J. Edgar Hoover

Appears in 12 conspiracy theories

COINTELPRO — FBI Targeting of Civil Rights Leaders
Confirmed

COINTELPRO — FBI Targeting of Civil Rights Leaders

Confirmed FBI counterintelligence program that surveilled, infiltrated, and disrupted civil rights, socialist, and anti-war organizations — including harassment

1956 · United States
FBI Involvement in the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Unresolved

FBI Involvement in the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The theory that the FBI was involved in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., including COINTELPRO targeting, the 1999 civil trial verdict, and unresolved questions.

1968 · United States
COINTELPRO Tactics Still Active Today?
Unresolved

COINTELPRO Tactics Still Active Today?

COINTELPRO was officially shut down in 1971. But evidence of continued FBI infiltration of protest movements — BLM, Muslim communities, environmental groups — suggests the playbook never really went away.

1971 · United States
John Lennon: Was Mark David Chapman CIA?
Unresolved

John Lennon: Was Mark David Chapman CIA?

The theory that John Lennon's 1980 assassination was a CIA/FBI-ordered political killing disguised as a random fan murder, given his FBI surveillance file, anti

1980 · United States
The Lavender Scare — Government Purge of LGBTQ People
Confirmed

The Lavender Scare — Government Purge of LGBTQ People

A confirmed 1950s government campaign that fired thousands of gay and lesbian federal employees under the theory they could be blackmailed by Soviets. Eisenhower signed the executive order. It lasted decades.

1950 · United States
McCarthyism — Communist Witch Hunt
Mixed

McCarthyism — Communist Witch Hunt

Senator Joseph McCarthy's 1950s campaign claiming Communist infiltration of the U.S. government. Examining the Venona decrypts, actual Soviet spies, and the Red Scare legacy.

1950 · United States
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination Conspiracy
Unresolved

Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination Conspiracy

The conspiracy theory that James Earl Ray did not act alone in assassinating Martin Luther King Jr., supported by the 1999 civil trial in which a Memphis jury found that a conspiracy involving government agencies was responsible for King's death.

1968 · United States
Lee Harvey Oswald as Patsy
Unresolved

Lee Harvey Oswald as Patsy

Examining the theory that Lee Harvey Oswald was framed for the JFK assassination, from his intelligence connections and Soviet defection to Jack Ruby's silencing shot.

1963 · United States
J. Edgar Hoover Murdered for His Files
Unresolved

J. Edgar Hoover Murdered for His Files

Hoover died on May 2, 1972 — five weeks before Watergate. He ran the FBI for 48 years, kept blackmail files on every president, and his death was suspiciously convenient. Natural causes? Maybe.

1972-05-02 · United States
The Huston Plan — Nixon's Secret Surveillance Program
Confirmed

The Huston Plan — Nixon's Secret Surveillance Program

In 1970, Nixon approved a plan authorizing warrantless wiretapping, mail opening, and domestic burglaries against antiwar groups. It was so extreme that J. Edgar Hoover — a man who ran COINTELPRO — killed it.

1970-07-23 · United States
Marilyn Monroe, JFK & State Secrets
Unresolved

Marilyn Monroe, JFK & State Secrets

Examining the theory that Marilyn Monroe was murdered because of her affairs with President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and her alleged knowledge of state secrets including UFOs, Cuba, and Mob connections.

1962 · United States
Tesla's Death Ray & Teleforce Weapon
Unresolved

Tesla's Death Ray & Teleforce Weapon

Claims that Tesla invented a particle beam 'death ray' in the 1930s, and that after his death in 1943 the FBI seized all his papers — with the technology either lost, suppressed, or reverse-engineered into modern weapons.

1934 · United States