Police Had WTO Alert -- FBI Warning Of Violence Came Well Before Event

Seattle officials were warned more than two weeks before the World Trade Organization conference that violent or destructive criminal activity by protesters and anarchists was a "distinct possibility."

The warning was contained in a classified FBI counter-terrorism threat assessment given to Seattle police and other law-enforcement agencies that participated in WTO security planning.

It calls into question statements by Seattle Mayor Paul Schell and police officials who repeatedly said they were surprised by the extent and nature of the violent protests that disrupted the WTO meeting last week.

A copy of the FBI report, labeled a "threat update," was obtained yesterday by The Seattle Times.

The report also called attention to an incident one month before the WTO conference that gave Seattle police a picture of the vandalism and violence that would play itself out on the streets.

FBI officials attributed a Nov. 1 fire-bombing at the downtown Gap store to the Animal Liberation Front, a violent animal-rights group, or anarchists.

"Both of these movements are expected to mount protests during the WTO meeting," the report said.

Anarchists - some from Eugene - have been blamed for breaking many of the windows and inciting much of the violence that occurred during the WTO protests.

In the Nov. 1 incident, four Molotov cocktails were thrown into the store at Fourth Avenue and Pine Street, causing about $7,000 damage.

Bob Royer, a spokesman for Schell, said last night that Assistant Police Chief Ed Joiner, the head of WTO security planning, has said many times that the FBI threat assessment was accurate.

"We thought we could handle it," Royer said, referring to the protests.

But Schell was forced to declare a state of emergency and call in the National Guard in a crackdown that has unsettled the city. Nearly 600 people were arrested as protesters and bystanders alike were swept up in the police action.

Property damage and lost business downtown totaled more than $20 million. The fallout led to the pending retirement of Police Chief Norm Stamper and forced Schell to defend the city's WTO planning against widespread criticism.

In the aftermath, Schell and police officials have said the department was unprepared for the number of vandals and violent protesters and for their tactics, which included using nonviolent demonstrators as shields.

Schell's office declined repeated requests to release the FBI report before it was obtained by The Times, saying it was an FBI document. City officials also refused to discuss its contents.

The threat-assessment document, prepared by the FBI's Counter-Terrorism Division in Washington, D.C., stated that "the threat of violent or destructive criminal activity - to include individual and group acts of civil disturbance - is considered a distinct possibility."

A source involved in the WTO security preparations, speaking on condition of anonymity, said police were given specific information about domestic and foreign anarchists making their way to Seattle. Included among the anarchists was a group of protesters thought responsible for inciting violent confrontations with police in June riots in London in what they called the "Carnival Against Capitalism."

A section of the FBI report, highlighted in bold type, states "Episodes of extremist environmental or animal rights-related or anarchist-induced violence should be considered a distinct possibility at the WTO meeting."

The document rates the overall threat of "terrorism and violent protest activity" at the WTO as "low to medium." But that rating, according to the source, takes into account acts ranging from simple civil disobedience to an Oklahoma City-style terrorist bombing.

"The possibility of something like that was considered as being pretty low," the source said of a potential bombing. "But the likelihood that there would be violence as the result of civil disturbances was significant. So the rating was something of a compromise."

FBI spokesman Ray Lauer in Seattle said he was limited in what he could say about the report because it was labeled "law-enforcement sensitive" and because of the "controversy concerning planning over WTO."

Lauer said the term "low to medium" is somewhat subjective but that it is based on criteria that he wouldn't discuss for security reasons.

"We have to let that document stand for itself," Lauer said.

The document obtained by The Times was labeled as "current and accurate" as of Nov. 17, although sources who have demanded anonymity said similar documents were prepared and distributed as early as Nov. 2.

The threat assessment was not the only warning Seattle police were given.

A source said there was a "running intelligence log" that contained up-to-the-minute information on protest activity.

On Nov. 29, the day before the WTO conference opened, intelligence sources provided "very specific information" about anarchists who had taken over a building on Virginia Street, including what they intended to do the next day and where, the source said.

Joiner said police thought they would be able to remove lawbreakers from the crowds but were overwhelmed by the number of protesters Nov. 30, limiting what police could do.

Mike Carter's phone message number is 206-464-3706. His e-mail address is mcarter@seattletimes.com