Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

FBI was wary of Birch Society

In response to the Nov. 24 editorial, “Right-wing extremism has changed its name but not its goals or tactics”:

Even J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI recognized the danger represented by groups like the John Birch Society. In a November 1964 press conference, Hoover declared:

“Personally, I have little respect for the head of the John Birch Society since he linked the names of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the late John Foster Dulles, and former CIA Director Allen Dulles with communism.”

The official position of the FBI on the society was expressed in two memos circulated among senior FBI employees:

• “The supporters of this organization and those influenced by the vicious propaganda it has been putting out are typical of the fanatics who have been attempting lately to disparage and discredit Bureau speakers who have been giving audiences a true, factual picture concerning the nature of the threat which communist activities in this country represent.”

• “The John Birch Society is an extremist organization which was founded by Robert Welch in Indianapolis, Ind., in December 1958. … We certainly should not allow ourselves to be placed in a position where an organization of the character of the JBS can use statements attributed to the Bureau or to the Director to support its position in this or any other matter. This organization would not hesitate to twist any statement by the Bureau to confirm with its extremist position.”