RNC 2008: Man Faces Extreme Charges

Elliot Hughes, who survived a brutal beating and torture during the RNC convention protests last year, now faces extreme charges.

Elliot Erickson Hughes, 20, is charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault and one count of obstructing the legal process with force, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday in Ramsey County District Court. Each gross misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to one year in jail, up to a $3,000 fine or both.

Independent media's account of what happened to Elliot.

http://futurenewstoday.blogspot.com/2008/09/elliot-hughes-american-hero.html

A St. Paul man slammed into and pushed two St. Paul police officers on bicycle patrol during Republican National Convention protests, according to prosecutors.

The criminal complaint gives this account:

Two officers were pedaling south on Sibley Street near Sixth Street in downtown St. Paul when they tried to pass a man, also bicycling. The man later was identified as Hughes.

One officer allegedly yelled at Hughes, "Get back! Get back!" More than one officer reported that Hughes forcefully slammed his bicycle into the officer, causing the officer to cut his knee.

The officer pushed off Hughes and continued bicycling.

A second officer said she tried to pass Hughes and told him she was passing on his left side.

The officer said she saw Hughes look at her, lower his shoulder and push into her. The officer fell off her bicycle, cutting and bruising her knee. Although Hughes was arrested during the convention, charges were not filed until Thursday.

Some St. Paul police officers are still assigned to RNC investigations, said Sgt. Paul Schnell, police spokesman. "It has been an ongoing, very onerous effort to review reports and videos," he said. "They're going through terabytes of video, minute by minute, to review cases for possible charging."

Hughes said that after his arrest, he was tortured in the Ramsey County Jail. He said in September that he was detained and placed in a private cell, where he was knocked out and awoke in a pool of his own blood. He said police later used "pressure point tactics" to torture him.

No internal affairs complaint about Hughes' allegations was filed with the Ramsey County sheriff's office, said spokeswoman Holli Drinkwine.

Darwin Lookingbill, assistant Ramsey County attorney, said Thursday that the department had not received a lawsuit from Hughes.

Mara Gottfried contributed to this report. Maricella Miranda can be reached at 651-228-5421

(Elliot has filed claim for a lawsuit.)

His defense costs a lot of money so a support website will be set up soon.

Independent media article on Elliot's situation http://futurenewstoday.blogspot.com/2008/09/elliot-hughes-american-hero.html