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COINTELPRO (syllabic abbreviation derived from COunter INTELligence PROgram) (1956–present) is a series of covert and illegal[1][2] projects conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic American political organizations.[3][4] FBI records show COINTELPRO resources targeted groups and individuals the FBI deemed subversive,[5] including feminist organizations,[6] the Communist Party USA, anti–Vietnam War organizers, activists of the civil rights movement or Black Power movement (e.g. Martin Luther King Jr., the Nation of Islam, and the Black Panther Party), environmentalist and animal rights organizations, the American Indian Movement (AIM), independence movements (such as Puerto Rican independence groups like the Young Lords), and a variety of organizations that were part of the broader New Left, in combination with unrelated groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).[7]
The FBI has used covert operations against domestic political groups since its inception; however, covert operations under the official COINTELPRO label took place between 1956 and 1971. Many of the tactics used in COINTELPRO are alleged to have seen continued use, including discrediting targets through psychological warfare; smearing individuals and groups using forged documents and by planting false reports in the media; harassment; wrongful imprisonment; illegal violence; and assassination.[8][9][10][11] According to the Church Committee's final Senate report, the FBI's motivation was "protecting national security, preventing violence, and maintaining the existing social and political order."[12]
Black Panther Party[edit | edit source]
In March 1971, the FBI murdered Sam Napier, circulation manager of The Black Panther newspaper, and caused a split between the Newton and Cleaver branches of the party by sending them forged letters accusing one side of working with the police and plotting to kill the other side. The FBI also used faked letters to break alliances between the BPP and other organizations such as the United Slaves, Blackstone Rangers, the Peace and Freedom Party, and white supporters like the organization, "Friends of the Panthers."[13] The FBI ran a multi-faceted campaign that sought to cause violent tensions with other groups, internal dissension within party ranks, discredit supporters, destroy their public image with mass media smear campaigns, and collaborate with local police departments to increase police pressure (for example, tracking party members, making arbitrary traffic stops, making arrests, etc).[14]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans – Church Committee final report: 'I. Introduction and Summary' (1976-04-26) (p. 10). II. United States Senate.
- ↑ COINTELPRO: The Untold American Story.
- ↑ A break-in to end all break-ins (8 March 2006).
- ↑ The Dangers of Domestic Spying by Federal Law Enforcement (2002). American Civil Liberties Union.
- ↑ The FBI: A History (2008) (p. 189). Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-14284-6
- ↑ The Women's Liberation Movement and COINTELPRO.
- ↑ White Robes and Burning Crosses: A History of the Ku Klux Klan from 1866 (2014) (p. 146). McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-7774-6
- ↑ Kevin Walb; Jeffery Monaghan (2016). "Private Eyes and Public Order: Policing and Surveillance in the Suppression of Animal Rights Activists in Canada." In Bezanson, Kate; Webber, Michelle (eds.). Rethinking Society in the 21st Century (4th ed.) (p. 148). Toronto: Canadian Scholars. ISBN 978-1-55130-936-1
- ↑ Martin Orr (2010). "The Failure of Neoliberal Globalization and the End of Empire". In Berberoglu, Berch (ed.). Globalization in the 21st Century: Labor, Capital, and the State on a World Scale. (p. 182). ISBN 978-0-230-10639-0
- ↑ “[Special Agent Gregg York:] We expected about twenty Panthers to be in the apartment when the police raided the place. Only two of those black n***** fuckers were killed, Fred Hampton and Mark Clark.”
M. Wesley Swearingen (1995). FBI Secrets: An Agent's Expose.. Boston: South End Press. ISBN 978-0-89608-502-2 - ↑ Murder of Fred Hampton. It's About Time – Black Panther Party Legacy & Alumni. Archived from the original on 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ↑ United States Senate (1976). Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities, Book III: Supplementary Detailed Staff Reports on Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
- ↑ Eugene Puryear (2024-02-05). "Tales from the pages of COINTELPRO" Liberation News. Archived from the original on 2024-02-06.
- ↑ U.S. Senate (1976). SUPPLEMENTARY DETAILED STAFF REPORTS ON INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES AND THE RIGHTS OF AMERICANS, vol. III.