The Cointelpro (Counter Intelligence Program) Conspiracy

In the shadowy alleys of 1956, a secret mission was born within the austere walls of the FBI headquarters. A covert operation named **COINTELPRO** emerged under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover, aiming to safeguard the nation from perceived subversive threats.

As the Cold War chill settled over America, the program initially set its sights on the Communist Party USA. Yet, as the years wore on, COINTELPRO cast a wider net. The civil rights movement was gaining momentum, and voices like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s echoed a call for justice and equality. The FBI saw these rising tides as potential tsunamis threatening the status quo.

By the 1960s, the scope of COINTELPRO had expanded exponentially. It wasn't just Communists who were in the crosshairs. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan, the Socialist Workers Party, and Black Panther Party found themselves under the relentless gaze of the FBI. Civil rights activists, Black Power leaders, feminists, and even anti-Vietnam War organizers felt the oppressive weight of surveillance. 

In the summer of 1968, deep in the labyrinthine offices of the FBI, an unmarked folder slid across a desk. Inside was a blueprint for a new, more aggressive phase of COINTELPRO. The Bureau decided to finance and arm an extreme right-wing group known as the Secret Army Organization. Their mission? To intimidate and disrupt the antiwar movement through covert operations and violent acts.

Activists began to receive anonymous phone calls, their once-trusted peers whispered of betrayal, and wiretaps buzzed incessantly on their lines. Auditors arrived unannounced, poring over tax records, searching for anything that could discredit these dissenting voices.

One bleak night in 1971, under the cover of darkness, a group of activists broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania. They uncovered a trove of COINTELPRO documents and swiftly shared them with the press. The nation was stunned by the revelations of government overreach, leading to the official closure of COINTELPRO in April of 1971.

Yet, even as the program formally ended, the echoes of its actions lingered. Investigations continued, targeting perceived threats on a case-by-case basis. The legacy of COINTELPRO served as a chilling reminder of the lengths to which power might go to silence dissent.

freedomarchives.org/Documents/Finder/Black Liberation Disk/Black Power!/SugahData/Government/COINTELPRO.S.pdf