Where Did COINTELPRO Come From?
COINTELPRO developed out of the anti-Communist hysteria of the Cold War years, leading FBI agents into taking actions against groups that had nothing to do with Communism. The Bureau would take actions against individuals and organizations simply because they were critical of government policy, Zinn writes. The political scientist found numerous examples of free speech violations in which the FBI targeted people because they opposed U. S. foreign policy or criticized police actions. Documents assembled by the Church Committee “compel the conclusion that Federal law enforcement officers looked upon themselves as guardians of the status quo.” Zinn cites the surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King Jr. as an important example. But SNCC, with its proactive philosophy, topped the list of targeted programs under “Negro radicals.” And when congressional investigations, political trials, and other traditional legal modes of repression failed to counter the growing movements, and even
