A company helping police prepare for the Republican National Convention went to a FedEx/Kinko’s shop in St. Paul to copy training documents – only to see those documents turn up on the Web site of an anarchist group that promised to “crash the convention,” says a search warrant reported by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Defense Technology, a Casper, Wy., company that sells chemical grenades, “distraction devices” and a “less-lethal instructor certification,” ordered copies of training materials for “law enforcement use only” at the Kinko’s.
The materials later appeared on the Web site of the RNC Welcoming Committee (nornc.org), which had pledged to disrupt the convention and try to prevent delegates from attending. St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh said it was common for police to take materials to Kinko’s and other copy centers. A FedEx/Kinko’s spokeswoman said, “This is a serious breach of the company’s code of business conduct and ethics.” Employees pledge to keep all materials confidential.