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Most Protesters Are Peaceful, But Cops Ready

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By THOMAS W.  KRAUSE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 26, 2005

PINELLAS PARK — On a huge white sign outside Hospice House Woodside, the Terri Schiavo case was equated to the Passion of Jesus.

Protesters decried Terri Schiavo's "crucifixion." Michael Schiavo was likened to Judas. Circuit Judge George Greer was Pontius Pilate.

With dozens of religious protesters awaiting word on Terri Schiavo's fate, some are predicting the Easter weekend might add fuel to the potentially volatile situation.

Security around the hospice, area courthouses and the key players in the Schiavo saga is at an all-time high.

Pinellas Park police Capt. Mike Hayworth, who heads the security detail at the protest site, said most of the demonstrators have been peaceful. Still, he gets his fair share of insults.

"We've encountered some pretty ugly comments," Hayworth said. "We just pretty much let them say what they want to say. We're OK with that. I would much rather they vent that way than vent in a violent way."

Since March 19, 30 protesters have been arrested by the Pinellas Park Police Department, although none for violent crimes. The first arrest Friday came at 8 a.m. Hayworth said police anticipated the early start because of the Good Friday holiday.

"For the most part, I can tell you, they want to be peaceful," Hayworth said. "But they do feel that getting arrested is a gift they can give Ms. Schiavo."

Officers carry Tasers, pepper spray and other nonlethal weapons. They haven't had to use them, Hayworth said.

"The order of the day is good communication skills with those in the crowd," he said.

Police know who the leaders are. Keeping good communications with them helps to keep the masses in line, Hayworth said.

Violent threats have been aimed at husband Michael Schiavo, some state legislators and Greer, who made the ruling to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. Although Greer said he did not want to discuss the threats, he has taken precautions. On a recent trip out of town, the judge was escorted to the airport by Pinellas County sheriff's deputies.

In Tampa, as Terri Schiavo's legal filings come in and out of the federal courthouse, security is tight but not unusually so. Darrell D. Williams, chief deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service for five federal courthouses in western Florida, said protection for federal judges is always high.

On Friday, FBI agents in Fairview, N.C., arrested a man who they said placed a $250,000 bounty on the "head of Michael Schiavo," who steadfastly has said his wife wanted to die if she ever were incapacitated without reasonable hope of recovery.

Agents charged Richard Alan Meywes, 37, with murder for hire and transmission of interstate threatening communications. He was arrested without incident.

FBI officials said they received a forwarded e-mail Wednesday from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

The e-mail placed the bounty on Michael Schiavo and offered an additional $50,000 "for the elimination of the judge who recently denied a request to intervene in the Schiavo case," the FBI reported.

On Thursday, a man was arrested in Pinellas County after trying to steal a weapon from a gun shop so he could "take some action and rescue Terri Schiavo," authorities said.

Michael W. Mitchell of Rockford, Ill., entered Randall's Firearms Inc. in Seminole just before 6 p.m. Thursday with a box cutter and tried to steal a gun, said sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha.

Mitchell, 20, was in custody Friday at the Pinellas County jail after a judge set his bail at a total of $120,500 for the four charges of armed robbery, grand theft, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief.

Also Thursday evening in Tampa, the courthouse was cordoned off when an abandoned knapsack was found outside the building. The Tampa police bomb squad destroyed the bag and found it was filled with personal belongings traced to a homeless woman. After questioning, authorities determined she had nothing to do with the protesters and was not attempting to threaten the courthouse. She was released.

"It's a very sensitive time, so security took it very seriously," said Laura McElroy, a spokeswoman for the Tampa Police Department.

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