Ashcroft pitches Patriot Act in LV

Jace Radke, Malia Spencer and Timothy Pratt

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003 | 11:23 a.m.

Attorney General John Ashcroft didn't take questions from newspapers or the public in a tightly orchestrated event this morning about the Patriot Act at the George Federal Building.

Ashcroft spoke to about 120 local law enforcement officials, attorneys and courthouse staff. He was also scheduled to speak with federal judges.

Ashcroft is on a nationwide tour to tout the legislation, which has been controversial because it strips some civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism.

The attorney general's visit to Las Vegas at times turned into conflicting interpretations of U.S. ideals -- liberty and patriotism -- as protesters and observers reacted to the closed nature of the event.

"It is evident that the the attorney general and the administration have no interest in speaking to or hearing from the American public or having a meaningful exchange with journalists in regards to the Patriot Act," said Gary Peck, executive director for the Nevada chapter of the ACLU and one of about three dozen protesters outside the courthouse.

Blain Rethmier, spokesman for the attorney general, said "We're on a tight schedule and there's just not time" to speak to the newspapers present. Local television stations were given three-minute interviews with Ashcroft.

Ashcroft spoke about how the act -- Washington's main post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism legislation -- was "rooted in Constitutional liberties."

The act includes provisions that make it easier for the law enforcement officials to get wiretaps in some cases and conduct investigations.

Outside, Larry Luna, who teaches citizenship classes in Las Vegas, was disappointed to find that three of his students -- future American citizens -- weren't allowed to see Ashcroft speak.

About 9 a.m., 10 minutes before Ashcroft began his speech, the group was told by court security officers to move off the courthouse steps and onto the sidewalk.

Peck was one of the protesters on the sidewalk, along with state Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, the NAACP and the American Muslim Society.

"The Patriot Act is wrong, it is unconstitutional, it is a path for shredding our Constitution," Peck said.

The ACLU has filed the first federal lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of the act's provisions for investigating citizens and non-citizens.

Dan Bogden, U.S. Attorney for Nevada, called the act "an effective tool" that has helped in the fight against terrorism, noting that one of the more controversial provisions could -- roving wiretaps -- only be used with a court order.

Ardis Coffman, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church and a retired schoolteacher, said the act was "the antithesis of what patriotism stands for."