FBI tweet honoring MLK, a painful reminder of past efforts to undermine him

The American public, the church organizations that have been helping – Protestant, Catholic and Jews will know you for what you are – an evil, abnormal beast. So will others who have backed you. You are done.

– Anonymous letter sent by the FBI to MLK

The FBI sent out a tweet honoring Martin Luther King Jr. today, despite working to undermine him while he was alive.

Today, the FBI honors the Rev. Martin L. King Jr. and his incredible career fighting for civil rights. #MLKDAY pic.twitter.com/9UEulHmL8a

— FBI (@FBI) January 16, 2017

The tweet, honoring Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for his work fighting racial injustice and for civil rights, has sparked a litany of responses critical of the move by the FBI who many see as being hypocritical.

During Rev. King’s career the FBI assiduously tracked his movements and, under authorization from U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, wire tapped his telephones under suspicion he was working with a top level member of the American Communist Party. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was committed to proving Rev. King’s ties to communism in an attempt to discredit him and his movement.

In 1964, the FBI sent Rev. King an anonymous letter in an attempt to convince Rev. King to kill himself. The FBI wrote, “You are a colossal fraud and an evil, vicious one at that.” The FBI added, “The American public … will know you for what you are — an evil, abnormal beast,” and “Satan could not do more”.

The letter included threats to expose Rev. King’s marital infidelity. Rev. King’s extra martial sex tapes, collected during his surveillance, were also sent to Rev. King along with the letter and allegedly opened by his wife.

As Rev. King is honored today for his great sacrifice for civil rights and social justice, even by those who opposed him, it is also worth remembering the great lengths officials inside the U.S. government undertook to undermine the most iconic civil rights activist in our nation’s history.

Dan Webb, Political Correspondent for Lima Charlie News.

Dan Webb is a former U.S. Air Force Airborne Systems Engineer on the RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft. He completed three deployments to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom totaling over 1200 combat flight hours. He currently works as a software engineer for an Omaha based marketing agency. Previously he worked for the Office of Military and Veteran Services at the University of Nebraska Omaha where, as a student, he received his B.S. in Political Science with a minor in Economics. Dan’s interests include domestic economic policy, veteran’s issues, and national security. Follow Dan on Twitter @DanWebbLC  & listen to Dan every week on the Horse Race political podcast.

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