Protester arrested in NYC accused of distributing bomb-making advice on the web

Tuesday, February 5th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ One of the demonstrators arrested during the World Economic Forum is accused of posting information about making weapons of mass destruction on the Internet and possessing a Molotov cocktail.

Sherman Austin was ordered detained Monday pending a Thursday bail hearing.

Austin, 18, of Sherman Oaks, Calif., was arrested during a demonstration Saturday on city charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly.

On Monday, a criminal complaint filed against Austin in federal court in Los Angeles charged him with distributing information about weapons of mass destruction by posting information on his Web site relating to the making and using of explosives and other destructive devices.

An affidavit by FBI Special Agent John I. Pi accused Austin of urging others to stop the World Economic Forum through violence with weapons including slingshots, boomerangs, Molotov cocktails, smoke bombs and pipe bombs.

``Homemade explosives work very well in riots,'' the affidavit accused Austin of saying on his Web site.

The complaint said a Jan. 24 search of Austin's bedroom found a molotov cocktail and a radio-controlled detonator.

Austin's lawyer, Susan Tipograph, declined to comment, as did prosecutors.

Austin was among 201 people arrested during the conference, which ended Monday.