BOSTON -- U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft arrived in Boston Tuesday to talk to police about a new anti-terrorism law, which some protesters oppose.

The controversial Patriot Act, some people say, violates the very meaning of the U.S. Constitution and hundreds of protesters gathered in front of Faneuil Hall chanting slogans.

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Gail Huff Reports On Ashcroft Visit

Ashcroft's visit is part of a 16-city tour to tell the public about the Patriot Act, which was passed six weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks. The aim of the law is to prevent future attacks. Ashcrofts remarks were made to police and law enforcement officials.

"Thanks to you we are preserving lives and liberty and the rule of law. Thanks to you we are winning the war on terror," Ashcroft said.

"Our greatest memorial to those who have passed is to have the lives and liberties of those yet to come," said Ashcroft.

Currently, the FBI has as many as 300 people with suspected terror ties under active surveillance, some of them allegedly trained at terror camps in Afghanistan. The Patriot Act gives agents the power to keep a watchful eye on terror suspects, allowing secret searches or multiple phone taps under a single warrant. It also allows agents access to suspected terrorists' records from libraries, businesses, even from doctors' offices.

The Attorney General says this power is necessary to track possible terrorist activity.

"What if there were a pre-positioned bomb that was capable of being detonated by remote detonation, say, using a cell phone. And we were to learn that maybe if we could search a certain hotel room, that we could learn the location of the bomb and go and defuse it before it was detonated?" Ashcroft said.

But critics of the Patriot Act say these powers can be easily abused and more than 150 cities, towns and counties have passed resolutions against the law. The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, has filed a lawsuit.

"The government can come into your home, download the contents of your computer, rifle through your personal possessions, sometimes remove items, and not tell you that they've been there," said Laura Murphy of the ACLU.

"This is eroding our liberties," said Christine Downing, 58, of the Charlestown section of Boston. "It's an end run around the Bill of Rights."

The crowd, which gathered at 8 a.m. and chanted throughout Ashcroft's speech, carried signs saying: "Ashcroft's Patriot Act: The work of a traitor", "Be a real patriot - oppose the Patriot Act" and "Ashcroft more evil than Steinbrenner," a reference to the owner of the New York Yankees.

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