Police, protesters clash near Republican convention

By Andy Sullivan

ST. PAUL (Reuters) - Police in riot gear used pepper spray and smoke bombs against a few hundred violent protesters on Monday, and at least a dozen were arrested outside the arena where the Republican party opened its presidential convention.

Officers on horseback, motorcycles and bicycles chased down a group of rock- and bottle-throwing protesters that had broken off from a larger, largely peaceful, march by as many as 10,000 people. The smaller group smashed police car windows and a Macy's storefront, and a few threw glass bottles at police.

A Reuters reporter saw police handcuffing some of the protesters in a parking lot not far from the convention.

The demonstrators earlier had marched from the Minnesota state capitol to the heavily barricaded Xcel Center, where John McCain will accept the Republican presidential nomination later this week. They chanted anti-war slogans and waved signs criticizing President George W. Bush.

Public safety officials put the crowd at 8,000 to 10,000 and reported seven arrests.

The march wound past bus stops where advertisements from the Democratic National Committee showed Bush and McCain hugging with the slogan, "Does this look like change to you?"

Several demonstrators carried signs saying "McSame=Bush."

The Republicans scaled back their convention festivities on the first day, mindful that they risked a political backlash if they were shown celebrating as Hurricane Gustav pounded the Louisiana coast.

Convention organizers opened a truncated business-only session on Monday and scrapped a planned speech by Bush.

The absence of the Republican president, whose nationwide approval ratings hover around 30 percent, did not deter the crowd. Carrying a sign that said, "Hold Bush accountable," Gary Frazee from Minneapolis said he suspected that the president was using the hurricane as an excuse to stay away.

"Why would he show up? There's no love for him here," he said.

Mary Gleason, a retired church musician from Minneapolis, said Hurricane Gustav "kind of worked in their favor. They won't have to wait for Bush and (Vice President Dick) Cheney to say something stupid."

As the protesters marched around the convention site, about 100 McCain supporters waved signs saying, "Let our soldiers win," drawing spirited chants from the marchers including "War is not pro-life."

"Bring them home after we win the war. Everybody wants our troops home," responded McCain supporter Lee Beauduy, from Blaine, Minnesota.

Obama proposes withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq by mid-2010, while McCain says it would be foolish to commit to a firm timetable.

(Writing by Emily Kaiser and Corbett Daly, editing by Patricia Zengerle)