After more than a year of solid work, KHOU-TV in Houston and its investigative unit, 11 News Defenders, have obtained an exclusive first look at the FBI’s file on Coretta Scott and these files do not paint a rosy picture. They reveal a Hoover led FBI out of control, spying illegally on American citizens disrupting constitutionally protected activities.
Nearly 500 pages of documents reveal that FBI agents conducted secret surveillance of Coretta Scott King's activities, listened to phone conversations, intercepted her mail, and kept close track of public appearances, speeches and travels. This secret monitoring continued years after Martin Luther King's assassination in Memphis. Documents reveal that the FBI and other governmental officials were afraid that she might decide to complete Martin's work of linking the anti Vietnam War movement to the civil rights movement." But here is absolutely nothing in the historical record that would lead them to reach this conclusion. Except for serving on the Board of Directors for SCLC, Coretta have never held any other leadership position in the civil rights movement.
Strangely, the FBI shared reports on Coretta with various military intelligence organizations, including the 115 th M.I. of the U.S. Army, the Office of Naval Intelligence, and a number of military bases. They kept the White House in the loop on this surveillance. One Agent reported on then New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s phone call to Scott King after her husband’s death, offering his condolences and ongoing help. There are probably more documents that the FBI did not release, as Coretta received numerous calls from other politically important figures.
Another agent reported directly to the Nixon White House and then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger about what they had learned about Scott King. What in the world could Coretta’s activities have to do with Naval intelligence? This is an example of information on Coretta contained in a typical FBI report sent out to the various governmental and military offices:
On March 11, 1966, Lieutenant Charles Meyers advised that Mrs. King arrived at the Tampa Airport at 12:55 PM on March 10, 1966 and came directly to St. Petersburg, Florida. Her appearance in concert at the Pasenda Community Church on the night of March 10, 1966 and her stay at the Princess Martha Hotel were without incident.
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Article comments
1 - Dr Dreadful
Nothing much new here. It's widely known that Hoover's FBI acted well outside the boundaries of their legal mandate.
The question is whether we're supposed to believe that the unwarranted surveillance of Coretta Scott King and other civil rights activists ended with the Hoover era. Hmmm...
2 - Howard Ross
I guess what is new here is the extent in which they conducted secret surveillance on Coretta after King died. There is much more to this story as I mentioned, how much did the FBI know about the assassination, etc?
3 - JustOneMan
yawwnnnnnnnnn...
Does anyone really care???
JOM
4 - Dr. Graves
Yes, someone does care. All this occurred during the pre-Watergate era, so there was no congressional oversight, so these people were working unto themselves and they appropriated government funds to bolster their own nefarious endeavor. Martin Luther King Jr., and Coretta Scott King were public figures, not public officials...there is a distinct difference between the two. Though the Kings were public figures, they were private citizens. What the government did was essentially political burglary. Is it right for the government to pry in on the privacy of its "private" citizens? This is the inquiry which confronts us in the present day. It seems unfair that this sort of calumny was heaped upon the shoulders of a woman who only sought to continue her husband's dream and raise her four children. I hope this sheds some light on the situation.
5 - S. Henderson
Dear after number two,
I suggest you read about the Church Commission and Cointelpro. If you care about your right to protest and speak out against our shit government it's in your best interest to understand the past. Then, you would read this article and understand its significance. And, you'd see that the Democrats who allowed passage of the newest wiretapping legislation are as thick and unreflective as yourself.