FBI Antiradical Activities in the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation: History Antiradical Activities
Introduction to FBI Antiradical Activities
In 1956 Hoover authorized the first in a series of secret FBI operations, code-named COINTELPRO (a contraction of the term counterintelligence program), aimed at disrupting the activities of a variety of political groups in the United States. The first COINTELPRO program targeted the U.S. Communist Party and suspected sympathizers. During the 1960s Hoover authorized more COINTELPRO programs to discredit and disrupt other organizations and movements, including black nationalist groups and civil rights organizations, socialist organizations, white supremacist groups, and New Left groups opposed to the Vietnam War (1959-1975). Under these programs and others, the FBI illegally broke into homes and businesses, engaged in wiretapping without proper authorization, collected derogatory information for political reasons, leaked unfavorable information to the media, and sent anonymous mailings to promote dissension within a group or between rival groups. Hoover also ordered aggressive surveillance of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., and tried to discredit King by disseminating derogatory information about him to the media, Congress, and others.
Despite these abuses, in the mid-1960s the FBI became more aggressive in pursuing civil rights violations and terrorism against civil rights workers. The FBI brought to justice the murderers of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. It also professionally investigated King’s assassination in 1968. The FBI found the fingerprint of James Earl Ray on the rifle that killed King. That allowed the FBI to identify Ray as the killer and apprehend him.
During the 1960s, Hoover increasingly used the resources of the FBI to preserve his own power. He kept detailed files on prominent politicians, including presidents and members of Congress. Hoover engaged in implicit blackmail by letting them know the bureau was aware of their sexual indiscretions and their other improprieties. Hoover also used the FBI for his own personal benefit. FBI employees added a front portico and a rear deck to Hoover’s home in Washington, D.C. They also painted his house each year, maintained his yard, built a fish pond, and constructed shelves and other conveniences for him. FBI employees reset Hoover’s clocks and prepared his tax returns. Today, a director who used taxpayer funds to maintain his home would be prosecuted. But no one dared to criticize Hoover or question whether he had outlived his usefulness.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about FBI Antiradical Activities in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
Guide to FBI Antiradical Activities
In this Section
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation Structure, FBI Jurisdiction and Investigative Responsibilities, FBI Agents, Law Enforcement Services, FBI Law Enforcement Services (including FBI Fingerprint Identification, FBI Laboratory, FBI Criminal Profiling, FBI Police Training, National Crime Information Center and Crime Statistics), FBI History (including FBI Early Years, Hoover Reforms, FBI in the World War II and Postwar Era, FBI Antiradical Activities, FBI Reform, Ruby Ridge, FBI Under Freeh and September 11 Attacks), FBI and the Patriot Act and National Lawyers Guild.