4 Harvard students arrested during speech

Four Harvard University undergraduates were arrested Thursday night when their shouts of protest interrupted a speech by FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III in Cambridge.

Mueller was minutes into his talk about the balance of national security and civil liberties when the students erupted in shouts, including "The FBI are murderers," "The FBI equals terrorism," and "Close Guantanamo," according to police and news reports.

Michael Gould-Wartofsky , Kelly Lee , and Maura Roosevelt , all 22 years old, and Jennifer Provost , 21, were arrested and charged with disturbing a public assembly, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a month in prison and a $50 fine.

Two protesters, Provost and Lee, said yesterday they were not guilty. They said they were simply exercising their right to free speech. Both students said they never called the FBI "murderers," or linked them to terrorism, as police alleged.

"I wasn't trying to cause a sustained disturbance," said Provost. The other two students did not return telephone calls by deadline last night.

The students could face disciplinary sanctions from the university, said Joe Wrinn, a Harvard spokesman.

Gould-Wartofsky and Provost are staff members of the student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. The Crimson's president, Kristina M. Moore, said yesterday that they had not been active on the newspaper for at least a year.

"We understand the arguments of our critics," Mueller said in his remarks, "because when it comes to civil liberties, we share common ground. Their job is to speak out because they believe deeply that our liberties are precious and must be protected. So do we."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.