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By: Laura Madariaga
COINTELPRO, in full Counterintelligence Program, was a counterintelligence program conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), active from 1956 until 1971, with a purpose to discredit organizations that were believed to be “subversive” to U.S political stability. Most notably, the program began to stop the spread of Communism in the United States, however attention soon shifted to groups which centered around the fight for social justice and equality. The group under J. Edgar Hoover’s control, led to the surveillance, infiltration, discreditation, and even as far as including actions of murder of Black nationalists and many civil rights leaders. Hoover further went to focus on the Black Panther Party, a Black Power political organization; the bureaus attacks were further described by Hoover as means to “disrupt, misdirect and otherwise neutralize” the organization, preventing Black leaders from rising.
Their focus on the party led to the death of the 21-year-old chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton, carried out by a tactical unit of the Cook County State’s attorney office in conjunction with the Chicago Police Department. The raid also led to the death of Mark Clark, a member of the party...The raid went on to injure several others. In addition to the deaths of Hampton and Clark, COINTELPRO was also responsible for the over surveillance and usage of illegal tactics to gain insights of Black leaders such as Malcom X, James Baldwin (later a 1,884 page file would be found dedicated to Baldwin), Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Rap Brown, and Stokely Carmichael. Such invasions of civil liberties would later go on to be revealed after a group of activists exposed the program. On March 8, 1971, the FBI Office in Media, Pennsylvania was broken into by activists who would remain unnamed, but would later go on to release the stolen files to the press. Bringing the program to an end the same year, 1971, garnering much criticism from Congress in 1975 after more documents were released.
COINTELPRO was a clear-cut example of the extent to which the United States government would go to silent Black voices, those fighting for progress, and attempt to ignore the lack of equality and justice granted to Black people. As stated by Nadeline Frederique, a Social Science Analyst: Many of the techniques used would be intolerable in a democratic society even if all 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 propagation of dangerous ideas would protect national security and deter violence. COINTELPRO and the extent to which Federal officials would go to survey activists lives on.
During the 2020 BLM protests over the unjust murder of George Floyd, the Department of Home Security (DHS) in Minneapolis, Philadelphia, New York City, DC, and other cities utilized aerial surveillance technology to record photos and videos of the protesters. To understand the seriousness of this, the technology used by the DHS is typically used for border control not on protests. The footage was then sent to a digital feed known as “Big Pipe”, which is accessed by many other government agencies known for logging the information of individuals involved through a database which helps identify those captured by the aerial technology. The 270-hour recordings would later contribute to the arrest of over 17,000 protesters across the United States. Some protesters were charged and arrested for minor offences such as simply disobeying the curfews which were set in place as a response to the ongoing protests.
Although the United States places such emphasis on the silencing of activists, (who are rightfully utilizing their First Amendment rights as mentioned before), it often fails to be extended to white supremacists, those who instead of being “hunted down” are instead protected. Though the DHS claims that white supremacy is something which they view as a threat to the United States, DHS has been accused by former intelligence chief Brian Murphy for privately downplaying the threat posed by white supremacist groups; going as far as attempting to stall and hide reports detailing the activities which white supremacists engage in.
The perception of “threats” in many United States departments is often skewed, protecting white males who are violent and who place BIPOC in danger, whilst those advocating for basic human rights are labeled as “threats to the homeland.” Such can be seen through the countless shooters in the United States, like Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old who shot two people to death in Kenosha with an AR-15. Prior to his action, police officers were captured, thanking Rittenhouse for his presence in helping “protect” the public from protesters going as far as offering him a water bottle. This treatment which varies upon activists and violent individuals reveals the allegiance which governmental programs and institutions will continue to have for those who perpetuate hate and violence. While those pushing for change to occur within systems are never given the chance.
Sources:
<https://www.antiracismdaily.com/archives/learn-about-cointelpro-anti-racism-daily?rq=cointel> [Accessed 29 May 2021].
<https://www.britannica.com/topic/COINTELPRO> [Accessed 30 May
2021].
<https://blurredbylines.com/blog/police-surveillance-black-lives-matter-protests-blm-dhs/>