Protest at Bush visit prompts ominous call

Monday, Nov. 24, 2003 | 9:37 a.m.

A federal law enforcement official may have tried to gather information on who is planning to attend a protest during President Bush's visit to Las Vegas on Tuesday.

The rally is expected to attract demonstrators to The Venetian, where Bush is scheduled to attend a fund-raising luncheon.

Peggy Maize Johnson, executive director of Citizen Alert, said she was surprised when she received a call from a woman who identified herself as Christine Payson last Wednesday.

When asked, the woman told Johnson she represented the Office of Homeland Security, Johnson said.

The woman wanted to know how many demonstrators were expected and their affiliated organizations, Johnson said.

"It bothered me," Johnson said Sunday. Johnson has been leading Citizen Alert, a group raising awareness of potential dangers from burying nuclear waste at the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear repository. The Yucca issue is expected to be a focus of Tuesday's protest.

"That has a chilling effect," Johnson said of the phone call.

Gary Peck of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada said he had advised Johnson to call Metro Police and "give them a heads-up" on the demonstration. Johnson said she had called Metro, telling them that a hundred or so demonstrators were expected.

Both Peck and Johnson said the Homeland Security agent said that federal authorities were concerned because "radical" demonstrators connected with the environmental movement sometimes engage in practices such as torching sport utility vehicles.

When asked why Homeland Security was calling Citizen Alert, the woman told Johnson, "We are just trying to keep on top of this."

"I hardly consider myself a terrorist," Johnson said. "I may be a pain in the (expletive)."

The FBI has been collecting detailed information on tactics and training of antiwar demonstrators and has advised local law enforcement officials to report any suspicious activities at protests to its counterterrorism squads, Peck said.

FBI officials told The New York Times in an article published Sunday that the intelligence was aimed at identifying anarchists and those plotting violence, not monitoring political speeches of law-abiding protesters, Peck said.

"The FBI and the federal government are in a gray area here," Peck said.

The federal government appears to be blurring the line between terrorism and legitimate protest, Johnson said.

"I think these people are very afraid of us," she said. "I think these people are afraid of what we are going to say about them."