in early january 2008, protesters marched from the minnesota state capitol to the xcel energy center in hopes of securing a protest permit. the saint paul police department authorized the event, but only approved the permit through july 2008. on february 8 and february 9, 2008, antiwar protesters attended a weekend conference at the university of minnesota to discuss the protests and antiwar rally. on february 28, 2008, the associated press (ap) reported that the police department adopted new guidelines for the investigation of protest groups. the police department said that this did not have anything to do with the convention.