Bomb squad called in as protesters greet Bush in California
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Posted on Sat, Apr. 22, 2006
Bomb squad called in as protesters greet Bush in California
DON THOMPSON
Associated Press
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A bomb squad was called in Saturday, after a man dropped a knapsack in a crowd of protesters outside a building President Bush was touring. Authorities later said it appeared to be a "sophisticated hoax device."
West Sacramento Deputy Police Chief Henry Serrano said the man dropped the knapsack in the middle of a street outside the California Fuel Cell Partnership, where Bush was giving an Earth Day talk on hydrogen fuel technology.
The suspect then ran into the crowd of about 1,500 protesters. Police who caught him said he appeared intoxicated and refused to identify himself.
The bomb squad later blasted the knapsack with a water cannon, and no explosives were found.
The bag, however, contained wires, junction boxes and heavy metal components fashioned "in a way that would lead one to not rule out that it was an explosive device," Serrano said. It appeared to be a sophisticated hoax, police said.
"The package was found while the president was in town. We're taking it very seriously," Serrano said.
Authorities said the suspect likely would be charged in the hoax. The man initially told officers that he found the bag and dropped it after being startled by its contents.
Saturday's protest was otherwise peaceful, but demonstrators were no less angry with the president's visit to the area.
Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada said she was insulted Bush chose to celebrate Earth Day in her largely Democratic and environmentally conscious county, home of the "nuclear free zone" in the city of Davis.
"I just actually find it astounding and outrageous that he would come here on Earth Day," Yamada said. "He's got one of the worst environmental records of all presidents in the last two to three decades."
Many of the protesters, who were forced to gather several hundred feet from the building, said they were unfazed that they were kept away from Bush's sight.
"He wouldn't pay any attention anyway - that's his style," said Jerry Ann Campbell of Shingle Springs. "He's always insulated from the people. If he paid more attention, we wouldn't be in this mess we're in."
About 150 protesters lined a street in Palm Springs to greet President Bush's motorcade en route to a Republican fundraiser Saturday evening.
Many chanted "Stop the War" and carried signs reading "Bush is a Warmonger" and "Worse than Watergate." There were no reports of arrests or disturbances.
