Davis reassures public about California landmark threat

Disneyland was one of several California landmarks featured in videotapes confiscated from suspected al Qaeda members arrested in Spain.

SACRAMENTO, California (CNN) -- Officials kept a closer eye on California landmarks Wednesday after several appeared on videotapes found with three men arrested in Spain suspected of having ties to al Qaeda.

But state authorities said the tapes did not necessarily indicate an attack on the sites -- which included Disneyland, the Universal Studios theme park and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge -- was imminent, and routine post-September 11 security at most locations continued in effect.

California Gov. Gray Davis told CNN, "The odds of something happening are very remote."

"We have National Guard there. We have Highway Patrol there. We're working with the Coast Guard -- they have increased their presence," Davis said. "So we believe it is perfectly safe."

RESOURCES CNN Access: Gov. Davis: 'We have to be vigilant'

Davis sought to assure residents and tourists that law enforcement officials "have a plan in place and we believe it's working."

"I just want Californians to go on with their lives," he told CNN.

The support pillars of the historic bridge over San Francisco Bay played a key role in videotapes made by Ghasoub Al-Abrash Ghalyoun, one of three men arrested Tuesday in Spain. A fourth man was taken into custody in Spain on Wednesday.

The men are suspected of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical group with close ties to al Qaeda.

Ghalyoun recorded "installations and monuments that are considered to be emblematic symbols of the life and culture" of the United States and "which have been or are terrorist objectives of al Qaeda," the Spanish Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

Federal officials told CNN videotapes like the ones recorded by Ghalyoun had surfaced in other investigations of suspected al Qaeda members and allies, and they said they saw no reason to warn people to stay away from the landmarks.

Ghalyoun's tapes, made during a 1997 trip to the United States, also showed the twin towers of the World Trade Center, which were destroyed in the September 11 terror attacks.

Security at the Golden Gate Bridge has been bolstered in recent days with the addition of officers with the California Highway Patrol, said Davis.

Sites in California are believed to have been on terrorists radar screens for some time. A millennium plot to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport was foiled in the weeks before the attack was to be carried out, and all four hijacked planes on September 11 were bound for California.

Davis said he has "long believed the Golden Gate Bridge was a target," and that Attorney General John Ashcroft notified him shortly after September 11 that there "may be a potential attack" against movie studios.

National Guard troops have remained on duty at the Golden Gate since September 11, he said, although they were removed from other bridges. Disneyland and Universal Studios have their own security systems, and both told the state they have been on maximum alert since September 11 as well.

Davis, who was criticized last year after he announced an uncorroborated threat against major bridges in his state, said it's his duty to report to the public when threats abound.

"I'm going to tell people if there is a threat," he said. "You always have to be on guard and vigilant."