COINTELPRO
Application to the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party, Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
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COINTELPRO (COunter INTELigence PROgram) was a series of schemes put into motion by the Federal Bureau of Investigations under not entirely legal guidleines. The FBI's methods of acquiring such informations included but was not limited to illegal searches of homes and business, breaking and entering, and unlawful bugging of homes and businesses and wire taps.
Then director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover ordered agents of this program to find any and all information on any persons, organizations or otherwise that posed a threat such as powerful civil rights leaders like the Black Panther Party. Through their illegally obtained evidence the FBI intended to destroy these groups by restriciting their access to outside resources, restrict their ability to organize protests, and ultimatey create enought turmoil amoung the groups that they would implode. The bureau's tacticts worked because of the added stress of COINTELPRO, ties to criminal activity, and leadership disputs was all too much for the Black Panther Party to handle. |