Young Protester in Denver Finds 1st Arrest a Daunting Experience

Arrested for the first time in his life while protesting in Denver on Monday night, as the Democratic National Convention was getting into gear, a young Colorado man identified as "Martin" says he didn't do anything wrong.

"I was marching to make people aware that they should be worried about our civil rights being stripped systematically right now, and show people that habeas corpus is six feet under," he tells the Denver Post.

But, after a harrowing all-night experience that left him on probation and responsible to pay a $141 fine, after agreeing to a plea bargain, he doesn't plan to participate in another protest for at least six months.

The police, he says, were seemingly ready for confrontation and accused him of misconduct, such as throwing rocks, that he says he not only didn't himself do but didn't see anyone else do.

"I was told later that the police were telling us to disperse, but I didn't hear them say that. And where would we go? The police were all around us, not letting us leave," he says of his arrest, at approximately 7 p.m. yesterday. He was released from jail at about noon today.