Chain link cages topped with barbwire is what awaits protesters at the Democratic National Convention in Denver if they are arrested in large numbers.  According to a CBS4 Denver report,  "Each of the fenced areas is about 5 yards by 5 yards and there is a lock on the door. A sign on the wall reads ‘Warning! Electric stun devices used in this facility.’"  The make shift detention center resides in an old, city-owned warehouse on Denver’s northeast side. 

 

The local ACLU is asking the city how detainees will "get access to food and water, bathrooms, telephones, plus medical care, and if there will be a place to meet with attorneys," according to the report. 

 

The Denver Sheriff’s Department stated, "The plans were to keep this lockup a secret, at least for now," and added that the mayor’s office would be releasing a statement about the facility early next week.

 

One of NMI’s sister sites, The Colorado Independent, reports that a protest of the facility was planned for today at the warehouse which has housed city voting machines in the past.  A Denver city audit stated there is no permanent cooling system in the building, according to the report. 

 

The previously named Colorado Confidential reported on the recent history of convention detention facilities and the wide-scale reports of human and civil rights abuses.

 

Activists are worried that peaceful protests may be incited into violence by government agents and provocateurs.  The city has been given a $50 million grant for security at the convention.