12 WORST Things the FBI Has Done

12 WORST Things the FBI Has Done Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re discussing 12 times the FBI proved that power corrupts. Handling of Anthrax Attacks in 2001 Following the September 11 attacks, a series of letters laced with anthrax were mailed to news offices and senators. Five people died and 17 fell ill. It quickly turned into one of the most complicated FBI cases ever, involving more than 10,000 witnesses. The case’s conclusion was highly contentious. Initially, the FBI falsely accused Steven Hatfill, and the resulting media frenzy destroyed his reputation. He later successfully sued the Bureau and was awarded $5.8 million. In 2008, the FBI claimed Bruce Ivins was the real culprit—a man who had volunteered to help their investigation. Not long after, Ivins took his own life in fear. Many have contested the FBI’s accusation, arguing that significant evidence suggests they had the wrong man. Ruby Ridge Standoff In 1992, the FBI made a severe deviation from its standard Rules of Engagement during the Ruby Ridge incident. Randy Weaver gained heat from selling illegal weapons, specifically sawed-off shotguns, to an informant. A trial was arranged, but things went south when the date was changed, and Weaver wasn’t informed. When he didn’t show up in court, an arrest warrant was put out. The FBI handled this abysmally, breaking the Rules of Engagement by using deadly force when it wasn’t justified—shooting Weaver’s dog, wife, and teenage son during the standoff at the family’s cabin. Civilian negotiators eventually convinced Weaver to surrender. It was a total blunder on the FBI’s part, who instigated violence and made no effort to de-escalate the situation. Whitey Bulger It’s commonly known that the FBI uses informants. James “Whitey” Bulger Jr., a notorious Boston mob boss, was one of their most controversial. Whitey employed brutal tactics to achieve dominance. In 1975, he became an informant. The FBI gave him complete protection, allowing his reign of terror to continue consequence-free. The DEA didn’t care for his immunity, however, and in 1994 he became a fugitive. His FBI handler was arrested and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Whitey, on the other hand, wouldn’t be caught until 2011, when he was 81 years old. He received two life sentences. In 2018, the cycle of violence came full circle when he was killed by fellow inmates. Systemic Forensic Fraud Dr. Frederic Whitehurst was an FBI whistleblower who exposed serious issues in the agency’s forensic procedures. These flaws involved the FBI prioritizing support for the prosecution rather than adhering to objective science. This bias undermined the principle of neutrality, making many trials unfair. Instead of addressing these glaring issues, they promptly disputed Whitehurst’s claims and fired him. Whitehurst battled them to court, where he received $1.16 million from the FBI. The Bureau would eventually implement some reforms, but their mistakes have already done irreparable damage. Due to these flawed practices, many people sentenced to death were wrongfully convicted. Infringements on Press Freedom & Credibility Freedom of the press is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Yet, that hasn’t stopped the FBI from infringing on it. One example is Antiwar.com, a website critical of U.S. foreign policy, which was directly targeted by the Bureau. In 2001, the site’s manager received a hacking threat and reported it to the FBI. However, the FBI mistakenly believed the manager was the one who posed a threat. What followed was a difficult six-year period of investigation and surveillance. In addition to targeting websites, the FBI has also impersonated journalists before, harming actual journalists as a result. For example, in 2007, they sent a high school student a fake article containing malware, allowing them to track his activities. No Fly List Blackmailing After the September 11 attacks, Bush’s administration created the No Fly List to prevent future attacks. The FBI is able to add and remove people from the list, a power which they’ve abused. Multiple individuals have claimed they were falsely added to this list, which contains tens of thousands of names. Not only that, but the FBI then blackmailed them, saying they would only be removed if they became an informant. Critics argue this is extortion, and that the list should serve to protect citizens, rather than to blackmail them. Framing Innocents for Murder Joseph Barboza, also known as "the Animal," was a mobster who caught the FBI’s attention. The mob hitman became an FBI informant in 1967 and helped frame four men for the murder of Edward Deegan. Barboza himself was involved in the murder, but he was too valuable to the Bureau to send him to jail. The FBI even suppressed evidence that could have proven the four men's innocence. They received life sentences and were only cleared in 2001. By then, the damage was irreversible: two had died in prison, and the others had lost decades of their lives. Patriot Act Abuse After 9/11, the Bush administration introduced the Patriot Act, aiming to tighten U.S. national security by preventing and responding to terrorism. While this is a noble goal, the FBI has massively abused the act. It allows them to conduct broader surveillance, which they’ve used to collect information on countless American citizens. In theory, this requires court approval, but the Bureau frequently bypasses this in practice. National Security Letters (NSLs) let them gather people’s private information. The FBI insists these are vital tools. However, out of 143,071 NSL requests, only 154 criminals were tried—a roughly 0.1% success rate, raising questions about how vital they truly are. Threatening Letter to Martin Luther King Jr. Some people believe the FBI was secretly responsible for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. While this claim remains unconfirmed, they certainly had it out for him. In 1964, they sent him a suspicious package containing a letter and an allegedly incriminating tape recording. It was an attempt at blackmail, perpetrated by the Bureau. Many, including King himself, argued that the letter was intended to pressure him into taking his own life. It included infidelity accusations and multiple uses of the word “fraud.” This was a failed attempt to discredit King after extensive surveillance. King and his wife correctly guessed who sent the letter and refused to give in to the demands. Racial & Ethnic Mapping The FBI dedicates significant resources to mapping American communities by race and ethnicity. The 2008 Attorney General's Guidelines on Domestic FBI Operations provided broader surveillance powers, which the Bureau has since employed. These practices have been criticized for being based on racist stereotypes about criminal tendencies. For instance, in 2009, the FBI collected information about Muslim communities in Michigan, despite no indications of criminal activity. The American Civil Liberties Union took them to court, seeking to make their mapping information public and challenging the constitutionality of this practice. Many believe it to be unconstitutional and grossly offensive. It’s also prohibited by FBI guidelines, proving they don’t even always follow their own rules. Staging Terrorism You’d expect law enforcement to prevent domestic terrorism, not actively participate. Well, the FBI sometimes subverts expectations. On numerous occasions, they’ve targeted unstable individuals and encouraged them to commit terrorist attacks. One of the most well-known cases involved Mohamed Osman Mohamud, who was influenced by an FBI undercover operation to carry out a car bombing in Portland in 2010. The fake bomb attempt was foiled, as the FBI had provided Mohamud with an inoperable bomb. They arrested him at the last moment. A 2014 Human Rights Watch report revealed that nearly 50% of federal counterterrorism convictions in the previous decade were based on informant-led cases, with almost 30% involving sting operations where informants played an active role. COINTELPRO What do you do when someone’s beliefs are different from yours? Will you keep cool and agree to disagree, or blow a gasket? Well, the FBI likes to go one step further, as shown by COINTELPRO. This involved mass surveillance, infiltration, and disruption of organizations it considered subversive. Targets of this scheme included feminists, civil rights activists, and communists, among others. It began in 1956 and finally ended in 1971, but not after doing irreparable damage to innocents. One notorious incident was the murders of 21-year-old Black Panther leader Fred Hampton and 22-year-old member Mark Clark in 1969. This was only the tip of the iceberg. COINTELPRO was responsible for countless atrocities and abuses of power. What do you think was the most heinous FBI crime? Let us know in the comments section!