UCPD raided a radical grassroots community center on Shattuck Avenue yesterday morning to conduct a court-authorized seizure of dozens of computers and data storage devices.

Executing a search warrant issued yesterday by Alameda Superior Court Judge Judith Ford, UCPD raided the Long Haul Infoshop located on Shattuck and Prince Avenue at approximately 10:30 a.m.

UCPD Assistant Chief Mitch Celaya said the search is part of an ongoing "investigation of threatening e-mails that have been sent from (that location)."

Long Haul Infoshop, a volunteer-run cooperative hub for social activists to gather and share ideas, provides free public Internet access and offers magazines for customers to purchase or borrow.

Though the location for the search is off-campus, UCPD is conducting the investigation instead of the Berkeley Police Department because the person who received the threatening e-mails is affiliated with the university, Celaya said.

Kathryn Miller, a manager of Long Haul Infoshop, received a call from her landlord shortly before 10:30 a.m. when he informed her that police had entered the building.

According to Miller, the police confiscated 15 computers and various flash memory drives, memory cards and CDs. Nearly all of the confiscated items, except some used exclusively by Long Haul Infoshop volunteers, had been designated for public use, she said.

"This (warrant) just says that they think a felony was committed with these computers, but they didn't say pertaining to what," she said. "We are actually a public access Internet room ... and we don't keep track of who logs on and off."

Miller said the police would not give her an explanation for the search.

"(The police) basically said nothing," she said. "They were very closed-lipped."

UCPD also confiscated a central hard drive from the office of the community-based radio station Berkeley Liberation Radio, which has a space in the Long Haul Infoshop building.

Miller said the FBI and officers from other agencies were also present during the search. Celaya said he could not confirm whether other agencies were involved in the raid.

"Until we conclude the investigation, we are not releasing any further information," he said. "We don't want to hamper the investigation."

Tags: UCPD, LONG HAUL INFOSHOP