FBI Index

[1] In 1919, during the First Red Scare, William J. Flynn of the Bureau of Investigation appointed J. Edgar Hoover chief of the General Intelligence Division (GID).

Presently, the Index files covering an unknown number of Americans are still accessible by the FBI and its 29 field offices.

[1] According to Hoover, it created large numbers of files on "individuals, groups, and organizations engaged in subversive activities", including espionage, and enabled the Bureau to immediately identify potential threats.

The program involved creation of individual dossiers from information obtained secretly, including unsubstantiated data and in some cases, even hearsay and unsolicited telephone tips, and information acquired without judicial warrants by mail covers and interception of mail, wiretaps and covert searches.

[1] While the program targeted primarily Japanese, Italian, and German "enemy aliens", it also included some native-born American citizens.

[11] According to the press releases at the beginning of the war, one of the purposes of the program was to demonstrate the diligence and vigilance of the government by following, arresting and isolating a previously identified group of people with allegedly documented sympathies for Axis powers and potential for espionage or fifth column activities.

"[14] Therefore, FBI began in the early 1950s to compile a secret list, known as the “Security Index,” of American citizens who were “targeted for detention” in a national emergency.

[16] This included such "dangerous" figures as Martin Luther King Jr.[17] The list specified who could be arrested upon the order of a U.S. president invoking the Emergency Detention Program.

[citation needed][21] Hoover had King added to the Reserve Index, Section A, in retaliation for his civil rights work and worldwide popularity.

[25] In addition, a repository of FBI files obtained under FOIA request, including the Rabble Rouser Index, is maintained at the National Archives.

[29] An illustrative example of these files and the rationale for categorization is the case of historian Howard Zinn, a noted government critic.

Organized a protest rally to protest serious indictments against Father Berrigan and other members of the East Coast Conspiracy in the Summer of 1971 It is recommended that subject be included in ADEX, Category III, because he has participated in activities of revolutionary organizations within the last five years as evidenced by overt acts and statements established through reliable informants Singer Paul Robeson's name was also on ADEX as Category III: "because of his long time close contact with CPUSA leaders.