COINTELPRO Never Ended: How the FBI's War on Dissent Evolved into Mass Surveillance

In 1971, activists broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania and discovered documents that would expose one of the most sinister government programs in U.S. history: COINTELPRO—the FBI's COunter INTELligence PROgram.

For over 15 years, the FBI had been systematically infiltrating, sabotaging, and destroying progressive movements. They assassinated Black Panthers. They drove activists to suicide. They broke up marriages, forged letters, planted evidence, and incited violence.

When exposed, the FBI claimed COINTELPRO ended. They lied.

What Was COINTELPRO?

From 1956 to 1971, COINTELPRO was the FBI's domestic war against any movement challenging the status quo:

• Black liberation movements (Black Panthers, Malcolm X, MLK)
• Anti-war activists (Vietnam War protesters)
• Puerto Rican independence movement
• American Indian Movement
• Socialist and communist organizations
• Women's liberation groups

The program's stated goal: "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" these groups and their leaders.

Tactics Included:

Psychological Warfare

• Forged letters to create suspicion and divide movements
• Anonymous threats sent to activists and their families
• Spreading rumors about sexual affairs or communist ties

Infiltration

• FBI agents and informants joined organizations
• Provoked internal conflicts and paranoia
• Pushed for violent actions to justify arrests

Illegal Surveillance

• Warrantless wiretaps
• Break-ins to steal documents
• Monitoring all communications

Character Assassination

• Leaked fake information to media
• Created false narratives about leaders
• Destroyed reputations to undermine movements

Assassination

• Fred Hampton murdered in his bed by Chicago police coordinated with FBI
• Targeting of Black Panther members in shootouts
• Driving activists like Jean Seberg to suicide

The Murder of Fred Hampton

On December 4, 1969, Chicago police raided Fred Hampton's apartment at 4:45 AM. They fired 99 shots. Hampton, drugged by an FBI informant the night before, never had a chance to defend himself. He was executed in his bed at age 21.

Hampton's crime? Being a charismatic Black Panther leader who organized free breakfast programs for children, free health clinics, and a "Rainbow Coalition" uniting poor Black, white, and Latino communities.

As author Garrett Felber documents in The Intercept: "Hampton's murder wasn't an isolated incident—it was the logical conclusion of COINTELPRO's goals. The FBI explicitly aimed to prevent the rise of a 'Black Messiah' who could unite and energize movements for liberation."

The FBI paid informant William O'Neal to drug Hampton and provide floor plans of his apartment. They coordinated with local police. They executed a political assassination on U.S. soil.

No one was ever convicted.

COINTELPRO "Ends"—The Tactics Continue

After the 1971 Media, Pennsylvania break-in exposed COINTELPRO, the FBI claimed to shut it down. Congress held hearings. Reforms were promised.

But the methods didn't disappear. They evolved.

1980s-1990s: COINTELPRO Tactics Against New Movements

Anti-Apartheid Activists

• Surveillance of groups opposing South African apartheid
• Infiltration of solidarity movements
• Coordination with South African intelligence

Environmental and Animal Rights Groups

• "Green Scare" targeting Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front
• Labeling activists as "eco-terrorists"
• Long prison sentences for property destruction (no injuries) while actual terrorists get less time

Anti-War Movements

• Surveillance of groups opposing wars in Central America
• Infiltration of peace organizations
• Targeting of solidarity activists supporting Nicaraguan Sandinistas

2000s: The War on Terror Expands Surveillance

After 9/11, COINTELPRO tactics became official policy under the PATRIOT Act:

Mass Muslim Surveillance

• NYPD's secret program spying on Muslim communities
• Entrapment operations creating "terrorists" from vulnerable individuals
• No-fly lists punishing dissent

Anti-War Movement

• Infiltration of groups opposing Iraq/Afghanistan wars
• Peace activists labeled "threats to national security"
• Coordination between FBI and military intelligence

Occupy Wall Street

• FBI documents show coordination with banks to monitor protesters
• Infiltration and disruption of Occupy camps
• Preemptive arrests of organizers

2010s-Present: Black Lives Matter and Beyond

The FBI has explicitly targeted Black Lives Matter activists using COINTELPRO playbook tactics:

"Black Identity Extremists" Label

• FBI created fictitious threat category
• Justified surveillance of anyone advocating for Black liberation
• No evidence of organized violence—just organizing against police brutality

Infiltration and Surveillance

• FBI agents posed as protesters in Ferguson
• Social media monitoring of activists
• Coordination with local police to identify and arrest leaders

Assassination

• Multiple Ferguson activists found dead in burned cars—ruled suicides
• DeRay Mckesson targeted with fabricated charges
• Marilyn Mosby (Baltimore prosecutor who charged cops in Freddie Gray death) targeted with federal prosecution

As journalist Alice Speri reports in The Intercept: "The FBI's targeting of Black Lives Matter represents a continuation of decades-old practices. The bureau has always seen Black organizing for liberation as a threat to national security."

Modern Surveillance: COINTELPRO Goes Digital

Today's surveillance state makes COINTELPRO look primitive:

NSA Mass Surveillance

• Every phone call, email, text message collected and stored
• Partnerships with tech companies (PRISM program)
• Warrantless spying on millions of Americans

Social Media Monitoring

• FBI and DHS scan social media for "threats"
• Algorithms flag activists for attention
• Protest organizers identified and tracked

Facial Recognition

• Used at protests to identify participants
• Shared databases between local police and federal agencies
• No warrant required

Predictive Policing

• Algorithms claim to predict who will commit crimes
• Disproportionately target Black and brown communities
• Used to justify preemptive surveillance and harassment

Fusion Centers

• Federal, state, and local law enforcement share intelligence
• Minimal oversight
• Target activists, not terrorists

The Palestine Exception to Free Speech

The most recent evolution of COINTELPRO targets Palestine solidarity:

Campus Repression

• Students arrested for peaceful protests
• Professors fired for supporting Palestinian rights
• Academic careers destroyed for criticizing Israel

Lawfare

• Activists sued under "material support for terrorism" laws
• Organizations like Samidoun designated as terrorist entities
• Legal harassment to drain resources and create fear

Database Building

• Canary Mission doxxes Palestine activists
• Coordination between U.S. law enforcement and Israeli intelligence
• Blacklisting from employment and education

Why They Fear Movements

COINTELPRO then and now shares one goal: prevent effective organizing for systemic change.

The FBI doesn't fear violence—they fear movements that:

• Build cross-racial solidarity
• Challenge capitalism
• Expose U.S. imperialism
• Organize communities to meet their own needs
• Create alternative power structures

Fred Hampton's Rainbow Coalition was dangerous because it united poor people across racial lines. The Black Panthers were dangerous because they fed children and provided healthcare, showing government was unnecessary.

Palestine solidarity is dangerous because it exposes U.S. complicity in genocide and connects anti-imperialism globally.

What This Means for Organizers

If you're organizing for justice, assume you're being watched:

Digital Security

• Use encrypted messaging (Signal, not SMS)
• Be aware of what you post publicly
• Assume infiltrators are present in movements

Movement Security Culture

• Don't brag about illegal actions
• Verify new people before trusting them with sensitive info
• Be transparent about goals while protecting tactics

Historical Awareness

• Study COINTELPRO tactics to recognize them today
• Learn from past movements' mistakes
• Build resilient organizational structures

Don't Let Fear Win

• Surveillance is meant to create paranoia and inaction
• Keep organizing, but do it smart
• Build community and solidarity

The FBI Won't Reform Itself

After every exposure—COINTELPRO, NSA spying, FBI targeting Muslims—there are calls for reform. Commissions. Reports. Promises.

Nothing fundamentally changes because repression of dissent is the FBI's job.

The FBI wasn't created to stop crime. It was created to crush labor unions, surveil socialists, and maintain the racial capitalist order. That's what it still does.

Real safety comes from community care, not state surveillance. Real security comes from meeting people's needs, not policing dissent.

Keep Organizing. They're Afraid of Us for a Reason.

COINTELPRO reveals an essential truth: our movements are powerful enough to threaten the system.

They wouldn't spend billions on surveillance if we weren't dangerous to their power. They wouldn't infiltrate and disrupt if our organizing didn't work.

Every tactic they use reveals their fear. And fear means we're winning.

Study the history. Understand the tactics. Organize anyway.

Sources & Further Reading

• The Intercept: FBI's History of Targeting Black Activists - Comprehensive investigation
• Democracy Now!: COINTELPRO and Modern Surveillance - Documentary evidence
• Jacobin: The Murder of Fred Hampton - Historical analysis
• Electronic Frontier Foundation: Modern FBI Surveillance - Legal and tech analysis
• The Guardian: How FBI Targeted Black Lives Matter - Recent reporting
• Ward Churchill & Jim Vander Wall: "Agents of Repression" - Definitive COINTELPRO history
• Book: "The COINTELPRO Papers" by Ward Churchill - Primary documents

The state fears an informed and organized people. Be both.