Tuesday marks one year since protesters marched through the streets of St. Paul during the Republican National Convention.
A year later, dozens of people plan to sue the city for action taken against them.
On that first day, over 200 people were arrested along Shepard Road as they tried to protest outside the RNC at the Xcel Energy Center.
The plaintiffs say the city had no probable cause to arrest them, and the police's use of chemicals and rubber bullets was 'excessive.'
"You can't take the wrongs of one person and use them as justification to arrest masses, that's simply illegal. That's the basis of this lawsuit," said attorney Bob Kolstad.
They claim many of those arrested were taken to jail and held up to 72 hours, although none of them were ever convicted of any crime.
"Other people were taken to jail, other people were taken to another detention site, and a lot of people were given tickets, all of which were dismissed," Kolstad said.
Currently 27 people have become part of the lawsuit, but if it gains class action status, all of the people arrested last September could become part of the suit.
A press conference is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Tuesday near the scene of the mass arrests to officially announce the lawsuit.
There are still several individual lawsuits against the city in progress, but this would be the first class action suit. The RNC Host Committee paid for a $10 million insurance policy to help cover litigation involving the city or law enforcement agencies, so that taxpayer money would not be used.
An attempt to contact the St. Paul Police Department and the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office for comment went unreturned.
RNC Class Action Lawsuit to be Filed Against St. Paul |