After receiving thousands of e-mails and even a few death threats, members of the Berkeley City Council will have to face hundreds of protesters who are expected to descend on City Hall at tonight's council meeting.

The majority of the protesters will be there to voice their opinions over the council's recent vote against the Marine Corps recruiting center in Downtown Berkeley.

Two weeks ago the council voted to call the Marine recruiters "unwelcome and uninvited intruders" and reserved a parking space in front of the center for Code Pink, a group that organizes weekly protests against the center.

After their decision elicited a vitriolic response from people across the country, some City Council members said they regretted their earlier votes and decided to consider retracting some of their statements at tonight's meeting.

They also said they want to clarify that their resolutions were intended to show their opposition to the war in Iraq, not their dislike of members of the military.

Both Code Pink and Move America Forward, a national pro-military group, have planned opposing day-long protests leading up to the City Council meeting.

Police are taking extra measures to improve security before and during the meeting without limiting the free speech of any groups, said Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss.

"We will ensure the rights of those to freely express themselves (regardless of their position) to the extent that it is peaceful and lawful," she said in an e-mail.

Although the Marine recruiting center is the most prominent item on the agenda, others, including discussion of whether to declare the Pacific Steel Foundry a nuisance, are expected to attract a large audience.

Because the City Council chambers can only seat approximately 100 people, the council will take breaks between controversial items to allow audience members to rotate into the chamber.

City officials will also be playing the meeting's audio through speakers on the outside of the building, said city spokesperson Mary Kay Clunies-Ross.

"We don't really know what to expect," Clunies-Ross said. "We're going to be responding to the situation as it happens and not blocking into a rigid plan."

Police and city officials also said they are taking the threatening e-mails and phone calls seriously.

"Obviously we're concerned," said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates. "We've received a lot of threatening e-mails."

More police officers will be stationed at City Hall than usual and fire officials will also be present, Kusmiss said.

Despite the death threats and national publicity, some council members said they are not worried that the controversy at the meeting will become anything more than debate.

Last week, a man shot and killed six people-including two City Council members-during a Kirkwood, Mo. City Council meeting, but Berkeley officials say they are confident there will not be violence at tonight's meeting.

"I want to be positive on this," said Councilmember Gordon Wozniak, "We've had many contentious meetings and we've never had any problems. People in Berkeley tend to pretty much agree to adhere to nonviolence."

Tags: CITY COUNCIL, SAFETY, POLICE