Spying in Seattle

Surveillance and retaliation for the U.S. Navy

by Glen Milner

The author of this article was arrested in 2004 and is being prosecuted in a Coast Guard court in connection with a peaceful protest of Trident nuclear submarines. Here is his personal account of the clandestine police surveillance of peace groups in the Seattle area leading up to the charges against him. Numbered references appear at the end of this article. --Editor

In 1982, the arrival of the first Trident submarine, the USS Ohio, was marked by the Peace Blockade in Hood Canal. Peace activists in motorboats, sailboats, and small handmade wooden vessels captured national and international attention as the U.S. Coast Guard swamped small boats with water cannons and boarded and assaulted demonstrators on the decks of larger peace vessels.

Demonstrators in 1982 risked arrest in trying to block passage of the submarine but vowed to act in a nonviolent and loving manner. Stacks of documents were generated on the peace activists by the FBI, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and others. The organizers of the Peace Blockade, the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, had for some time already been under government surveillance for their anti-nuclear work at the Trident submarine base at Bangor, Washington.

Both the Navy and the local peace activists knew the importance of the public's perception of U.S. Navy activities in the Puget Sound region, the third largest concentration of U.S. Navy forces in the world.

In August 1997, the USS Ohio arrived in downtown Seattle for the first time for the Seattle Seafair festival. The Trident submarine, complete with up to 192 nuclear warheads, was met by three zodiac vessels in a mutually agreed scenario between the U.S. Navy and Greenpeace. While the Navy promised civic leaders it would never send a Trident to Seattle again, local peace activists on the shore vowed to meet the next submarine on the water.

In August 2000, the U.S. Navy brought the Trident submarine USS Alabama to Seafair. The Cold War was over, and the War on Terror and not yet begun, but surveillance of known nonviolent activists in Seattle was as active as any other time. While the Seattle City Council debated a motion against the presence of nuclear warships in Elliott Bay, high levels of the Navy, Coast Guard, and Port of Seattle were concerned about demonstrators.

Documents released through the Freedom of Information Act and the Washington State Public Disclosure Act tell the story.(1)

The Port of Seattle Police Department 2000 Seafair Operations Plan stated the following:

"There is reliable information that peace activist groups are planning protests and/or demonstrations in relationship to Seafair. A series of 'planning meeting(s) to formulate protests' in reference to the Alabama have been/are being held in Seattle." (2)

"Information... mentions a waterborne protest." Without an explanation of how the Port of Seattle obtained the information, the 2000 Seafair Operations Plan stated, "One activist was heard to say that he put up a notice at the Edmonds Marina asking for the loan or rental of a boat to use in Seattle to protest the Alabama, with the implication that a blockade would be the object." (3)

An e-mail message dated June 14, 2000 from Lt. Commander William Fenick to Rear Admiral William Marshall, Commander of Navy Region Northwest, regarding a suggestion to attend meetings of peace activists, stated, "Sir, I want to go incognito and see what this is all about. I'm going to stop in for a coffee... and see what they have planned for us." (4)

A public meeting held at the Shoreline Library on July 11, 2000 regarding demonstrations at Seafair brought three new people to the planning session. One person, who identified himself as having a "Catholic Worker/Teamster" background later turned out to be a Port of Seattle Police officer.(5)

An e-mail message from Seafair President Beth Wojick stated, "We have a meeting scheduled with our police contacts to discuss the plans we will need to put in order to contain the protesters." (6)

The Port of Seattle 2000 Operations Plan also stated, "All meetings the Navy and Coast Guard have expressed the desire to handle any protesters/demonstrators with as much discretion as possible. The goal would be to allow the demonstrators as little exposure as possible." (7)

A Coast Guard Security Office memo, dated August 1, 2000, stated, "In accordance with the intelligence estimate to date, the threat of some protest group employing acts of domestic terrorism is LOW." (8)

The Port of Seattle Seafair 2000 Seafair Operations Plan stated, "There is no known threat of violence or violent activity in relationship to Seafair at this time." (9)

On August 2, 2000, a 16-foot aluminum boat with three peace sailors aboard met the USS Alabama in Elliott Bay. The skipper of the vessel soon learned that any distance close to the established 500 yard security zone around the submarine was hazardous due to underwater turbulence from the vessel.

For much of the day, the peace vessel was shadowed by a mysterious powerboat lined with high resolution cameras. A photo of the powerboat, the "Shalimar", appeared in Submarine Group Nine records but no contacted agency could identify the unmarked vessel, which had a U.S. flag at the helm.

Publicly, the U.S. Navy supported the public's right to free speech. An opinion piece in the Seattle Times on July 28, 2000 by Rear Admiral William Marshall stated, "...we respect the American public's right to publicly express disagreement with our plans to bring USS Alabama to Seattle--it is one of the freedoms that our Navy, as a member of the Department of Defense, ensures and protects." (10)

The single peace vessel carried a flag proclaiming "Choose Life." Its voyage was terminated by the Coast Guard, without reason, as the USS Alabama neared the Seattle shoreline and the three peace activists aboard were ordered out of the harbor or they would face arrest. The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard plan, "to allow the demonstrators as little exposure as possible," was successfully carried out against a legally operated vessel in Elliott Bay.(11) Few people on the Seattle waterfront saw the vessel.

No Peace Fleet events were planned for 2001 or 2002. In January 2003, documents released through the Freedom of Information Act revealed the U.S. Navy was regularly test-firing radioactive depleted uranium bullets off the Washington Coast. Activists decided to meet the Navy fleet at Seafair in August 2003 to declare a Nuclear Free Port of Seattle and oppose the deployment of depleted uranium munitions aboard U.S. Navy vessels.

On July 30, 2003, eleven peace activists in four boats met the U.S. Navy in Elliott Bay. Activists successfully operated their vessels and established a free speech presence along the Seattle shoreline. The Peace Fleet was covered by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and at least one Seattle television station.(12)

On July 24, 2003, a Coast Guard lieutenant had called one of the activists at his home to offer advice and ask about the number of vessels going out that year. The lieutenant, Russ Read, is now a security officer for the Port of Seattle.(13)

Because activists' civil liberties were not violated, no Freedom of Information Act requests or Public Disclosure Act requests were filed with government agencies for 2003.

In September 2005, however, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington received 18 pages from the FBI regarding the Peace Fleet at Seafair in 2003. Messages dated July 31, 2003, showed an investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the Northwest Joint Analytical Center (NWJAC). One statement said, "The Maritime Working Group (consisting of the maritime members of the NWJAC and JTTF) have been developing information for past three weeks regarding this event. Two weeks ago they gathered information that the four identified groups: 1. GROUND ZERO, 2. SNOW, 3. NOT IN MY NAME (sic) (NION), and 4. PEACE ACTION OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY, were planning some sort of demonstration when the navy ships came into Elliott Bay on July 30." (14)

The statement continued, "The groups had been in contact with both the USCG and the USN, advising them of their intentions to launch a 'peace navy' to meet the fleet when it entered Elliott Bay." (15)

The FBI record released in September 2005 stated that a government agent had actually watched two Peace Fleet vessels being launched from West Seattle on July 30, 2003. The FBI record concluded, "All of the boats remained outside the security zone and conducted a peaceful protest in accordance with their stated intent. There were no incidents reported." (16)

In 2004, similar patterns of domestic spying on nonviolent activists were continued by government agencies. The Coast Guard, however, decided to actively work to restrict the civil liberties of Peace Fleet participants at Seafair. One organizer, in particular, was targeted by the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard.

On July 22, 2004, as Peace Fleet skipper and organizer, I called Commander Karen Sellers of Navy Region Northwest to inform her that the Peace Fleet would be protesting the U.S. Navy fleet arrival at Seafair. I stated that as skippers of Peace Fleet vessels had done the year before, we would obey the law and stay 500 yards from naval vessels.(17)

On July 30, 2004, the Seattle Police Department Criminal Intelligence Section released an Intelligence Bulletin on the Peace Fleet action planned for August 5, 2004. The bulletin stated, "Probable Issues: Interference, confrontation with U.S. Navy operations." The Seattle Police bulletin also stated, "The group 'Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action' is advertising its call for a nuclear-free Port of Seattle. The group intends to have 'peace vessels' meet incoming U.S. Navy ships in Puget Sound and follow the ships into Elliott Bay." (18)

On August 2, 2004, Jim Dyment, of the Field Intelligence Support Team of the Coast Guard (COGARD FIST SEATTLE), called me at my home and tried to persuade me not to demonstrate at the Seafair fleet arrival in Elliott Bay. I told Mr. Dyment that Peace Fleet vessels had intended to obey all laws while coming in with the U.S. Navy fleet, as they had before in 2003 and tried to do in 2000. Mr. Dyment indicated the Peace Fleet might not be well received by some Coast Guard personnel who had recently returned from the Persian Gulf.(19)

On August 5, 2004, Mr. Dyment called me in the morning to try to talk him out of going into Elliott Bay again. Mr. Dyment asked for descriptions and names of Peace Fleet vessels.(20)

The Port of Seattle Police Seafair 2004 Operations Plan, available to the Coast Guard before August 5, 2004, stated, "There are no specific threats of violence and no information relating to Seafair that would indicate an increased threat level." (21)

The Seafair 2004 Operations Plan section titled Protest Activities stated, "a. There is no information to indicate that any protest groups will engage in any violent protests or in acts of civil disobedience. b. The "Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Activity (sic)" has published a notice of a waterborne protest (Peace Fleet) set to greet the Seafair Fleet when it arrives in Elliott Bay on Thursday, August 5. A similar protest effort was mounted last year. The protest did not create problems for the fleet or police patrols." (22)

A Coast Guard COGARD FIST SEATTLE Information Report on the Peace Fleet was released on August 2, 2004. The report listed the event as a "WATER BASED PROTEST OF US NAVY ARRIVAL AT SEAFAIR IN ELLIOTT BAY NEAR DOWNTOWN SEATTLE." The report listed its source of information as the Seattle Police Department.(23) The report was referenced in numerous Coast Guard operational plans for August 5, 2004.

The Port of Seattle provided a live video feed to Navy Region Northwest, giving the Navy video coverage of much of Elliott Bay on August 5, 2004.(24) Navy Region Northwest, however, refused to release any information regarding security at Seafair for 2004.

On August 5, 2004, twelve peace activists in three Peace Fleet vessels met the U.S. Navy in Elliott Bay. Peace Fleet vessels were stopped on numerous occasions by the Coast Guard. Two of the Peace Fleet vessels were improperly told that the naval vessel protection zones applied to all Coast Guard vessels that were present that day (USCGC Cuttyhunk and the small Coast Guard MSST vessels.)

The 11-foot inflatable owned by the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action was first spotted entering Elliott Bay around 1 pm by a Coast Guard helicopter. Lieutenant Stoffer, in written testimony, later stated, "...CGNR 6580 during over flight of Elliott Bay, reported a small gray hull Inflatable with two males waving a Flag. This fit the description of protest vessels we were expected to encounter." (25)

The Ground Zero inflatable was first approached by a Coast Guard vessel when it was 2,000 yards from Navy vessels. The inflatable was later boarded around 2 pm in Elliott Bay while the crew was eating lunch, with the motor off. The boarding officer stated in his report that the vessel at the time was outside of the 500 yard security zone. The vessel's voyage was terminated and I, the skipper, was told to return to where the inflatable was launched at Shilshole Bay. On the way out of Elliott Bay, the USCGC Cuttyhunk and a different Coast Guard MSST boat stopped me and ordered my vessel to Bell Harbor Marina. There, I and my passenger, Mike McCormick of Seattle, were held at armed-guard while Coast Guard legal officers discussed our possible arrest. I was told I could receive a $250,000 fine and six years in jail for violating a naval vessel protection zone.

I and McCormick were later released and ordered to leave the vessel in Bell Harbor Marina. Milner was only cited for having the incorrect spacing between numbers and letters on his vessel and no sound-making device.

On that same day, the Coast Guard boarded a second Peace Fleet vessel as it was leaving Elliott Bay. Passengers were improperly asked for identification against their wishes. No citations were issued. The third Peace Fleet vessel left Elliott Bay without being boarded.

The handling of demonstrators at Seafair by Coast Guard District Thirteen was the leading issue in the USCG Operational Summary for August 7, 2004 for the Commandant of the Coast Guard. Vice Admiral Harvey Johnson, in an e-mail message congratulating Rear Admiral Jeffrey Garrett of Coast Guard District Thirteen, stated, "Great Coast Guard Day...great performance by your team." (26)

On April 6, 2005, I received a fine of $10,000 and a 44-page case file for allegedly violating the 500 yard naval vessel protection zone at Seafair on August 5, 2004. Coast Guard District Thirteen in Seattle had originally requested a $32,500 fine, the maximum fine possible for the offense. A Coast Guard Hearing Officer in Virginia later lowered the fine sought by the Coast Guard to $10,000.(27)

The case record against me contained only seven statements by Coast Guard personnel. LT James D. Stoffer, commander of the USCGC Cuttyhunk stated that the 11-foot inflatable, owned by the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action and operated by me, had come within 100 yards of the 844-foot USS Bonhomme Richard. No photographs, radar records, voice recordings, video tape or other factual records, however, were presented with the charges. A statement included with the charges, by the security officer for the USS Bonhomme Richard, stated there were no records of anyone on the USS Bonhomme Richard seeing the 11-foot inflatable that day.

There are many discrepancies in the case record by Coast Guard personnel, including the number of protest vessels, description of the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action vessel, orders given by the Coast Guard, etc. Evidence that had existed, such as voice recordings between Coast Guard vessels, radar records and the navigation chart for the USCGC Cuttyhunk were either lost or destroyed by the Coast Guard.

I, in my opening written statement to the Coast Guard on May 18, 2005, stated, "I am the target of a conspiracy by the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy to purposefully violate and restrict my civil liberties for political speech in Elliott Bay. It appears that the Coast Guard, having realized that officers had acted on August 5, 2004 without justification, decided to press charges against me as a way of covering up their own improper and illegal behavior."

On December 13, 2005, I was tried by a single Coast Guard Hearing Officer in a Coast Guard hearing in downtown Seattle. In my opening statement at the hearing, I stated, "Evidence shows that the Coast Guard knew in advance that I planned to obey the law in Elliott Bay on August 5, 2004. The Coast Guard had twice tried to convince me not to go into Elliott Bay... The fine and subsequent hearing process is a continuation of the Coast Guard's efforts to silence my opposition to the presence of U.S. Navy warships and the presence of depleted uranium munitions at Seafair."

Verbal testimony at the hearing lasted ten hours. The case is still pending.

REFERENCES

(1) In 2000 and 2001, numerous Freedom of Information Act requests and Public Disclosure Act requests were made by Glen Milner regarding the U.S. Navy fleet arrival at Seafair in August 2000. Requests for information were sent to the U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Port of Seattle, Navy Region Northwest, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Seattle Police, and the FBI.

(2) Port of Seattle PDA response dated October 13, 2000 to Glen Milner, Port of Seattle Police Department 2000 Seafair Operations Plan, Section C, Threat Assessment.

(3) Port of Seattle PDA response dated October 13, 2000 to Glen Milner, Port of Seattle Police Department 2000 Seafair Operations Plan, Section C, Threat Assessment. Glen Milner was the person referred to who was posting notices at the Edmonds Marina.

(4) Navy Region Northwest FOIA response dated October 16, 2000 to Glen Milner, June 14, 2000 e-mail from Lt. Commander William Fenick to Rear Admiral William Marshall.

(5) According to activists Brian Watson and author Glen Milner, the officer signed his real name on the sign-in sheet, and was later identified as a sergeant who helped prepare a number of Port of Seattle Seafair Operations Plans.

(6) Navy Region Northwest FOIA response dated October 16, 2000 to Glen Milner, July 11, 2000 e-mail from Beth Wojick to Lt. Commander William Fenick regarding the Torchlight Parade.

(7) Port of Seattle PDA response dated October 13, 2000 to Glen Milner, Port of Seattle Police Department 2000 Seafair Operations Plan, Section C, Threat Assessment.

(8) Coast Guard FOIA response dated April 9, 2001 to Glen Milner.

(9) Port of Seattle PDA response dated October 13, 2000 to Glen Milner, Port of Seattle Police Department 2000 Seafair Operations Plan, Section C, Threat Assessment.

(10) Special to the Times, Seattle Times, Friday, July 28, 2000, opinion statements by Rear Admiral William Marshall and Glen Milner. Both statements were in the Port of Seattle Police Department 2000 Seafair Operations Plan.

(11) Port of Seattle PDA response dated October 13, 2000 to Glen Milner, Port of Seattle Police Department 2000 Seafair Operations Plan, Section C, Threat Assessment.

(12) Seattle Post Intelligencer reporter Mike Barber, in the July 31, 2003 PI, stated, "The ships dwarfed a small but game party of protest boats carrying peace activists from Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action. A news release said the nonviolent protest was 'against the glorification of weapons of war at the Seattle Seafair' and drew attention to depleted uranium, a dense byproduct of enriched uranium from which ammunition on Navy warships is made..."

(13) According to telephone notes by Glen Milner, Russ Read said he had just quit the Coast Guard and stated he had processed parts of a FOIA request I had sent to the Coast Guard in 2000.

(14) FBI FOIA response to the ACLU of Washington dated August 25, 2005, e-mail message dated July 31, 2003 with the sender and recipient of the message redacted. The e-mail message may have been Naval Criminal Investigative Service. 18 pages were released to the ACLU by the FBI regarding surveillance of activists involved with the Peace Fleet at Seafair.

(15) FBI FOIA response to the ACLU of Washington dated August 25, 2005, e-mail message dated July 31, 2003 with the sender and recipient of the message redacted. Commander Sellers of Navy Region Northwest had been contacted by Glen Milner in July 2003 and told that protest boats would be operating legally in Elliott Bay. No one had spoken to the Coast Guard, unless it was the call by Russ Read to Glen Milner on July 24, 2003.

(16) FBI FOIA response to the ACLU of Washington dated August 25, 2005, e-mail message dated July 31, 2003 with the sender and recipient of the message redacted.

(17) According to telephone notes by Glen Milner. Commander Sellers stated that Peace Fleet participants could be shot and/or arrested if they came within 100 yards of a Navy vessel.

(18) Seattle Police PDA response dated June 24, 2005 to Glen Milner.

(19) According to telephone notes by Glen Milner on August 2, 2004.

(20) According to telephone notes by Glen Milner on August 5, 2004. Milner gave Mr. Dyment a description of the three peace vessels. In a Coast Guard hearing on December 13, 2005, Mr. Dyment acknowledged the telephone calls but stated he never forwarded the information to anyone.

(21) Port of Seattle PDA response dated January 13, 2005 to Glen Milner.

(22) Port of Seattle PDA response dated January 13, 2005 to Glen Milner.

(23) Coast Guard FOIA response dated April 22, 2005 to Aaron Caplan of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. COGARD FIST SEATTLE is the small Coast Guard intelligence office where Mr. Jim Dyment worked in 2004.

(24) Port of Seattle PDA response dated January 13, 2005 to Glen Milner and a telephone discussion with Russ Read, Port of Seattle security, on April 26, 2005.

(25) Coast Guard case file against Glen Milner, Activity No. 2220407, dated March 31, 2005.

(26) Coast Guard FOIA response dated April 22, 2005 to Aaron Caplan of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. E-mail from VADM Harvey Johnson to RADM Jeffrey Garrett dated August 7, 2004 and the USCG Operational Summary 7 AUG 04.

(27) The actual fine was $10,100. The $100 amount was for two other violations, for having the incorrect spacing of numbers and letters on the 11-foot inflatable and no sound producing device.*