PROTESTERS MEET POLICE AT THE GATES OF THE CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000402750001-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 11, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 28, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/11: CIA-RDP90-00965R000402750001-6
WASHINGTON POST
CA ?A ? _A
28 April 1987
Protesters Meet Police
At the Gates of the CIA
Encounter Proceeds in Orderly Fashion
J By John F. Harris
W.i.hmkton Peat Stale Writcr
If there were doubts, this was the
moment they would be resolved.
The time for decision had arrived,
just as all the protesters had known
it would.
Capt. M.L. Barrett of the U.S.
Park Police shouted to the crowd:
"I'm here to tell you, if you don't
leave now you will be subject to ar-
rest."
On the George Washington Park-
!way ramp to the Central Intelli-
gence Agency's north entrance,
about 50 protesters were greeted
,by Barrett and a handful of police
officers.
Just down the road, 100 officers
with sticks and helmets awaited
those who ignored the warning and
continued walking toward the
gate.
Many of the protesters had come
from across the nation to. be ar-
rested.
Others were there to show sup-
port, but had no intention of break-
ing the law.
"We're here-let's do it," a wo-
man implored a group of friends.
Others shuffled uncertainly.
Then about 30 protesters de-
cided to walk the final stretch, eas-
ily walking through the out-
stretched arms of the first line of
police officers.
When the reached the second
line, however, it was a different sto-
ry, and 20 minutes later, the pro-
testers were sitting on a grassy me-
dian strip, their hands cuffed behind
them.
Some of. yesterday's protesters
had long hair and beards and wore
ponchos.
There were chants and banners
and an occasional whiff of marijuana
in the air.
However, some conventional-
looking characters also walked on
this stage.
Bill Ericson dressed for the pro-
test in a pin-striped suit and a red
tie adorned with Republican Party
elephants.
"I'm one of those who is conser-
vative about their country and don't
want to see a secret CIA,".: said
Ericson, who said he is an electrical
engineer.
"The CIA is taking, over foreign
policy.
"It says in the Constitution that
only Congress can declare war."
If most of the protesters had
nothing good to say about the CIA
yesterday, many found the agency's
initials good to lampoon.
Over the CIA exit sign on the
parkway, the protesters hung a
sheet saying, "Cocaine Import
Agency."
Some of the other placards and
banners read: "Criminals in Action,"
"Cutthroats in Angola," and "Covert
Illegal Agency."
The protesters cheered when
one of their leaders announced that
their demonstration had brought
traffic to a standstill around the CIA
headquarters.
They didn't realize that in just a
few minutes they would be victims
of their own success.
A bus carrying the first wave of
demonstrators from the protest's
starting point near the CIA's south
gate to the north gate four miles
away was mired in traffic.
"Let's go bus driver, MOVE!"
one protester yelled to the driver.
They weren't the only ones ir-
ritated by the delays. "I think it
stinks," said Boris Petro, a con-
struction worker who was delayed
by traffic from getting to a CIA
building site. "We don't work, we
don't eat," he said.
For the most part, the protesters
played their part and the police
played theirs, and few words were
exchanged.
Once in a while, however, a di-
alogae took place, and as often as
not it was strained.
"Maybe this will help people un-
derstand . . . , " protester josh Nes-
sen told a mounted park policeman,
explaining why he chose to be ar-
rested at the north gate demonstra-
tion. "Maybe next timd you'll re-
spect what we're trying to say."
"I've got just as much respect for
you as you've got- for` me," re-
sponded the officer, looking down
from his horse to where Nessen
was standing, handcuffed.
The two continued their discus-
sion; trading verbal volleys in a
minidebate about.. the propriety and
effectiveness of the Protest.
Minutes later Nessen was bused
away for booking.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/11: CIA-RDP90-00965R000402750001-6
 STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/11: CIA-RDP90-00965R000402750001-6
r
APr~~aaR~ED WASHINGTON POST
WAGE _.f21s 16 May 1987
The Antenna That Came In From the Cold
Star-Crossed CIA Communications Tower to Be Dismantled
~- By John F. Harris
Waahindten Pmt Staff Writer
The CIA's proposed microwave communications tow-
er, rebuffed by Reston last fall, has run into new trou-
bles atop Bull Run Mountain in western Prince William
County.
A CIA contractor agreed yesterday to dismantle a
60-foot tower in the midst of construction after county
officials issued two notices claiming that the firm built
the tower without proper permits.
Overseas Telecommunications Inc., an Alexandria
firm, voluntarily sought and later received a county de-
molition permit after the Prince William officials or-
dered work stopped on the tower Wednesday. County
officials said the firm began construction on the tower
without receiving a building permit or a special-use per-
mit.
John DePodesta, counsel for Overseas, said the firm
mistakenly began the construction because of a "mis-
understanding."
If the tower is ever built anywhere, it would be part
of the Foreign Broadcast Information Service, a branch
of the CIA that monitors foreign radio and television
broadcasts, according to documents on file with the
county.
Construction workers at the remote Bull Run Moun-
tain site near the Prince William-Fauquier county line
were incorrectly notified by Overseas' attorney in
Manassas that a building permit had been issued, Po-
desta said. Further, he said, Overseas incorrectly be-
lieved that no special-use permit
was required for construction until
the tower's height exceeded 35
feet.
Prince William Planning Director
Roger D. Snyder spoke with Over-
seas officials yesterday and said
afterward, "They can be described
as contrite but very reasonable peo-
ple "
The first known attempt to build
the tower failed in October when
Overseas voluntarily withdrew an
application for a 197-foot structure
in Reston that appeared headed for
defeat at the hands of the Fairfax
County Planning Commission.
Reston residents near the site
complained that the tower would
mar the skyline, and some county
officials said they were irritated by
"the cloak-and-dagger" secrecy sur-
rounding the proposal.
Nonetheless, CIA officials appear
eager for Overseas to overcome the
governmental obstacles and com-
plete the project at the new Prince
William site.
In a letter on file with Prince Wil-
liam County, CIA official Harry R.
Wood wrote to Overseas: "In view
of the amount of governmental
funds already committed, the ur-
gency associated with the success-
ful completion, and the importance
of the overall mission to be accom-
plished, I consider it important that
you, as the government's system
contractor, pursue this on an abso-
lute priority basis."
In official documents, Overseas
said the tower is needed to "connect
c ,toltita earth station at Quantico
with facilities at Langley, Va., and
ultimately the White House." The
CIA's location is often listed as
Langley, although its mailing ad-
dress is Washington.
Because microwave communica.
tion requires a "line-of-sight" path
from station to station, high towers
are often required. A commercial
communications tower is already in
place near the proposed Bull Run
site, county officials said.
Overseas officials told Prince
William they hope to continue with
the project after receiving the prop-
er permits, according to Snyder.
In addition to a building permit
from the county, Overseas also
must receive a permit from the
Prince William Planning Commis-
sion and the county supervisors.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/01/11: CIA-RDP90-00965R000402750001-6