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Posted
on 21-Sep-01 11:47 AM
Possible threat to Boston relayed; danger downplayed
By Walter V. Robinson and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff, 9/21/2001
ttorney General John D. Ashcroft yesterday informed Acting Governor Jane M. Swift and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino that the government has information that Boston may be targeted for terrorist attack this weekend, city and state officials said last night.
But the officials emphasized that Ashcroft said there was no definitive evidence of a threat, and that Ashcroft said he did not have specific details of any potential targets in Boston, nor which weekend day.
Menino refused to disclose what Ashcroft said. But, asked about his level of concern, he said, ''People should not be alarmed,'' and added that city public safety officials knew of nothing to corroborate Ashcroft's warning.
Last night, Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker confirmed that Ashcroft and Swift had talked. But Tucker refused to say what they discussed. She did say, however, that officials in Boston, like officials across the country, should remain on alert for potential terrorist attacks in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
A state official close to the investigation into the attacks, and a senior city official, said Ashcroft placed separate calls to the governor and mayor to register his concern that the city might be the target for a weekend attack. Both officials declined to be identified.
But the state official said there was no cause for alarm. If Swift had any indication that Ashcroft's warning was a matter of public concern, he said, ''she would not say, `Let's not tell anyone.'''
Menino confirmed that Ashcroft called him late yesterday morning, and he said he subsequently talked with the governor. Menino said he could not discuss either conversation.
''At this time, people should go about their daily routines. The police will be observant,'' the mayor said.
Publicly, Swift's aides had little to say. James Borghesani, her spokesman, said only that Swift and Ashcroft talked, that the discussion was initiated by Swift, and that they discussed closer state and federal cooperation in the terrorism investigation.
The city and state officials said the Ashcroft call did not prompt them to order any heightened state of alert. But last night, one federal law enforcement official in Boston said, ''We have received guidance to remain on high alert,'' based on a ''high threat level'' that existed in Boston prior to yesterday's conversations. The official, who asked that he not be identified, said no specific target in Boston has been mentioned.
Stepped up security measures have been evident all over the city since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, from public buildings to the harbor and Logan International Airport. Even Fenway Park, with parking restrictions near the stadium, has been affected. And yesterday, the federal government prohibited aircraft of any kind from flying any closer than three miles from professional or college sporting events, or any other major outdoor gathering.
Logan International Airport is located a little more than four miles from Fenway Park, and often its takeoff patterns bring planes well within a three-mile radius of Fenway. It could not be immediately determined last night how the new flight ban would affect Logan operations during the ongoing Red Sox homestand at Fenway. One option would appear to be for Logan flight controllers to have all flights pass over Massachusetts Bay or South Boston.
The high alert has prompted the US Coast Guard to increase patrols in Boston Harbor. On at least one occasion, it closed the harbor to all boat traffic.
Deputy US Marshals have patrolled outside the J. Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse with semiautomatic weapons since the incident, and uniformed state and federal officers have swarmed over the airport and kept cars from parking anywhere near the terminal.
State Police, in cruisers with lights flashing, have been parked around the clock in the portion of the Massachusetts turnpike Extension under the Prudential Center.
Globe Staff reporters Peter Howe, Judy Rakowsky, Rick Klein, and Wayne Washington contributed to this report.
This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 9/21/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.
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