Scores of protesters converged on the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver, CO, and the Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul, MN. Both were designated "national special security events," and the Secret Service was responsible for planning and implementing a security plan for each city. Protesters were visible at both conventions, although far fewer at the DNC, and hundreds of arrests made headlines at the RNC.

In Denver, police made few arrests. City officials had predicted thousands of protesters, but only a few hundred showed up. The location of the protest zone, far from the convention site at the Pepsi Center, was blamed for the low turnout. According to Roll Call (subscription required), "Protesters pointed out that only the back of the media tent faced the demonstration area, and reporters couldn't access the area without exiting convention security and walking about 15 minutes around the block." The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado and a dozen protest groups filed a lawsuit against the city arguing that the demonstration area was too far away from the convention, but a federal judge ruled that the plans were constitutional.

The scene was different in St. Paul, where there were reports of widespread civil liberties abuses during large-scale arrests, police raids on private homes, and the detention of several journalists. The Associated Press reported that there were over 800 arrests "during a week of sometimes peaceful, sometimes violent dissent. Anti-war protesters rallied Thursday [Sept. 4] at the state Capitol and then planned to march to Xcel Energy Center, where Sen. John McCain was due to accept the GOP presidential nomination. But their permit had expired, and police — in riot gear and using horses, snow plows and dump trucks — blocked their way. For hours, police let the protesters amble from one blocked intersection to another. But then the arrests began in earnest. At least 19 journalists, including two reporters from the Associated Press, were among those held by police." Journalists complained they were covering the protest activities, not participating in them, when being arrested.

One of the more publicized journalist arrests was Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman. According to the Free Press, "Local advocates and independent journalists will deliver more than 50,000 petitions to St. Paul City Hall calling on Mayor Chris Coleman and local law enforcement officials to drop all charges against journalists arrested while covering protests." Nancy Doyle Brown of Twin Cities Media Alliance said, "The targeting and harassment of journalists that we've seen during the RNC sends the message that the Twin Cities don't value the essential role that journalists play in a democracy."

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that informants were planted in protest groups before the convention began, reminiscent of accounts from the 2004 RNC. At least six buildings across St. Paul and Minneapolis were raided to stop an "anarchist" plan to disrupt the RNC. "From Friday night through Saturday afternoon, officers surrounded houses, broke down doors, handcuffed scores of people and confiscated suspected tools of civil disobedience," the paper reported. The ACLU of Minnesota filed a lawsuit in federal court asking for the release of literature confiscated during the raids on private homes.

Eight people were charged with conspiring to cause a riot as part of a terrorist act and arrested in raids of homes conducted by the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department. The Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is representing several of the suspects and is seeking judicial review of the preventative detentions ordered by Sheriff Bob Fletcher. An NLG press release stated, "Despite the incendiary and alarmist language used by Sheriff Fletcher, there is no evidence that the common household items and tools seized in the pre-emptive house raids were intended to be used to cause death or civil unrest. No judge or prosecutor has reviewed the allegations made by Sheriff Fletcher." Bruce Nestor, president of the Minnesota chapter of the NLG, referred to the accusations as "an effort to equate publicly stated plans to blockade traffic and disrupt the RNC as being the same as acts of terrorism."

In a press release, ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero stated, "Attempts by law enforcement to squelch lawful political speech and stifle the press have no place in our democracy and are unacceptable." The ACLU has called for an investigation into the arrests of hundreds of peaceful protestors, the surveillance on several activist groups and private homes, and the targeting and harassment of journalists.

Not all forms of advocacy were so publicly dejected. Many nonprofit representatives were present at the conventions and used them as an opportunity to bring their issues to the table. For example, the advocacy group Every Child Matters had a live blog from the RNC.