Activists complain of authorities' tactics ahead of GOP convention
CLEVELAND -- Weeks out from the Republican National Convention, Cleveland law enforcement has commenced "door knock" visits to the homes of local organizers and activists.
This reconnaissance mission, which the FBI confirmed to the Cleveland Plain Dealer and described as "community outreach," is what Jocelyn Rosnick and Jacqueline Greene of the Ohio chapter of the National Lawyers Guild call a blatant intimidation tactic.
The two received reports from activists and their friends and family of officers repeatedly ringing doorbells, surveilling their homes and appearing unannounced on private property - even after people stated that they did not wish to engage in conversation about what they may or may not know about convention protest planning.
People have also reported that officers have been "photo flashing" at their doors, asking them to identify pictures of various individuals.
"Officer and agent conduct at some people's homes have been unprofessional and inappropriate, and in some cases we've seen officers refuse to leave their cars or identify themselves by name," Greene, an attorney at Friedman and Gilbert, told CBS News.
"You're crossing the line from investigation to harassment and at the point that officers are intentionally intimidating people or engaging in repetitive attempts to coerce or goad people into talking when they've made it clear they don't want to talk," Greene added.
The FBI did not respond to CBS News' request for comment.
When Rosnick and Greene aren't defending the civil rights of their clients by day, the duo can be found fronting workshops educating community activists of their basic human rights.
On Friday night, the two lawyers conducted a workshop attended by local activists, organizers and lawyers titled "Know Your Rights," where they discussed handling door knocks from law enforcement, protest rights and the arrest process.
In bookstores, schools, nooks and crannies around the city in the weeks leading up to what will likely be a volatile Republican National Convention, they will continue to host sessions open to the public to prepare those who plan on protesting the Donald Trump show.
Attorney James Hardiman, vice president of the NAACP of Cleveland, and Gordon Friedman, a partner at Friedman and Gilbert, where he practices criminal defense, and an adjunct professor at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, sat in on Friday's session. Ohio jail support pamphlets were handed out along with slips of green paper with a jail support hotline and a script in the case of an arrest or a detainment: "I am going to remain silent. I do not consent to a search. I want a lawyer."
"What you don't say will never hurt you, but what you do say can," Rosnick told the group. "There is always an asterisk here. Just because something is legal doesn't mean the Cleveland police won't arrest you, say it is illegal or cause you physical harm."
One attendee with a Black Lives Matter patch sewed on her bag told CBS News that she was not affiliated with any protest group and only attended the training in order to educate her friends on their rights. She took home a stack of "know your rights" handouts to distribute to cafes throughout the city.
Maggie Rice, an organizer for Food Not Bombs, asked questions related to event access as she plans on supplying protesters with food and water throughout the four-day ordeal. Another attendee refused to speak with CBS News and accused the reporter of being an undercover police officer.
The session was underscored by a collective skepticism of a police force that's under strict oversight after a Justice Department investigation of a pattern of unconstitutional and racially charged policing.
"I hope you have a will," Friedman half-joked to a member of the audience who asked what would happen if they ran from an officer with a warrant.
Law enforcement has been very tight-lipped on the details of their security apparatus, but Hardiman said that he had been told that "restraint" will be the strategy in handling the protests surrounding the RNC.
But the group of lawyers pointed to recent cases of police brutality and the mass arrest of 71 people involved with the protests that erupted following the acquittal of Michael Brelo last year. Brelo, a former Cleveland police officer, faced manslaughter charges after a 2012 police chase ended in the violent death of two unarmed people, Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams.