FBI fears violent protests at GOP gathering

WASHINGTON – The FBI anticipates violent protests at the upcoming Republican National Convention in New York but does not have enough evidence to move against any group or person, the bureau’s top terrorism official said Wednesday.

New York officials have said they expect hundreds of thousands of people to stage demonstrations around the convention, which begins Aug. 30.

Concern over the convention comes amid heightened security across New York over fears that foreign terrorists might strike the city again. New York remains on a “high” terrorism alert level, while most of the country is on “elevated” alert.

Federal investigators have infiltrated some organizations and are monitoring plans for protests being published on the Internet. The FBI also interviewed some protesters around the country before last month’s Democratic convention in Boston and in anticipation of the GOP convention.

“We don’t have any specific plot where we have all the variables we need to go out and take pre-emptive and judicial action,” said Gary Bald, assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division.

The FBI has noted that some activist Web sites critical of Republicans and the convention include links to a site that lists Molotov cocktails, slingshots and bolt cutters as appropriate “offensive weapons” to carry during protests.

Meanwhile, in New York, an anti-war group planning a massive demonstration the day before the GOP convention asked a judge Wednesday to overrule city officials and let protesters gather in Central Park. Lawyers for United for Peace and Justice argued that the city’s denial violates the state constitution.

City officials had said the expected crowd at the Aug. 29 rally, which could exceed 250,000 people, would damage the grass.

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