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Jul 3, 2009 8:56 pm US/Eastern
G-20 Summit Protestors Could Get Violent
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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A protester is bitten by a police dog near the Bank of England as anti-capitalist and climate change activists demonstrate on April 1, 2009, in London, England.
Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Global economic leaders will attract demonstrators protesting everything from the evils of capitalism to global warming.
"It will be literally a grab bag of scores of different groups and individuals with different kind of bones to pick," Jon Keeler, from the University of Pittsburgh, said.
But while many will come for peaceful protest -- others will not. Locally, the anarchist Pittsburgh Organizing Group's website says of the summit: "We intend to be an obstacle to its ability to function."
"Now, they talk about shutting down the summit," says Molly Rush -- a lifelong anti-war and civil rights activist -- who says she and her colleagues believe in peaceful resistance and will part ways with the organizing group during the G20.
Sheehan: "They're bent on violence?"
Rush: "No. Not at all."
Sheehan: "But they say they want to shut it down."
Rush: "Yes, I don't know what that means."
Officials intend to find out.
"This event has been declared a national security special event which means that we will have all necessary federal resources," said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.
The U.S. Secret Service and local police are gathering intelligence and devising a plan to contain and thwart disturbances.
Rush fears violence will obscure the message of the protestors.
"We're trying to say that there is extreme injustice, extreme poverty that has come out of a system that has worked against the interest the vast majority of people," Rush said.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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