Library forces FBI to get warrant first, by Dan Atkinson

Law enforcement and Newton Free Library officials were embroiled in a tense standoff for nearly 10 hours last week when the city refused to let police and the FBI examine library computers without a warrant.

Police rushed to the main library last Wednesday after it was determined that a terrorist threat to Brandeis University had been sent from a computer at the library.

But requests to examine any of its computers were rebuffed by library Director Kathy Glick-Weil and Mayor David Cohen on the grounds that they did not have a warrant.

While one law enforcement official said he was "totally disgusted" with the city’s attempt to hold up a time-sensitive investigation of potential terrorist threat, Cohen is defending the library’s actions, calling it one of Newton’s "finest hours."

"We showed you can enforce the law ... without jeopardizing the privacy of innocent citizens," Cohen said.

Brandeis received the alleged e-mail threat at about 11 a.m. on Jan. 18, according to Waltham Lt. Brian Navin. While police reportedly didn’t find anything threatening after evacuating 12 buildings at Brandeis and a nearby elementary school, by about 2 p.m., the e-mail was traced to a computer at the Newton Free Library on Homer Street.

Newton Police, followed shortly by FBI and State Police officers, rushed to the library to lock the building down, Glick-Weil said.

"There was a lot of excitement going on," she said.

Police traced the origin of the e-mail to one of the 21 computers in the second-floor lab, Glick-Weil said. She agreed to have her information technology worker examine the computers, but said the FBI requested for information about the computers without a warrant, even though they were familiar with library privacy laws.

"You’ll have to ask them why they did that," she said.

An FBI spokesman, as well as Lt. Bruce Apotheker of the Newton Police, both said their offices would not comment on the investigation.

Cohen was asked by FBI officials to turn over information on all the computers, but said he could not without a warrant. It took U.S. attorneys several hours to finally get a warrant, Glick-Weil said, and they took the computer from the library at about 11:30 that night, after the library had closed.

But a law enforcement official who was close to the investigation but said he was not authorized to speak on the record, described the incident in an e-mail as a "nightmare."

He said Glick-Weil was told "we were dealing with a potential terrorism plot" but became "close to uncontrollable, saying that we had no right to be there."

Nancy Murray, director of education for the Boston branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, said she was surprised the FBI asked for information without a warrant.

"They couldn’t possibly expect to get [the computer] without a warrant," she said. "Good for the library for knowing more about warrants than the police."

"The law requires us to protect the privacy of library users," Glick-Weil said.
Glick-Weil said there was a "little bit of tension" during the investigation, but overall thought it went smoothly.

"I found the process encouraging," she said. "If law enforcement thinks it has probable cause, it can get a warrant in a timely fashion."