Surveillance Justification and Detail
William Kunstler and his family were followed by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations for nearly two decades. They watched his house. They tapped his phone calls. They attended and recorded his speeches. When the filmmakers made a Freedom of Information Act request for his FBI file before starting work on their film, they didn't know what to expect. Six months later they received a box with copies of thousands of pages of information about their father's activities during the 1960s and 1970s. Ironically, the filmmakers credit the FBI for being a great source of transcripts of their father's speeches.
The following pages contain excerpts from the files and PDF copies that you can download. This collection focuses on the reasons that the FBI decided to put William Kunstler under surveillance.
Click on the images above to download a PDF of all the documents in this section. (27 pages)
1. [X] Subject's name is included in the ADEX., Category [X] I [_] II [_] III [_] IV
4. [X] A suitable photograph [X] is [_] is not available.
Date photograph was taken: 1971___________________________
Subject previously interviewed (dates) Never___________________________
[X] Subject was not [X] interviewed [_] reinterviewed because: (state reason)
"He is an attorney and a controversial public figure. By letter dated 12/10/62, the Bureau directed that the subject not be contacted any occasion without prior Bureau approval."
[X] Submitted 10/2/64___________________ Placed [X] Yes
To: SAC, New York
From, Director, FBI
Date: 3/5/70
WILLIAM MOSES KUNSTLER
"In view of Kunstler's extensive activity in communist front activities during the 1960's and his increasing leadership in anti-United States and other affairs of the New Left, including recent-U.S. demonstrations, plus the fact that he has given recent speeches which have instigated riots, it is felt that his name should be included on the Security Index and the Agitator Index."
WILLIAM MOSES KUNSTLER
SUBVERSIVE MATTER (KEY ACTIVIST)
Date: November 29, 1973
"The Key Activist program was initiated in 1968 for the specific purpose of affording intensified investigation to those individuals within the "Movement" who engage in extensive travel and are most vocal in statements denouncing the United States and calling for civil disobedience and other forms of unlawful and disruptive acts. A review of the subject's file indicates that Kunstler remains in the vanguard of movement-type activities and continues to engage in considerable travel throughout the country legally representing movement-type people and causes and at the same time giving anti-American speeches during which he sometimes declares that confrontation by the people with the power structure is inevitable. Subject's travel and activities referred to above continue to require coverage by various field offices.
In view of the above, Headquarters does not concur with your recommendation in referenced letter and, therefore, subject should continue to be designated as a Key Activist. In your continuing investigation of the subject be particularly alert for any information indicating subject's activities may be in violation of Federal or local statutes."
JM: wae
NOTE:
"Subject is a Movement attorney who has been active in civil rights litigation, legal matter involving racial groups, communist party front organizations and New Left causes. In 1970 and 1971 he traveled across the country addressing rallies both on and off the campus urging his listeners to resist authority and stating the only remaining course is revolution. Violence has followed some of his speeches. Although the tone of subject's rhetoric in recent months has been somewhat less violent he still continues to be extremely active in Movement causes, engages in considerable travel and, therefore, his retention in the Key Activist Album is considered desirable."
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED
HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED
DATE 8/11/80____ BY [ILLEGIBLE]____
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NEXT: Civil Rights Movement »
Special thanks to Sascha Weiss and Sophia Kruz, our summer interns, for their help with this project.
Civil Rights Movement
Following his defense of the Mississippi freedom riders, the FBI began to closely monitor William Kunstler's actions and associations. Numerous documents monitor personal conversations between William Kunstler and famous civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King, Jr.
Click on the images above to download a PDF of all the documents in this section. (7 pages)
Correlation Summary
Main File Number: 100-439612
Subject: William Moses Kunstler
Date: 9/1/67
"Kunstler, Chairman and CFO, was one of the first attorneys who volunteered to go to Mississippi to take depositions from Negroes deprived of their voting rights and to aid defendants in civil rights demonstrations. Kunstler was also the first attorney to who represented the first freedom fighter in May, 1961. He was a leading figure in the legal battle for civil rights in the South."
Excerpts from Bureau 100-3-116
December 18, 1963
" On December 13, 1963, a confidential source, who has furnished reliable information in the past, furnished information which indicated that William Kunstler contacted Martin Luther King in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on that date. During the course of their discussion, King said that somebody randolph) will edit King's book and will have it ready by January 13, 1964.
...
" King inquired about the financial status of the Ghandi Society, mentioning that they were still being confronted with bills in Danville. King said, "They throw it up to us all the time that the Gandhi Society made a commitment and that they haven't had the follow through.' BLANK replied that blankety blank has been working on this with Bill Kunstler. BLANK indicated that BLANK BLANK has been going over the bills, and he said that there has been a source of dispute because of the number of commitments were made 'without our prior knowledge.' He said that these commitments were made by Bill (Kunstler) and he said he felt that they would have to honor them. BLANK informed King that he thought the bills came to about $12,000 ... BLANKETY indicated that BLANKBLANK was "a little angry" at the way Bill (Kunstler) had made certain commitments and "certain representations' without consulting him BLANKETY or people in the (Gandhi) Society. ..."
Excerpts from a letter sent to the FBI
September 3, 1964
"...One of the Speakers was the notorious New York City Communist Kuntzler...He now 'represents' the openly communist parents of one of the 'Mississippi Martyrs'...His topic was 'racists and the Negro revolution.' He threatened the audience that if the American colored people 'were not granted all their rights at once, and special privilege, we'd see carnage and murder and riot and bloodshed in every American city,'..."
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NEXT: The Chicago 8 »
Chicago 8
The Chicago Eight were indicted for "crossing state lines in order to incite a riot." None of the defendants were found guilty of conspiracy, but most were found guilty of intent to riot. Kunstler was charged with 24 counts of contempt of court and sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Two years later, the charges were reversed by a U.S. Court of Appeals.
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United States of America vs. William M. Kunstler
Certificate of Contempt
February 15, 1970
"...This was a case marred by continual disruptive outbursts in direct defiance of judicial
authority by the defendants and defense counsel...Much of the contemptuous conduct in this case does
not show of record. The constant murmurs and snickering emanating from the defense table were not
captured on the printed page. No record, no matter how skillfully transcribed, can adequately
portray the venom, sarcasm and tone of voice employed by a speaker. No record, no matter how
skillfully transcribed, can adequately reflect the applause, the guffaws, and other subtle tactics
employed by these (ILLEGIBLE) in an attempt to break up this trial..."
FBI Surveillance on Kunstler's Appearance on WTTW-TV program, "Speaking Freely" on
March 25, 1971.
"The Conspiracy Seven trial was then discussed at some length, with Kunstler describing the
five counts in the indictment which were sustained by the jury as isolated and in alleged violation
of what he referred to as the (REDACTED) Law. These guilty verdicts were arrived at by the jury
through compromise, with Kunstler quoting the jury foreman as stating after the trial, 'We had to
give the Government something after they spent all of this money on the trial.' He characterized
the acquittals in that case, however, as a great victory for people who will fight in courtrooms
and not just say, 'I'm yours, do with me what you will,' to the judge and jury."
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NEXT: Black Panther Party »
Black Panther Party
On December 4, 1969, Fred Hampton, a rising member of the Black Panther Party, was murdered in Chicago while sleeping in his bed during a raid by a tactical unit of the Cook County, Illinois State's Attorney's Office. The raid was organized in conjunction with the city police department and the FBI. William Kunstler was in Chicago arguing for the defendents in the Chicago 8 Trial. He was deeply affected by Hampton's murder. It wasn't until over a decade later that Hampton's family and the city of Chicago settled in a wrongful death suit for $1.85 million. In 1990, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution declaring "Fred Hampton Day" in honor of the slain leader.
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FBI Appendix on the Black Panther Party
"...the BPP advocates the use of guns and guerrilla tactics in its revolutionary program to end the oppression of black people. Residents of the black community are urged to arm themselves against the police who are consistently referred to as 'pigs' who should be killed."
Surveillance Account of a Speech Given at Orange County Community College on June 10, 1970:
"If the Black Panthers were to invade a police station and kill two police officers and make the claim that they had done so because the police were firing at them as they entered the police office to file a complaint you know what would happen to them. They'd be hanging from the same lamppost that hung a hundred years ago during the draft riots. They would never be believed. They could never be exonerated. The police in Chicago are murderers. The words I am saying are libelous if untrue and make me eligible for suit and I wish they would. The State's Attorney is a murderer, his name is BLANK BLANK. He will never be brought to justice because he killed ni**ers who don't mean anything to this society."
Surveillance Account of a Speech Given at Tulane University on July 23, 1970:
"[Kunstler] ended his lengthy discussion of the Hampton case by saying, 'Fred Hampton didn't count because he was an outlaw and therefore willfully murdered. If I were black and engaged in any type of black liberation, I would fire that shotgun on the first knock of any policeman on that door.' He said that he could no longer advise black people not to learn to shoot and not to protect themselves."
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NEXT: Student Movement »
Student Movement
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, college campuses became bastions of political activism. Student activism evolved from peaceful protests expressing skepticism about the war and university policies to radical campus takeovers. William Kunstler often spoke at colleges, offering his support for radical demonstrations and takeovers.
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Surveillance Report: Account of Speech Given at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville on May 15, 1960
"[Kunstler] stated college campuses belong to students, not the Board of Trustees, and students have a right to change it... He stated students should not worry about getting jobs, getting degrees, getting into law school, but should worry about rights and, if necessary, occupy buildings and destroy property. He urged students to work with the Black Panthers and everyone."
Surveillance Report: Account of Speech Given at Columbia University on May 5, 1970
"Kunstler: 'And all I want to say is in the truest sense of the word, All Power to the People! Right on! Do it.'
Students chant 'strike! strike! strike!'
A confidential source advised that following Kunstler's speech, approximately 3,000 to 5,000 people marched from CU to CUNY to support the students there who had seized portions of the campus earlier that day...Special agents of the FBI then observed approximately 1,300 of the demonstrators go to Wollman Auditorium in Ferris Booth Hall to hold a meeting concerning a student strike."
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NEXT: Weathermen »
Weathermen
The Weathermen, later know as the Weather Underground Organization, originally formed as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). The Weathermen often utilized violent tactics including planning a series of bombings of federal buildings in the early and mid-1970s.
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Surveillance Report: FBI memo quoting Kunstler's statements on the Weathermen
"Kunstler gave a short discussion of why they were indicted and what their crimes were supposed to be. he stated that the Weathermen were in the same outlaw capacity as the Panthers. Weathermen are listed second in the most dangerous groups in the United States by Hoover; Panthers are listed first. Kunstler said: 'Weathermen terrorism is not tactfully correct at this moment, but they should be supported at whatever level. The movement can't be spread on tactics. They are my brothers and my sisters if they have the same end in mind. We must have unity among ourselves.' (There was a great deal of applause following this statement.)
Question: What should a college student do to change the system?
Answer: 'This would lead to an indictable statement by me.' He suggested that each student decide for himself; taking his own situation into account."
FBI Appendix on the Weathermen
Since 1970, the Weather Underground has claimed responsibility for a number of bombings, including the U.S. Capitol Building in March, 1971; the Pentagon Building in May, 1972; and the Anaconda-American Brass Company in Oakland in 1974. In October, 1973, the Weatherman fugitive, in a letter to the press, encouraged other revolutionaries to assume an underground haven for operations looking toward the violent overthrow of this government."
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NEXT: Revolution »
Revolution
In 1968, Kunstler defended the Catonsville 9, including priests and brothers Daniel and Philip Berrigan, and other religious activists who burned draft files to protest the Vietnam War, and he served as lead counsel in the trial of the Chicago 8, who were charged with inciting riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. After the Chicago trial, Kunstler became radical, yelling "Power to the people" at public rallies.
Click on the image above to download a PDF of the document in this section. (1 page)
"KUNSTLER in his remarks stated that the revolution in the United States would come in its own time. Since the history of revolution showed that they are nurtured and carried out by the middle class and since college students represent that class, than they may play an important part.
In answer to a question as to whether or not the election of George Wallace to the presidency would hasten the revolution, KUNSTLER replied that he did not think so, that the revolution would come in its own time. He cautioned, however, that one must be aware of the threat to the revolution from public officials who say that they are liberal and create the feel of liberalism but whose actions do not back up what they say.
KUNSTLER was critical of America's role in Vietnam. He briefly mentioned some trials in which he had been associated, namely, 'the Chicago 7,' BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK and indicated the charges in those cases are ridiculous and only indicate the desire of the Government to put down their critics."
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NEXT: Attica »
Attica
A prisoner uprising and hostage situation at the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York ended in the murder of 42 people -- 32 prisoners and 10 state employees -- at the hands of law enforcement on September 13, 1971. Kunstler was initially contacted by the prisoners to monitor their negotiations with the state, and soon after became the lawyer for the inmates. (You can learn more about what happened at Attica in this additional video.)
Click here to download part one of the documents in this section. (28 pages) and click here for part two. (4 pages)
Surveillance Report: Account of Speech at the New Cavalry Baptist Church in Norfolk, VA on December 11, 1971
"...I arrived in Attica on the night of the 10th and I was handed a document which I have brought with me...that was addressed to the people of America and in part the document said we are men. We are not beasts and do not intend to be treated as such...We have set forth demands that will bring closer to reality a penal institution to serve a useful purpose to the people of America...and then at the very bottom it says we urgently demand immediate negotiations through William M. Kunstler, Attorney at Law..."
Surveillance Report: Account of Speech at the State University of New York, Plattsburgh on October 8, 1971
"KUNSTLER compared the prisoners of Attica with the American colonists who fired on British troops at Lexington and Concord in the revolution. KUNSTLER said, 'They, too, felt they had reached the degree of repression where they had no choice to proceed...KUNSTLER further said 'The Attica prisoners, though they have been murderers, thieves, rapists, child molesters, con men or addicts, were far more honorable than those who marched in there.' KUNSTLER stated that the situation at Attica could have been controlled with State Police armed only with clubs."
Click here to download part one of the documents in this section. (28 pages) and click here for part two. (4 pages)
NEXT: Wounded Knee »
American Indian Movement
A Native American activist organization, the American Indian Movement (AIM), was founded to protect the rights of Native Nations and "ensure the fulfillment of treaties made with the United States." On February 27, 1973, AIM announced their presence, by invitation, at Wounded Knee, the site of the government slaughter of more than 200 Indians in 1890. During the 71-day standoff, some 100,000 rounds were fired and two Native Americans were killed and one federal marshal injured. Kunstler spoke out against the FBI infiltration of the AIM.
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Surveillance Report: Kunstler Speech at the Hotel Diplomat on September 2, 1975.
"(Kunstler) stated that grand juries are illegal, for those subpoenaed do not have right of counsel being present. He told the 200 individuals in attendance that special agent COLE (deceased) of the FBI, who was recently killed at the Wounded Knee, S.D. reservation had developed an informant at that reservation who was scheduled to testify at court trial. This informant three days prior to testifying allegedly raped an Indian woman and her daughter. KUNSTLER stated that SA COLE used his influence to keep the rape incident quiet. KUNSTLER implied that SA COLE had carried out a misdeed and that people should not show remorse over his death."
"He (Kunstler) stated that the US Government has no jurisdiction on Indian reservations. He stated, "There have been 240 indians killed and two FBI agents killed at Wounded Knee during the past two years and the score is not even."
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NEXT: Informants »
Informants
In addition to sending hate mail directly to William Kunstler's home, many concerned citizens wrote letters directly to J. Edgar Hoover expressing their concern (and often outrage) over Kunstler's actions or speeches. The FBI kept the letters on file and usually responded with a letter of recognition.
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"Dear J. Edgar Hoover,
My wife and I and all our friends agree wholeheartedly with BLANK BLANK that William Kunstler should be charged with crossing state lines to incite riots. Judge Hoffman was right when he said these men were too dangerous to be let out on the streets. We hope there is something you can do to stop this anarchist.
Respectfully yours,
BLANK BLANK"
"Gentlemen,
...We have been having a lot of trouble in our town about housing for negroes. These negroes all have the same lawyer. From all reports this attorney also represents the NAACP. This would be highly commendable if his motives were justice and fair play. However, I doubt it very much, based on what I know. It looks like the same Commie pattern. The lawyers name is William Kunstler..."
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NEXT: Kunstler's Knowledge of Informants »
Kunstler's Knowledge of Informants
Kunstler was aware that his actions and speeches were being closely monitored by the FBI. He often spoke out against FBI surveillance and infiltration, sometimes even addressing the informants directly.
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FBI Memorandum on a Panel Discussion on the FBI Broadcast on November 29, 1962:
"All four of the individuals were critical of the Bureau and were prone to accept unsubstantiated criticisms of the Bureau that their uncontrollable (ILLEGIBLE) was obvious throughout the program. Kunstler was the most poison-tongued of the group...'When you reach this stage, you get into the field where you are violating civil rights day in and out.'"
DETAILS - November 30, 1962:
"By memorandum ... I advised you that the New York Office had tape-recorded a panel discussion critical of the FBI which was broadcast on WBAI-FM on the night of November 29th. My memorandum pointed out that the New York Office was forwarding the tapes of the panel discussion to the Bureau.<br/ .
The tapes of the panel discussion have been received. Since WBAI-FM has not made printed transcripts of this panel discussion (as it did in the case of the interview of former SA BLANK BLANK, the Crime Research Section is transcribing the tapes. In this connection, difficulties have been encountered because (1) in several instances two or more of the panel group endeavored to speak at the same time, and (2) the voices of the panelists are frequently indistinct, which, of course, is the fault of WBAI-FM and not the New York Office."
Surveillance Report: Account of Speech at the Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October, 1973:
Kunstler: "They get $10 an hour we found during the Chicago trial. All these patriotic citizens who volunteered to aid the Federal Bureau of Investigation by going to public meetings and writing down choice phrases so that when they take the stand out of their mouths will come, 'he said burn down the auditorium.'"
Click on the images above to download a PDF of all the documents in this section. (7 pages)