OKLAHOMA CITY: AFTER THE BOMB : Bomb Threat May Keep O.C. Workers Away Today

Dozens and possibly hundreds of workers in a federal building in the city’s Civic Center are likely to remain at home or to work in other locations today after a bomb threat that federal officials are calling a hoax.

Shaken and angry federal workers leaving their offices Tuesday evening said managers of half a dozen agencies in the building met with workers twice, some offering them the option of taking a personal leave today or working in other locations.

A federal source said a caller to the FBI claimed that his son was a member of a white supremacist group and that he planned to bomb the nine-story building at 34 Civic Center Plaza today. They briefly investigated and determined that the caller was known to law enforcement and that his son is not a white supremacist. The source said officials believe that the call was a hoax and there is no threat to the building, and they consider the matter closed.

The FBI would not comment on the threat.

“We neither confirm or deny investigations,” FBI spokesman John Hoos said.

Employees said federal authorities planned to thoroughly search the building, which houses a post office, a Social Security office, an Internal Revenue Service office, federal bankruptcy courts and other agencies.

The incident, which came six days after the devastating explosion in Oklahoma City, probably will discourage people from coming to work today, workers said.

One man who declined to give his name said he expects most people will choose to work in other federal offices in Santa Ana or Fountain Valley.

“They don’t pay us enough money” to take the risk, he said. “We have mothers with young children and people with responsibilities.”

He added: “I feel like we’ve lost our freedoms and we’re not going to live the same anymore. We’ve got to live our lives differently, with more fear, that’s all.”

IRS agent K.C. Peredo of Fountain Valley said she planned to make an appointment out of the office Wednesday and remain away from the building all day. Other IRS agents said their managers had encouraged them to do the same.