The party, led by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, had a 10-point platform that included an immediate end to police violence. The Panthers patrolled police officers in California, carrying law books along with their arms to make sure that no harassment took place. This threatened those in power so much that then-Governor Ronald Reagan and the NRA endorsed gun control legislation. Governor Reagan signed the Mulford Act, a law prohibiting the open carry of loaded firearms, along with an addendum prohibiting loaded firearms in the state Capitol. In 1968, a year after the law was passed, Fred Hampton joined the Black Panther Party.
according to former chair of the party Elaine Brown, the FBI sent fake letters to promote mistrust in the party, attempted to disbar their legal defense, and recruited informants to infiltrate the Panthers. The FBI also developed an obsession with identifying Black “messiahs,” who could potentially rally the Black nationalist movement.
Fred Hampton, who had become a charismatic orator and multiracial coalition-builder, became a target of the FBI. On December 4th, 1969, at four o’clock in the morning, the Chicago Police Department raided Chairman Fred’s home. Panther Mark Clark, who went to the door, was shot dead first. It is estimated that 90-99 bullets were fired into the apartment by the CPD with no counterfire from the Panthers. Chairman Fred never woke up. Later, it was discovered that the FBI informant who gave the blueprint to the home had also drugged Hampton’s drink that night. According to Akua Njeri, Hampton’s wife who was eight months pregnant, an officer said “he’s probably gonna make it,” which was followed by one gunshot to the head. “He’s good and dead now.”
https://theharvardpoliticalreview.com/fred-hampton-assassination/
Would it not have been better for all concerned for the FBI to do like in the Palmer raids around 1920? Back then they just put people, even citizens, on boats and sent them to the Soviet Union?
Numerous people could still be alive and the USA would not massively deligitimize itself.