opponents'
Closeup of surging crowd of anti-Nazi opponents
Another
interesting thing I noticed was a policeman standing in a "safe area"
between the Nazi's and the Pro-Nazi supporters with a television news style
camera on his shoulder video taping the proceedings. He wasn't recording the
anti rally demonstrators at all, just the Nazi's and his own police troops as they
moved into different formations like an army regiment. Was he doing this to
avoid a liability lawsuit should it get out of hand? Or was he doing it like
an NFL team studies game film before a game, reviewing the minutest details
in preparation for a "live" game? That's what this whole thing struck me
as; a type of intra squad "scrimmage" between all these different agencies
to see how they would work together, like a test run.
What I couldn't get over or understand for a supposed "rally" was the overall tactical approach that law enforcement had assumed. There were cops
everywhere, restricting both the flow of auto traffic and pedestrian traffic
for blocks around the consulate, patting every one down and forcefully not
allowing citizens to walk down normally public walkways. They were on
horses, with dogs, cattle prods and batons.
There were also several vehicles
with government license plates and tinted windows that encircled the whole
15+ block radius of the event for the duration. On two occasions I was
approached by these vehicles where cops/patrolmen in plain clothes jumped
out and told me to stop walking so they could search and pat me down.
Once I got home, I did some research about the "Rally" and learned an
interesting detail. The man who organized the event in Omaha, 39-year-old
David Gletty of Orlando, is the same man who organized a similar event
through the Parramore neighborhood of Orlando, and is actually a paid FBI
informant and suddenly I began to wonder about the merit of the "Rally".
This new understanding shed light on the why the air was so thick with
tension and explained the aggressive nature of the police force on hand
which was noted by multiple bystanders I encountered along the way. It
wasn't just a normal police procedure, it was something different. After
having lived in large American cities previously and attending similar rally
events (by choice or by circumstance), I never once encountered one so
invasive and intimidating.
Even on the local news that night they questioned the necessity of the seemingly limitless amount of patrolmen and resources used to quell the "rally", in addition to the uproar about the several thousand tax dollars
that were wasted on monitoring about 25 Nazi's for absolutely no reason.
The thing that struck me the most about this experience was how abruptly the
plan was laid out and executed. Watching the positions the "Storm Troopers"
took and the way they moved in formation looked much more like a training
exercise than an attempt at maintaining order during a protest.
Another thing to consider while reading this is that Omaha is less than 20
miles from a huge military installation called the Strategic Air Command located in Bellevue, Nebraska. Built during the cold war the purpose of SAC
is described as "Toward deterring aggression, the U. S. built a vast nuclear
arsenal, most of it under the control of the Strategic Air Command," as
stated on its website. In fact after the events of 9/11 took place the
first location President Bush was ferried to from Florida was SAC located in
Bellevue, Nebraska. That shows you how important that SAC is and by default
Omaha becomes somewhat important as well because it is easily the biggest
city for about 300 miles in any direction.
Perhaps my assertions are incorrect and far fetched, which they will be
undoubtedly labeled by for at least a few people reading this, but I think
events like these are seeds being sown in a very subversive manner to bring
the "Police State" to fruition in the most powerful nation on the planet
before reaching across the seas and enveloping others. Just the sight of
seeing 100 or so "Storm Troopers" overtaking your neighborhood at their
discretion is being ingrained in your subconscious mind as something "normal" or "acceptable" so when it happens again, the public will remain
docile and unquestioning but on a scale far grander than individual
perception alone.
Omaha police pats down pedestrian (note metal detector behind)
Occurrences like this are on the rise all over this country but don't get
the publicity that is necessary for the public to become informed. I wanted
to do my part for the "underground" and share the situations I encountered
for the benefit of anyone reading this. All the good intentions in the world
are not enough to stop the movement that is afoot. If there is any hope that
our society will not be relegated to a third world communist police state in
the next 15-20 years it will take individual action and a conscious focus of
will to preserve even a shred of life as we now know it.
All information posted on this web site is
the opinion of the author and is provided for educational purposes only.
It is not to be construed as medical advice. Only a licensed medical doctor
can legally offer medical advice in the United States. Consult the healer
of your choice for medical care and advice.