The 3420 17th Ave. South raid seems crazy, and very threatening. I think everybody I know has the stuff they were looking for in their house and garage—spray paint? check. Gas mask? check (organic-vapors rated, to protect me from the spray paint). Gasoline? check. Glass bottles? check. Rags? check. Computers? check. Cameras? check. Tires? check. If everybody I know, including sincere pacifists and people who aren’t at all politically active, has these things, I don’t think that having these things can be evidence of anything except being an American. (Indymedia has the warrants and inventory up online.)
Neither the judge’s signature on the warrant, nor the police transcription of the name on the inventory, is clearly legible, but both pretty clearly start with a “W”, and the police transcription could quite easily be “Wernick”.
I’ve left voice mail for Judge Mark S. Wernick; he seems to be the only judge in Hennepin County whose name starts with “W” in the judicial directory. I asked him if he was in fact the judge who issued the warrant for the 3420 17th Ave. South raid. I explained I was not a journalist, but was calling as a citizen and a voter, trying to figure out what was going on. I haven’t heard back yet.