COINTELPRO
FBI's covert and illegal program to surveil, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt domestic political organizations (1956–1971).
Overview
COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) was a series of covert and illegal projects conducted by the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting American political organizations. Targets included the Communist Party USA, the Black Panther Party, Martin Luther King Jr., the American Indian Movement, anti-Vietnam War groups, and Puerto Rican independence groups. The program was exposed in March 1971 after the FBI's Media, Pennsylvania office was burglarized by the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI.
Timeline
- 1956-08-28First COINTELPRO operation launched against the Communist Party USA.
- 1967-08-25COINTELPRO–Black Nationalist Hate Groups operation begins.
- 1971-03-08Citizens' Commission burglarizes FBI Media, PA office; documents leaked to press.
- 1971-04-28Hoover orders COINTELPRO terminated.
- 1976-04-26Church Committee publishes Book III on COINTELPRO.
Evidence on Record
- 01Citizens' Commission stolen files (NBC News, Washington Post archives)
- 02Church Committee Final Report, Book III (1976)
- 03FBI internal memos released via FOIA
Theories & Disputes
FBI's 'suicide letter' to Martin Luther King Jr. (1964) urging him to kill himself was authenticated in 2014 by historian Beverly Gage in the National Archives.