Front Burner — "Is the FBI’s secret war on American activists back?"

Host: Jamie Poisson
Guest: Beverly Gage, historian and author of J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century
Date: October 23, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Front Burner explores the historical legacy and contemporary echoes of COINTELPRO, the FBI’s infamous secret counterintelligence program targeting American activists, particularly in the 1960s and '70s. Host Jamie Poisson speaks with historian Beverly Gage to understand COINTELPRO’s tactics, its focus on Black activism, notably Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Black Panthers, and how similar rhetoric and government mechanisms appear in present-day U.S. law enforcement and politics. The episode draws lines from the past to current concerns over domestic surveillance and political repression in light of recent Trump administration directives and terror designations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding COINTELPRO (00:37–04:18)

• Origins and Tactics:

  • Began in the 1950s targeting the Communist Party, expanding to civil rights groups, Black activists, and even some right-wing organizations (e.g., Ku Klux Klan).

    "It was a large-scale program, not only of surveillance, but primarily of disruption... active, disruptive measures aimed at manipulating, lying to, and destroying activist organizations."
    — Beverly Gage (03:38)

• Direct Interference and Manipulation:

  • The FBI actively sought to create distrust and conflict within groups by spreading rumors and misinformation.

2. The “Black Messiah” Threat & Division Tactics (04:18–06:25)

• Targeting Black Leadership:

  • COINTELPRO sought to prevent a unifying Black leader, fearing a “messiah” who could electrify and unify the “militant black nationalist movement.”

    "They were seeking to prevent the rise of a single figure who they thought could unify all of these factions."
    — Beverly Gage (05:21)

• Ambition vs. Reality:

  • Though the FBI aimed to shape leadership in Black movements, Gage notes "they weren't super effective in that particular proposition, but it gives you a sense of their ambition..."
    — Beverly Gage (06:08)

3. Coordination with Government and Internal Secrecy (06:25–07:25)

• Hoover’s Control:

  • Hoover tightly managed COINTELPRO from FBI headquarters, informing top government officials (notably Johnson and Nixon) in broad terms but guarding operational details.

• White House and Congressional Awareness:

  • While not always privy to specifics, presidents and Congress had an understanding of the program’s broad aims.

4. Framing Activism as Domestic War (07:25–09:20)

• Language of War:

  • FBI viewed its actions with militaristic terminology, using words like "neutralize" and "disrupt."

    "To what extent was this actually a domestic war?" — Jamie Poisson (07:39)

  • Gage: FBI saw itself battling both foreign threats (e.g., communism) and domestic "insurrectionists or revolutionaries."
    — Beverly Gage (07:48)

• Justification through Violence:

  • Violent events and unrest, such as the Detroit riots (08:11), were used to legally and rhetorically justify extreme measures.

    "They believed that they were fighting disloyal revolutionary organizations... out to undermine the American way of life..."
    — Beverly Gage (09:20)

5. The FBI vs. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (09:39–12:16)

• Surveillance and Abuse:

  • The FBI waged a sustained campaign against MLK, culminating in the infamous “suicide letter” attempting to push him toward self-harm.
    • Gage details her discovery of an unredacted version of the letter in Hoover’s archives.

    "King understood that to be an attempt by the FBI… to get him to, to kill himself. And so it has since been known as the suicide letter."
    — Beverly Gage (10:50)

• Archival Discovery:

  • Gage describes the mixture of excitement and disturbance at finding the full letter.

    "This is the best archival discovery, also maybe among the most disturbing that I will ever find."
    — Beverly Gage (11:45)

6. COINTELPRO and Political Violence—Fred Hampton’s Murder (12:16–14:12)

• The Assassination of Fred Hampton:

  • COINTELPRO collaborated closely with local police; information from FBI informants enabled the police raid that killed Fred Hampton.

  • This incident exemplified the extreme end of federal and local cooperation against activist leaders.

    "So that is an extreme moment, a moment of real drama and violence. But the tactics, planting informers, sharing information were all very, very standard for COINTELPRO."
    — Beverly Gage (14:07)

7. The Power and Persona of J. Edgar Hoover (15:13–17:35)

• A Political Titan:

  • Hoover served 48 years as FBI Director, sustaining bipartisan support and popularity (approval ratings around 80%).

    "He not only built the FBI, but became one of the biggest political celebrities in American life... someone who had real bipartisan support for most of his career."
    — Beverly Gage (16:37)

• Complex Legacy:

  • Modern views focus on the abuses; historic image was of a patriotic, unassailable defender of American values.

8. Echoes in the Present Day (17:35–21:46)

• Similar Rhetoric in Trump-Era Directives:

  • Phrases like "identify, disrupt, dismantle, destroy" employed by Trump administration officials strongly echo COINTELPRO.

    "We're hearing, I think, very direct echoes of that... the language is there and many of the techniques that Hoover pioneered are still around. They're not hard things to re-operationalize."
    — Beverly Gage (17:55)

• NSPM-7 and Legality vs. Abuse:

  • New directives, such as NSPM-7, use anti-terrorism language as broad justification, reminiscent of earlier laws like the Smith Act that targeted activists regardless of actual violence.

    "...it ends up bringing in a whole big net of activists who have nothing to do with violence."
    — Beverly Gage (19:37)

• Historical Anti-Fascism Suspicion:

  • "Prematurely anti-fascist" was once treated as code for being a communist, drawing a parallel to the modern targeting of “antifa.”

9. Black Identity Extremism & Surveillance Today (21:11–22:46)

• Designations & Continuities:

  • The FBI’s “Black Identity Extremism” label is criticized for being overly broad—echoing COINTELPRO’s ethos, even if not formally the same program.

    "Certainly those broad characterizations, and identifying this broad category of people as being somehow suspicious... is very resonant with earlier periods."
    — Beverly Gage (22:26)

• Modern Accountability:

  • Mechanisms of oversight may be better today, but secretive and politically motivated tactics have deep roots and remain a risk.

10. The Public’s Blind Spot & Lessons for Today (22:46–24:28)

• COINTELPRO Revealed by Activist Break-In:

  • The public only learned of COINTELPRO in 1971 after activists broke into an FBI office and leaked documents—previous claims of surveillance were dismissed as paranoia.

    "It's always hard to know whether you're paranoid or not when you're talking about secret operations and all that."
    — Beverly Gage (23:29)

• Risks of Dismissal and Secrecy:

  • Gage warns about the challenges of uncovering covert government actions, even today with better tools, and notes the rapid evolution and weaponization of intelligence agencies.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Ambition of COINTELPRO:
  "The FBI of the late 1960s believed that it had the power and the ability to determine who was going to be a leader of a civil rights or black movement in the United States."
  — Beverly Gage (05:40)

• On the "Suicide Letter" to MLK:
  "King understood that to be an attempt by the FBI… to get him to, to kill himself. And so it has since been known as the suicide letter."
  — Beverly Gage (10:50)

• Historical Echoes:
  "Hoover's era is a great cautionary tale about the ways that the FBI can be used, in fact, to go after political enemies, to go after activist organizations that those in power don't like."
  — Beverly Gage (17:53)

• On Present-Day Consequences:
  "The control of information and really the weaponization of certain parts of the intelligence community is rapidly changing by the hour, if not by the minute. And so I have real concerns both about what's going on and about what we'll actually ever know."
  — Beverly Gage (24:11)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:37 — Introduction to COINTELPRO and frame for the episode
• 02:26 — What was COINTELPRO? Its origins and basic tactics
• 04:18 — Focus on Black activism and “messiah” prevention
• 06:25 — Coordination with White House/Congress
• 09:39 — FBI’s campaign against Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• 12:16 — Assassination of Fred Hampton, FBI/local police collaboration
• 15:13 — The power and influence of J. Edgar Hoover
• 17:35 — Modern echoes: Trump administration, anti-activist rhetoric
• 19:00 — New directives and abuse of anti-terror/anti-violence laws
• 21:11 — “Black Identity Extremism” and present-day surveillance
• 22:46 — How the truth about COINTELPRO emerged in 1971
• 24:28 — Closing thoughts; continuing risks of secrecy

Tone & Final Reflections

The episode maintains a sober, investigative tone, grounded in historical detail and caution about contemporary developments. Beverly Gage offers clear, historically-informed warnings about the persistent potential for government repression of activism, drawing direct parallels between past and present. The discussion is nuanced—acknowledging improvements in oversight, but warning about the resilience of old tactics and the risk of secrecy. For listeners, the message is clear: vigilance and transparency remain as crucial today as during the infamous COINTELPRO era.