Newly released FBI records reveal that activist Richard Masato Aoki, celebrated as a radical hero in the San Francisco Bay Area, covertly filed more than 500 reports with the bureau between 1961 and 1971 on a variety of activists and political groups.
Black Panthers
Posted inLaw Enforcement
Documents: Richard Aoki’s paper trail
A Freedom of Information Act request spurred the release of the prominent radical activist’s FBI informant file.
Posted inUncategorized
FBI files reveal new details about informant who armed Black Panthers
Released under court order, a 221-page file shows Richard Aoki’s long career as a radical activist and an FBI source of “extreme value.”
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Posted inLaw Enforcement
Man who armed Black Panthers was FBI informant, records show
For a decade, Richard Aoki filed covert reports on a range of political groups, according to the FBI agent who recruited him. At the same time, he was providing the Panthers with weapons.