Looks like a legitimate drug bust to me. 3000 people versus a few police. I'd say going in hard with high shock value is a good way to make sure a large crowd cooperates.

I doubt the party was "legal" or they wouldn't have been able to get the warrants etc to call in that many resources.

I saw a story on 'raves' a while back on 60 Minutes or one of those shows. It has become a problem in some communities. Kids dying, increased crime in the area, etc. Maybe they decided to put their foot down in Utah. As long as they had proper warrants to make the raid, I got no problem with it. If they used excessice force then they should be held accountable too. Let a judge and jury decide.

Yeah, I can only see this as putting the fire out before it gets too big. However, this probably will make the parties more desirable for a rebellious teen.

Unlike you I have been to "many" raves.. Not just "seen something about some" on TV. 95 % of them = you get frisked before entering inside (or out) and maybe 1/500 people are popping pills. Most raves I visit nowadays people who are popping down E get shunned and are made fun of in the process. Raves have changed. If anyone is getting fucked up they do it outside of the area either Before or After.

To me that looks a lot more like county sheriff or local SWAT, they were using MP5s and had some odd patch I've never seen before from the military on the right arm, nothing on the left. It's not uncommon for SWAT/County Sheriffs to borrow things, like vehicles, from local National Guard detachments because they need them.



One of the news stories I read said that the creators of the party failed to get a second part of their permit. Here: http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_233220802.html

[quote:b64b5]He said there were more than 250 people at the party. That is the number for which the county requires a permit, bond and county commission approval. Gilbert said the party did not have that approval.[/quote:b64b5]

I haven't seen an news story where they've said the actual people were National Guard--to which Posse Comitatus doesn't apply--even so The Posse Comitatus Act, like many other acts, is superceded by the War on Drugs under the Supreme Court premise that the safety of all outweighs the privacy of a minority group if this was regular Army.

Like all acts, it's not a Constitutional obligation and has been eroded by Congress since the late '70s since the lines between domestic and international defense blurred and many local law enforcement agencies were and are unable to deal with with the changes brought on by a different world climate.