The Hunt for Red Menace:
Evidence is Immaterial
COINTELPRO Media Operations
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COINTELPRO
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover initiated COINTELPRO, the acronym
given the FBI's Counterintelligence Program, in August 1956. COINTELPRO
was designed to "increase factionalism, cause disruption
and win defections" inside the Communist Party U.S.A. The
FBI program was later enlarged to include disruption of the Socialist
Workers Party (1961), the Ku Klux Klan (1964), Black nationalist
groups such as the Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam
(1967), and the entire New Left, including community and religious
groups (1968).
Hoover was certainly obsessed with counter-subversion and
a conspiracy view of history. He was convinced the civil rights
movement was the result of communist subversives agitating normally
docile Blacks into protesting segregation. Hoover even demanded
his agents find out who was behind the women's movement, apparently
assuming he could eredicate the global feminist awakening by ferreting
out a small cabal of malcontents.
Inside the FBI there developed a core group of agents with
authoritarian tendencies who adopt the theories, and sometimes
the practices, of the the paranoid nativist right-wing. This view
was institutionalized while Hoover was FBI director, and a self-
perpetuating network carries on the tradition today following
his death.
David Kaplan of California's Center for Investigative Reporting
called COINTELPRO "the largest known program yet in domestic
suverillance." Kaplan observed that "between 1965 and
1975, the FBI opened more than 500,000 intelligence files on more
than one million Americans, according to a Congressional report....
Among the Bureau's targets: Martin Luther King and the civil rights
movement, anti-Vietnam War Groups, and the underground press."
In the Final Report of the Senate Select Committee to Study
Governmental Operations with respect to Intelligence Activities,
COINTELPRO was castigated in no uncertain terms:
=== "COINTELPRO is the FBI acronym for a series
of covert action programs directed against domestic groups.
=== "Many of the techniques used would be intolerable
in a democratic society even if all of the targets had been involved
in violent activity, but COINTELPRO went far beyond that...the
Bureau conducted a sophisticated vigilante operation aimed squarely
at preventing the exercise of First Amendment rights of speech
and association, on the theory that preventing the growth of dangerous
groups and the propogation of dangerous ideas would protect the
national security and deter violence.
Richard Criley of the National Committee Against Repressive
Legislation, himself a victim of government surveillance abuse,
has chronicled the enormity of privacy violations by the FBI and
their use of informants:
=== "In the City of Chicago alone, from 1966 to
1976, the FBI employed (at a cost of $2.5 million) over 5,000
secret undercover informers to operate within civic and political
organizations which were violating no laws. For 16 years (1960
to to 1977), the FBI employed 1,600 informers to infiltrate one
small political group, the Socialist Workers Party (at an estimated
cost of $26 million). Such was the national pattern.
=== "The information gathered by the FBI's informant
network was supplemented by illegal wiretaps, letter openings,
burglaries of office files, secret examination of bank records,
clippings from newspapers, and physical surveillance. At the FBI
and other government offices, vast files of organizations' political
policies and individuals' opinions were catalogued according to
their degrees of presumed "dangerousness" in the FBI's
secret "Security Index."
=== "Thousands of individuals in the FBI Index were
targeted for round-up and detention in case of a "national
emergency," although it is still unclear what constituted
a "national emergency." The FBI created this detention
list in the 1940's, even before the legislation was passed providing
any statutory authority (the Emergency Detention Act of 1950)."
COINTELPRO violated constitutionally-guaranteed rights in
a carefully calculated manner, and was essentially anti-democratic
in design and implementation. Allowed to evolve towards its logical
conclusions, COINTELPRO would have engendered an authoritarian
environment limiting basic liberties.
Only a handful of the tens of thousands of pages of COINTELPRO
documents reviewed by researchers for various lawsuits had any
mention of criminal activity. When the FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania
was raided in 1971 by unknown antiwar activists, the pilfered
files revealed the following startling statistics: 1 percent of
the files were devoted to organized crime, mostly gambling; 15%
regarded bank robberies, rape, murder and interstate theft; 30%
were manuals and official bureaucratic non- investigative documents;
14% were devoted to draft resistance and AWOL military personnel;
and a 40% were devoted to political surveillance and investigations
of alleged subversion and security risks. Two of these political
cases involved right wing groups, ten cases involved immigrants,
and 200 cases involved political activists on the left.
Sometimes the collusion between the FBI and the far-right
had violent results. Civil rights activists Jim Peck and Walter
Bergman were brutally beaten by the Ku Klux Klan in May of 1961
when buses carrying freedom riders were ambushed in Anniston and
Birmingham, Alabama.
Former Ku Klux Klan member Gary Thomas Rowe, Jr. was an FBI
COINTELPRO informant who in 1975 testified before a Senate committee
that he had warned local police and Federal agents that the ambush
would take place. Peck and Bergman filed lawsuits shortly after
the 1975 Senate testimony
Neither local police or federal agents intervened in the ambush,
and in fact the Birmingham Police Department informally agreed
to allow the Klansmen up to 20 minutes in which to assault the
Freedom Riders before police would arrive on the scene.
Peck was beaten unconscious outside the Birmingham bus station
while Bergman was assaulted while the Freedom Ride buses were
in Anniston, Alabama where one of the buses was destroyed by a
firebomb. Bergman, 84 at the time of his court victory, was confined
to a wheelchair, in part due to injuries resulting from the beating.
Despite his injuries, Bergman still firmly believed his participation
in the Freedom Rides was worthwhile, and contributed to "opening
up the South to free travel by people of all races." The
lawsuits resulted in judgements against the government of $25,000
and $35,000 for Peck and Bergman.
Evidence is Immaterial
Contrary evidence was no impediment to Hoover pursuing his
right- wing paranoid vision. In 1969 the FBI special agent in
San Francisco wrote Hoover that his investigation of the Black
Panther Party revealed that in his city, at least, the Black nationalists
were primarily feeding breakfast to children. Hoover fired back
a memo implying the career ambitions of the agent were directly
related to his supplying evidence to support Hoover's view that
the BPP was "a violence prone organization seeking to overthrow
the Government by revolutionary means".
Hoover made his real agenda clear in a later memo instructing
agents that the "Purpose of counterintelligence action is
to disrupt BPP and it is immaterial whether facts exist to substantiate
the charge."
The FBI's relentless disregard of evidence in pursuit of its
ideological enemies fits Winston Churchill's description of the
fanatic as "one who can't change his mind and won't change
the subject." It would be comical if it weren't so tragic.
The results of this authoritarian fanatacism by government intelligence
agents can be deadly. In the late 1960's, according to testimony
and documents produced in a lawsuit filed in Chicago, the FBI
informant in the Illinois Black Panther Party was unsuccsessful
in encouraging the BPP members to bomb buildings and rob stores.
So the FBI tipped off local police that the Panthers were heavily
armed and supplied a floorplan of their apartment. The ensuing
police raid left Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark dead.
The few guns found were later discovered to have been legally
purchased. An FBI memo noting the deaths requested a bonus for
the informant.
COINTELPRO Media Operations
Journalists were not only unwittingly fed disruptive information
by the FBI during its COINTELPRO operation, but in many cases,
journalists also willingly cooperated with the FBI knowing they
were participating in counterintelligence programs.<$F This
section is drawn from a series of articles by the author and using
research materials provided by the Public Eye COINTELPRO indexing
project.
An analysis of COINTELPRO documents showed the FBI's use of
newspapers, radio stations, and television stations was much greater
than previously suspected. A separate
COINTELPRO media program was in operation from at least 1956 to
1971; and documents reveal FBI offices in 16 cities were requested
to compile lists of cooperative and reliable reporters for COINTELPRO
use. The New Haven, Connecticut office alone submitted a list
of 28 media contacts. Media operations were carried out by agents
in an additional seven cities. The FBI media program was especially
active in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Milwaukee.
The COINTELPRO media program violated every single clause
of the First Amendment to the Constitution by: harassing religious
groups, attacking progressive newspapers, preventing free speech,
disrupting peaceable assemblies and interfering with citizens'
rights to petition the government for redress of grievances. That
journalists actively participated in subverting these First Amendment
guarantees is frightening, and dispels the notion that in America,
the press is always an objective watchdog protecting citizens'
rights from governmental excesses.
Targets of the FBI media program included:
· The Communist Party-USA, especially its Black members
and groups;
· Black nationalist organizations such as the Black Panther
Party and Nation of Islam;
· New Left groups such as Students for a Democratic Society,
Socialist Workers Party, Youth Against War and Fascism, Progressive
Labor party, and anti-HUAC coalitions;
· Anti-war groups, especially those on campuses;
· Various media ranging from Liberation News Service to
the New York Post.
In some cases the FBI covertly fed information to unwitting
reporters; but in many instances journalists worked with the FBI
and promised not to reveal that the Bureau had suggested coverage
or provided information. Some reporters went further and actually
volunteered to assist the Bureau in counterintelligence operations
-writing articles designed to damage a specific
FBI- targeted individual, organization or event. One Chicago newspaperman
toured the Chicago FBI office and "indicated that he was
always ready and willing to be of service to the Bureau."
An L.A. journalist was recommended for further tasks after cooperating
"in a very successful counterintelligence operation,"
according to FBI files.
Print and electronic media journalists agreed to ask activists
embarrassing questions supplied by the FBI; in fact, the FBI circulated
to select journalists a list of 44 questions designed to provoke
members of the CP-USA. Documents reported that in several instances
journalists supplied news films or tapes to the Bureau. Reporters
would phone the FBI to report upcoming events scheduled by targeted
groups, and in at least three cases, journalists worked as volunteer
agents. A Mr. Hall, a Boston reporter, embarrassed the Bureau
by publicly claiming a special clearance from J. Edgar Hoover
himself. Hall was scolded for being overzealous and was cut off
from leaked information for several months as a punishment.
The most frequently-reported operation involved the FBI supplying
a cooperative reporter with information designed to harass an
activist and cause public embarrassment. For instance, in 1966
the FBI provided the Chicago Daily News with information that
a local Black communist leader owned a ghetto apartment house
with building code violations. The resulting article
was picked up locally and nationally, resulting in tremendous
loss of credibility for the activist. The effectiveness of this
type of operation was underscored in an FBI memo:
=== "The New York Office has noted that public
statements by columnists and the press have a considerable effect
on the Party. Some have caused the Party to delay work for days
at a time in an effort to answer charges made, and to discover
the source of the information printed.
Among newspapers cooperating in this type of operation were
the New York Daily News, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Philadelphia
Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.
Hearst chain newspapers were frequently cited as cooperative,
and on one occasion the FBI ordered its Bureaus to collect data
to assist a Newhouse chain reporter.
Television stations WHDH in Boston, KTTV in Los Angeles, and
WCKT in Miami were active in COINTELPRO/ Miami's WCKT-TV worked
closely with the FBI in preparing a
30-minute color documentary on the Nation of Islam. "Each
and every film segment produced by the station" was submitted
to the FBI to insure that the FBI was satisfied "and that
noting was included" which in any way would "be contrary"
to FBI interests.
The FBI used a variety of techniques in its media program.
Disruptive information was provided to unwitting reporters, sometimes
arriving in letters signed with fictitious names. Information
damaging to an activist group would be sent in envelopes bearing
that group's return address to encourage internal bickering.
The FBI arranged phone call and letter campaigns to force
cancellation of radio and television appearances by progressives.
Coverage of private meetings was suggested, often to use the press
presence as a disruptive element.
Cooperative reporters were given information revealing embarrassing
incidents, secret plans, or internal disputes. Often the material
was revealed in a way that implied the source was a disgruntled
group member.
Clippings from newspaper articles were anonymously sent to
reporters to encourage similar coverage. Once the FBI planted
an article in U.S. News and World Report and then distributedclippings
to other journalists. Sometimes the FBI would reprint articles
for greater distribution, or plant articles critical of one activist
and sent clippings to rivals. The FBI even wrote its own articles
and printed cartoons for dissemination to newspapers.
It is obvious from the documents that every media operation
had to be cleared by FBI headquarters in Washington, and most,
if not all, required the personal approval of J. Edgar Hoover.
The FBI clearly was aware it was violating constitutional rights
and took great care to prevent the program from being revealed
publicly.
===================
MEDIA WITH CONTACTS COOPERATING IN COINTELPRO OPERATIONS
Hearst newspaper chain
Associated Press (NY)
New York Daily News
New York Daily Mirror
Chicago Daily News
Chicago Tribune (Ron Kosiol)
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Milwaukee Journal
Los Angeles Examiner
Los Angeles Evening Herald Express
Los Angeles Herald Examiner
Newark Star Ledger
Philadelphia Inquirer
Newhouse chain (D.C.)
U.S. News and World Report
Chicago American
Chicago Courier
Arizona Daily Star
Jackson Daily News (Mississippi)
The Youngstown Vindicator (Ohio)
Buffalo Courier Express
Buffalo Evening News
KTTV-TV (Los Angeles
WCKT-TV (Miami)
WHDH Radio & TV (Boston)
ABC-TV (Chicago)
WBZ Radio (Boston)
KYW-TV (Cleveland)
WJW-TV (Cleveland)
WELW Radio (Ohio)
Four Chicago TV stations
(names deleted)
FED DISRUPTIVE INFORMATION
Sandy Smith, Chicago Tribune *
Edmund J. Rooney, Chicago Daily News *
Michael Kirkhorn, Milwaukee Journal *
Jack Steele, Scrips-Howard *
Polish Daily News, Detroit *
Charles E. Davis, Jr., Los Angeles Examiner
Boston Record American
Pittsburgh Press
Seattle Times
Washington Daily News
TWENTY EIGHT COOPERATIVE MEDIA
(Compiled by New Haven, CT FBI) *
The Hartford Courant
New Haven Register
New Haven Journal-Courier
WELI (New Haven)
WNHC-TV (New Haven)
WICH (Norwich)
Norwich Bulletin
WSUB (Groton)
WNLC (New London)
New London Day
Greenwich Times
WNLK (Norwalk
Norwalk Hour
Stamford Advocate
WSTS (Stamford)
Bristol Press
Meriden Journal
Meriden Record
New Britain Herald
WNAB (Bridgeport)
Bridgeport Post
Bridgeport Telegram
Middletown Press
WLAD (Danbury)
Danbury News Times
WICC (Fairfield
WMMM (Westport)
The Town Crier (Westport)
Waterbury Republican American
-------
* Of 16 FBI offices requested to provide lists of "established
and cooperative news media sources which have been or may be used
in connection with counterintelligence action," only the
New Haven office's list has been released. A list of 20 Ohio contacts
was released, but all names were blotted out. The 16 FBI offices
are:
Boston
Buffalo
Chicago
Cleveland
Detroit
Los Angeles
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
New Haven
New York
Newark
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
St. Louis
San Francisco
Seattle
Documents reveal COINTELPRO media operations in these other
cities:
Albany
Cincinnati
Dallas
El Paso
Jackson, MS
Miami
Phoenix
FBI
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