Father won't see Miami relatives for time being
 
                  From staff and wire reports

                  ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Maryland (CNN) -- Federal agents who seized
                  Elian Gonzalez from the home of his Miami relatives were acting legally and had
                  a warrant, U.S. Justice Department officials said Sunday.

                  The armed raid on the Little Havana home sparked protests from Cuban
                  Americans and some Republican politicians who questioned whether the
                  military-style operation was legal and backed by proper paperwork.

                  But Justice Department officials said agents were executing a judicial warrant,
                  which had been "obtained from a federal magistrate judge on Friday evening, and
                  gave authority to enter the house, by force if necessary, and recover Elian."

                  CNN on Sunday obtained a copy of the search warrant.

                  As arguments surrounding his seizure continued, 6-year-old Elian and his father spent Easter
                  Sunday together. Juam Miguel Gonzalez had earlier said he didn't want to see the boy's Miami
                  relatives "right now."

                  Attorney: 'It's time for peace for the boy'

                  "It's time for some peace for the boy," said attorney Gregory Craig on CNN's "Late Edition."
                  "A chance in solitude and privacy to reconnect with his family."

                  The Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, who spent time with Elian and his father Saturday, said Juan
                  Miguel Gonzalez didn't say the Miami relatives could never see the boy, but he wanted some time
                  with his son alone.

                  "I think some space does need to happen, though, between that family (Miami relatives) and the
                  family into which Elian was born," she said.

                  U.S. immigration agents seized Elian from the home of his Miami relatives before dawn Saturday.

                  A contingent of the Miami relatives, including Marisleysis Gonzalez, Elian's 21-year-old second-
                  cousin, and Lazaro Gonzalez, his great-uncle, flew to Washington on Saturday to see the boy,
                  but was turned away from the Air Force base where Juan Miguel Gonzalez and his son were
                  staying after their reunion Saturday. The Miami relatives were accompanied by U.S. Sen. Bob
                  Smith, R-New Hampshire.

                  Plea to see Elian

                  In a tearful and protracted appearance at a news conference in Washington on Sunday,
                  Marisleysis, who says she was Elian's primary caretaker during his five-month stay in Miami,
                  repeatedly accused the federal government of child abuse.

                  Referring to the 5 a.m. raid in which armed federal agents took Elian from Lazaro Gonzalez's
                  Miami home, Marisleysis said the agents trashed the house, pointed guns at other children inside,
                  kicked a television cameraman and ordered her to  "give me the damn boy."

                  Marisleysis repeated her plea to see Elian. "I think I have the right to see this boy," she said. "I will
                  not leave until I see this boy."

                  Craig said it would be difficult to hold a family reunion in such an emotionally charged
                  atmosphere.

                  "I would urge the relatives in Miami, if they truly want to get back together with Juan Miguel and
                  his family, that they give me a call and let's talk about timing," Craig said. "Let's discuss this in a
                  civilized way, rather than having national press conferences where demands are made."

                  First photo of reunion disputed

                  During the news conference Marisleysis and Lazaro Gonzalez disputed the authenticity of a
                  photograph that shows a smiling Elian being held by his father shortly after their reunion on
                  Saturday.

                  "That picture that they showed with the father, that is not Elian. That hair is not Elian's," said
                  Marisleysis, who claimed that his hair in the photo appeared longer than in a photo taken inside the
                  house on Saturday during the removal operation.

                  On Sunday, attorneys for Juan Gonzalez released new photographs taken that day and showing
                  Elian arm in arm with his father, having lunch, playing soccer, sitting in his father's lap and with
                  his father, half-brother and stepmother on a bench.

                  Craig carried the undeveloped roll of photos to The Associated Press Bureau in Washington,
                  D.C. Fred Sweets, assistant bureau chief for photos, said the film was developed in the AP
                  photo lab.

                  "These are from a disposable camera," Sweets said. "I examined the negatives. They are
                  authentic."

                  Smith: 'Violent abuse of power'

                  Smith, the Republican senator, said he was ashamed of his government's action and his
                  party's inaction in the treatment of the Miami family.

                  "What happened yesterday was not the rule of law... it was a violent abuse of power," Smith
                  said of Saturday's raid. "What happened yesterday morning was an armed assault
                  on an innocent family."

                  Despite the Miami family's accusations of violence, White House press secretary
                  Joe Lockhart said a "minimum level of force" was used. He said members of the
                  Gonzalez family in Miami "openly said they would not follow the law."

                  Elian spending time with his father

                  Elian, meanwhile spent Sunday with his father, his stepmother Nercy and
                  6-month-old half-brother Hianny at the air base. The family made no public
                  appearances Sunday morning.

                  Craig said earlier that the Cuban family would stay at the base for a couple of
                  days of quiet time before moving to another location.

                  Elian was seized on authority of the U.S. Department of Justice, which ruled that
                  the boy's Cuban father was his legal guardian, instead of his Cuban-American
                  relatives in Miami. The Miami relatives fiercely oppose Cuban President Fidel
                  Castro and want Elian to remain in the United States.

                  Elian's fate, however, remains unsettled. The courts ultimately will rule on whether
                  the boy should stay in the United States. A federal appeals court, scheduled to hear
                  the case May 11, is expected to rule on whether Elian may file for political asylum.

                  Protests in three states

                  The raid, dubbed by the federal government "Operation Reunion," took just minutes to
                  complete. It started about 5 a.m. Saturday, when federal agents in riot gear smashed in
                  the door of the house. They grabbed Elian from Donato Dalrymple, a fisherman who
                  rescued the child from the Atlantic Ocean in November. Agents wrapped the crying child
                  in a blanket and dashed away with him in a white van. The boy was flown by government
                  jet to Maryland.

                  Once word spread that Elian had been taken, protesters crowded the streets
                  around the Gonzalez home. Some demonstrators started street fires and
                  struggled with police carrying batons and shields. More than 290 people were
                  arrested.

                  Also on Saturday about 300 demonstrators in New Jersey, angered by the federal
                  action, blocked traffic for 20 minutes in front of the Lincoln Tunnel connecting
                  New Jersey with New York. Protesters also marched near the United Nations in
                  Manhattan, and at the Cuban Mission there. No arrests were reported.

                  Elian was rescued as he was clinging to an inner tube off the Florida coast last
                  November 25. His mother and 10 others drowned when their boat sank while
                  trying to reach the United States from Cuba. In addition to Elian, two others
                  survived.

                   Correspondents Brian Cabell and Kate Snow and The Associated Press contributed
                   to this report.