COINTELPRO Revisited – Spying & Disruption
IN BLACK AND WHITE: THE F.B.I. PAPERS
Following are transcripts of official FBI COINTELPRO documents obtained
under the Freedom of Information Act. The March 4, 1968 communique was
sent out by J. Edgar Hoover himself just one month before the assassination
of Martin Luther King, Jr. It specifically identified Elijah Muhammed and
the Nation of Islam as primary targets of COINTELPRO, as well as Rev.
King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Other released FBI
documents show the Bureau had infiltrators within Macolm X’s Muslim Mosque,
Inc. Still others prove the FBI had undercover in the very room when he
was assassinated; one such agent actually administered mouth-to-mouth to
the dying man.
Note: in the originally released documents, most of the names of
COINTELPRO targets are censored. However, the names which are included
here exactly fit the spaces marked out by the FBI. It is also now known
that all of these individuals were in fact targetted for “neutralization”
by the FBI.
[Some emphases added by the editor.]
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SAC, Albany August 25, 1967
PERSONAL ATTENTION TO ALL OFFICES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[From] Director, FBI
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE PROGRAM
BLACK NATIONALIST – HATE GROUPS
INTERNAL SECURITY
[…] The purpose of this new counterintelligence endeavor is to
expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or OTHERWISE NEUTRALIZE [emphasis
added] the activities of black nationalist hate-type organizations and
groupings, their leadership, spokesmen, membership, and supporters, and
to counter their propensity for violence and civil disorder. The activities
of all such groups of intelligence interest to the Bureau must be followed
on a continuous basis so we will be in a position to promptly take advantage
of all opportunities for counterintelligence and inspire action in instances
where circumstances warrant. The pernicious background of such groups,
their duplicity, and devious maneuvers must be exposed to public scrutiny
where such publicity will have a neautralizing effect. Efforts of the
various groups to consolidate their forces or to recruit new or youthful
adherents must be frustrated. NO OPPORTUNITY SHOULD BE MISSED TO
EXPLOIT THROUGH COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TECHNIQUES THE ORGANIZATIONAL AND
PERSONAL CONFLICTS OF THE LEADERSHIPS OF THE GROUPS AND WHERE POSSIBLE AN
EFFORT SHOULD BE MADE TO CAPITALIZE UPON EXISTING CONFLICTS BETWEEN COMPETING
BLACK NATIONALIST ORGANIZATIONS. [emphasis added] When an opportunity is
apparent to disrupt or NEUTRALIZE [emphasis added] black nationalist, hate-
type organizations through the cooperation of established local news media
contacts or through such contact with sources available to the Seat of
Government [Hoover’s office]*, in every instance careful attention must be
given to the proposal to insure the targetted group is disrupted, ridiculed,
or discredited through the publicity and not merely publicized…
You are also cautioned that the nature of this new endeavor is such
that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THE EXISTENCE OF THE PROGRAM BE MADE
KNOWN OUTSIDE THE BUREAU [emphasis added] and appropriate within-office
security should be afforded to sensitive operations and techniques considered
under the program.
No counterintelligence action under this program may be initiated
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by the field without specific prior Bureau authorization. [Emphasis in orig.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
—
* [EDITOR’S NOTE: “Seat of Government” (SOG) is an official designation
created by J. Edgar Hoover to refer to his own office. Hoover was director
of the FBI for some 40 years, even receiving a special exemption from
compulsory retirement by President Ford. The “SOG” appelation is
indicative of his egotistical view of his power, which saw presidents come
and go.]
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COUNTERINTELLIGENCE PROGRAM
BLACK NATIONALIST – HATE GROUPS
RACIAL INTELLIGENCE 3/4/68
[…]
GOALS
~~~~~
For maximum effectiveness of the Counterintelligence Program, and
to prevent wasted effort, long-range goals are being set.
1. Prevent the COALITION of militant black nationalist groups. In
unity there is strength; a truism that is no less valid for all its
triteness. An effective coalition of black nationalist groups might be the
first step toward a real “Mau Mau” [Black revolutionary army] in America,
the beginning of a true black revolution.
2. Prevent the RISE OF A “MESSIAH” who could unify, and
electrify, the militant black nationalist movement. Malcolm X might have
been such a “messiah;” he is the martyr of the movement today. Martin
Luther King, Stokely Carmichael and Elijah Muhammed all aspire to this
position. Elijah Muhammed is less of a threat because of his age. King
could be a very real contender for this position should he abandon his
supposed “obedience” to “white, liberal doctrines” (nonviolence) and embrace
black nationalism. Carmichael has the necessary charisma to be a real
threat in this way.
3. Prevent VIOLENCE on the part of black nationalist groups. This
is of primary importance, and is, of course, a goal of our investigative
activity; it should also be a goal of the Counterintelligence Program to
pinpoint potential troublemakers and neutralize them before they
exercise their potential for violence.
4. Prevent militant black nationalist groups and leaders from
gaining RESPECTABILITY, by discrediting them to three separate segments of
the community. The goal of discrediting black nationalists must be handled
tactically in three ways. You must discredit those groups and individuals
to, first, the responsible Negro community. Second, they must be
discredited to the white community, both the responsible community and to
“liberals” who have vestiges of sympathy for militant black nationalist
[sic] simply because they are Negroes. Third, these groups must be
discredited in the eyes of Negro radicals, the followers of the movement.
This last area requires entirely different tactics from the first two.
Publicity about violent tendencies and radical statements merely enhances
black nationalists to the last group; it adds “respectability” in a different
way.
5. A final goal should be to prevent the long-range GROWTH of
militant black organizations, especially among youth. Specific tactics to
prevent these groups from converting young people must be developed. […]
TARGETS
~~~~~~~
Primary targets of the Counterintelligence Program, Black
Nationalist-Hate Groups, should be the most violent and radical groups and
their leaders. We should emphasize those leaders and organizations that
are nationwide in scope and are most capable of disrupting this country.
These targets, members, and followers of the:
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM)
NATION OF ISLAM (NOI) [emphasis added]
Offices handling these cases and those of Stokely Carmichael of
SNCC, H. Rap Brown of SNCC, Martin Luther King of SCLC, Maxwell Stanford of
RAM, and Elijah Muhammed of NOI, should be alert for counterintelligence
suggestions. […]
—–
[SOURCE: Brian Glick, _The_War_At_Home: _Covert_Action_Against_U.S._
Activists_And_What_We_Can_Do_About_It_ (Boston: South End Press, 1989)
ISBN: 0-89608-349-7.]
