The files were built by a network of police officers, confidential informants, fbi agents and the amount of information they contained was staggering. Cointelpro united states government program britannica. Under hoover, the agent in charge of cointelpro was william c. Jailhouse lawyers manual 1984, and author of war at home. Organized gang stalking as modern fbi cointelpro counter.
Counterspy welcomes manuscripts on any aspect of security. Ward churchill and jim vander walls expose of americas political police force, the fbi, reveals the steel fist undergirding compassionate conservatisms velvet glove. Fbi the fbi s secret cointelpro project revealed it wasnt just spying on americans, said loch k. Vault home cointelpro black extremist cointelpro black extremist part 01 of. The original fbi cointelpro operation was exposed in 1971 when activists brokeinto an fbi office and stole more than a thousand documents about the illegal program and released them to the press. Program, or cointelpro in fbi newspeak, these opera tions combined the. Despite their authors intentions, these documents also record pieces of the history of efforts to build the communist movement in the united states. The fbi s covert action programs against american citizens open pdf 492 kb this report is based on a staff study of more than 20,000 pages of bureau documents, depositions of many of the bureau agents involved in the programs, and interviews of several cointelpro targets. Hanrahan, noelle, americas secret police fbi cointelpro in the 1990s. Cointelpro is the first book to disclose, in indisputable and chilling words of fbi officials themselves, the twopronged attack with which the fbi has attempted to discredit and destroy lawful and effective groups working for social justice. Cointelpro syllabic abbreviation derived from counter intelligence program 19561971 was a series of covert and illegal projects conducted by the united states federal bureau of investigation fbi aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting american political organizations.
From 1956 through 1971, the fbi s cointelpro program conducted thousands of covert operations to incite street warfare between violent groups. Fbi cointelpro was established solely to disrupt, harass, and discredit the american communist party, black panthers, and far left groups. Cointelpro the fbi began cointelproshort for counterintelligence programin 1956 to disrupt the activities of the communist party of the united states. Eventually, its methods coalesced into four stages.
Cointelpro an acronym for counter intelligence program was the official name of the programmatic project conducted by the united states federal bureau of investigation fbi under statesponsored terrorist j. Senator edwin muskie, himself a victim, remarked from the floor of congress that this surveillance was. Theres a secret government document called the race. Despite their authors intentions, these documents also record pieces of. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. These were secret police files, containing intimate personal information. Fbi domestic covert action programs research papers on academia. The fbi s secret war on political freedom, edited by cathy perkus, revd by victor s navasky. Fbi cointelpro in the 1990s on april 22, 1970, as 22 million americans rallied across the country on the first earth day celebration, fbi agents in over 40 cities were ordered to spy on and infiltrate these events. Apr 18, 2017 the fbi expanded its cointelpro activities in the 1960s. The file begins in 1967 and ends in 1971, and consists of 26 sections of documents organized in roughly chronological order.
Over 100,000 puerto ricans had carpetas opened on them. Edgar hoover still haunts the us political landscape. Fbi and nsa psychopaths are conducting these nonconsensual secret, illegal, sadistic, perverted and psychopathic synthetic telepathy experiments and psychoelectronic weapon attacks on hundreds of thousands of innocent american citizens, peter mooring. President trumps firing of fbi chief james comey on may 9 spurred much of the media and many democrats to rally around americas most powerful domestic federal agency.
Documents from the fbi s secret wars against dissent in the united states the fbi s counter intelligence program had nothing to do with finding spies or combating espionage. Activists who stole fbi documents in 1971 revealing. Fbi cointelpro in the 1990s this report was written by noelle hanrahan in association with the redwood summer justice project, which pursues judi baris and darryl cherneys civil rights case against the fbi and oakland police. Cointelpro, or counterintelligence program, is one of the darkest fbi secrets exposed so far. Jan, 2014 fbi cointelpro was established solely to disrupt, harass, and discredit the american communist party, black panthers, and far left groups. In august 1967, the fbi initiated a covert action program cointelpro to disrupt and neutralize organizations which the bureau characterized as black nationalist hate groups. The fbi and police exploited this fear to smear genuine activists as agents.
The surreptitious reincarnation of cointelpro with the. In the 1960s, it was expanded to include a number of other domestic groups, such as the ku klux klan, the socialist workers party, and the black panther party. Organized gang stalking as the modern fbi cointelpro counter intelligence program this post includes five articles. Wesley swearingen, south end press, 1995 the fbi v.
Readers anxious about civil liberties under george w. Its a nice concise summary on how the fbi has been acting like the a secret police force at least as far back as the 1920s. In another instance, the fbi proposed using a stink bomb to shut down the black panther newspapers production facility. Yes, the fbi is americas secret police this should be required reading on atf. The fbi opened a cointelpro file on the police kick down the front door firing. These documents were declassified in the 1970s or 1980s, and do not include the fbis voluminous field office files from this cointelpro. In albany, new york in 1981, the fbi and police infiltrated and disrupted the capital district coalition against apartheid and racism. Cointelpro was a program of subversion carried out not by a couple of petty crooks but by the national political police, the fbi, under four administrations by the time it got through, i wont run through the whole story, it was aimed at the entire new left, at the womens movement, at the whole black movement, it was extremely broad. Of all the fbis cointelpro operations, none were as vicious as those carried out against various civil rights organizations. But the fbi s secrecy is profoundly skewing american politics. During the cointelpro era, the fbi behaved like a secret police, targeting people because of their political activism. Fbi records show that cointelpro resources targeted groups and individuals that the. Fbi records show that cointelpro resources targeted groups and.
Americas secret police fbi cointelpro in the 1990s. Virginia wisely rejects secret police american civil. Organized gang stalking as modern fbi cointelpro counter intelligence program. Of these, 74,412 were under political police surveillance. Byprovoking con frontations between the panthers and either the police or other. Fbi targets black identity extremists despite surge in white supremacist violence duration. Far less is known of their cointelpro operations against the largest antistalinist socialist organization mobilizing in. Activists who stole fbi documents in 1971 revealing cointelpro speak out. Secret cointelpro is alive today a brief history duration. Five years ago, americans learned that the fbi was teaching its agents that the fbi has the ability to bend or suspend the law to impinge on the freedom. Cointelpro black extremist part 01 of 23 fbi the vault. The fbi s war on student radicals, and reagans rise to power seth rosenfeld, picador. Fbi s cointelpro, operation gladio, nato stay behind armies, and. In 1956, fresh off of the mccarthyite persecution of the early 1950s, the fbi perceived exactly this kind of threat from the socialist workers party and the communist party of the united states cpusa.
One year later, chicago police raided the apartment of fred hampton, the twentyoneyearold charismatic chairman of the chicago black panther party, killing him in. The fbi manual did not define subversive groups in terms of their links to a. It was covert and often used extralegal means to criminalize various forms of political. The operations revealed in the documents cited in this bookmany of them photographically reproducedprovide an unprecedented look at the methods used by the fbi, cia. The fbi s secret file on black america, 19601972 oreilly, kenneth on. Documents from the fbis secret wars against dissent in the united states south end press classics series ward churchill, jim vander wall on. Cointelpro was the fbis secret program to undermine the. Some may assert that just because the fbi sometimes operates in secret does not mean that its a secret police.
Download original aug 25, 1967 fbi document pdf sac, albany august 25, 1967 personal attention to all offices director, fbi offices receiving copies of this letter are instructed to immediately establish a. Vault home cointelpro black extremist cointelpro black extremist part 01 of 23. The fbis covert program to destroy the black panther. Cointelpro and divisive hate the very point of the fbi. A 1924 american civil liberties union report warned that the fbi had become a secret police system of a political character. Cointelpro like operations are almost certainly going on today. Apr, 2018 cointelpro, or counterintelligence program, is one of the darkest fbi secrets exposed so far. More than two years after the 2016 election, americans still have no idea the true extent of the fbi. Cointelpro syllabic abbreviation derived from counter intelligence program 19561971 was a series of covert and very much illegal projects conducted by the united states federal bureau of investigation fbi aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting american political organizations. Apr 18, 2017 counterintelligence is the term for any antiespionage or surveillance activities aimed at spying on or breaking up domestic threats. The remarkable revelation provided here is that modern organized gang stalking operations are identical with, or nearly identical with, those used in the fbis secret cointelpro counterintelligence program of the 1950s1970s, the topsecret gladio and other stay behind army operations of europe between 1950 and 1990, and the. The department of homeland security sent a memo to officers across the country warning about a black day of rage that never.
Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. When a police system passes beyond these limits, it is dan gerous to the. Johnson, a professor of public and international affairs at the university of georgia who was an aide to senator frank church, democrat of idaho. It targeted many civil rights groups and activists in the 60s. Bush will find fodder for fearsand suggestions for activismin the cointelpro papers. Get betty medsgers recentlyreleased book, the burglary. Mar 14, 1976 books fbi, by sanford j ungar, and cointelpro.
Once embedded, agents reported on the groups activities and intentions. This is the federal bureau of investigation fbi main headquarters file on its counterintelligence program cointelpro against black nationalist hate groups, as the fbi called them. Cointelpro 19561971 was a series of covert and illegal projects conducted by the united states federal bureau of investigation fbi aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting american political organizations. Infiltration fbi agents and local police routinely sent undercover agents to join progressive, leftwing, and antiwar groups.
Secret fbi files on 100,000 puerto ricansthousands arrested. The fbi s covert program to destroy the black panther party. Introduction by noam chomsky, graphic reproductions of fbi documents. Covert action against the domestic dissidents of the 1960s. Edgar hoover issued directives on cointelpro, ordering fbi agents to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, neutralize or otherwise eliminate the activities of these movements and especially their leaders. Cointelpro the fbi began cointelproshort for counterintelligence programin 1956 to disrupt the activities of the communist party of the united.
Bush will find fodder for fearsand suggestions for activismin the. Over the ensuing two decades, the program would ruin countless american lives and careers. Documents from the fbis secret wars against dissent in the united states the fbis counter intelligence program had nothing to do with finding spies or combating espionage. The fbi talked about a history of violent incidents pdf. Program, or cointelpro in fbi newspeak, these opera. According to fbi researcher brian glick, fbi headquarters set policy. According to fbi documents, one of the purposes of the cointelpro program was to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize the activities of the black nationalists. Cointelpro, counterintelligence program conducted by the federal bureau of investigation fbi from 1956 to 1971 to discredit and neutralize organizations considered subversive to u. To disrupt, discredit and destroy the fbi s secret war against the black panther party. Director hoover had reorganized the dozens of operations on the federal level and nobody knows how many by local police and sheriffs into cointelpro. Describes the decadeslong covert counterintelligence programcodenamed cointelprodirected against socialists and activists in the black and antivietnam war movements. The following is a text reproduction of original fbi document. Cointelpro the fbi began cointelpro short for counterintelligence programin 1956 to disrupt the activities of the communist party of the united states. The commitment of the fbi to undermine and destroy popular movements departing from political orthodoxy has been extensive, and apparently proportional to the strength and promise of such movements, as one would expect in the case of the secret police organization of any state, though it is doubtful that there is anything comparable to this record.
Hearings the national security agency and fourth amendment rights. The fbi s secret war on political freedom, exclusive documents from illegal counterintelligence programs the government was forced to reveal, edited by cathy perkus, introduction by noam chomsky, new york, monad press, 1975 fbi secrets. Coordinated by the federal bureau of investigation as part of its thenongoing domestic counterintelligence program cointelpro and enlisting dozens of local police departments around the country, the assault left at least thirty pan. Secret fbi files on 100,000 puerto ricansthousands. The fbi expanded its cointelpro activities in the 1960s. Cointelpro s of the period 19561971 were the first to be both broadly targeted and centrally directed. The fbis covert action programs against american citizens open pdf 492 kb this report is based on a staff study of more than 20,000 pages of bureau documents, depositions of many of the bureau agents involved in the programs, and interviews of several cointelpro targets. Tomes have been written about the governments eavesdropping and infiltration of the american communist party. There is always a possibility that a secret police may become. The fbis secret war on political freedom, exclusive documents from illegal counterintelligence programs the government was forced to reveal, edited by cathy perkus, introduction by noam chomsky, new york, monad press, 1975 fbi secrets.
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