Church Committee

 To see the astonishing extent of government spying on Americans, view the Church Committee Report: http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointelpro/cointel.htm

It details the methods that the FBI used in what it described as a "rough, tough, dirty business, and dangerous."  Many of the methods were also blatantly illegal. 

The Church Committee report also details spying on Americans by the CIA in its CHAOS program, the Army's spying on Americans, and spying on Americans by the NSA (National Security Agency). 

See especially efforts to discredit Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and destroy the Black Panther Party, which included FBI participation in the murder of the head of the Chicago branch of the Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton.