United States--Federal Bureau of Investigation

Father Charles Coughlin FBI Files

drice — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:27:58 -0400

Father Charles Coughlin was an outspoken Roman Catholic priest at the Shrine of the Little Flower Church in Royal Oak, MI. He founded a weekly publication entitled “Social Justice” and shared his political views during his weekly radio show, broadcast every Sunday. Father Coughlin created a political party, the National Union of Social Justice, in opposition to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and in the late 1930s even called for his impeachment, due to what he viewed as socialist or communist leanings. Sympathy for the fascist politics of Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini resulted in security investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). His papers consist of photocopies, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, of communications produced by the FBI during these investigations.

Bill Goode Papers

abarker — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:59:56 -0400

Bill Goode served as United Auto Workers Director of Education and as Director of the UAW’s Black Lake Family Education Center. Mr. Goode’s papers include declassified Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) files relating the alleged Communist affiliations of Nat Ganley, Walter Reuther, and the Association of Catholic Trade Unionists (ACTU).

Jimmy Hoffa FBI Files

drice — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 13:15:29 -0400

Jimmy Hoffa (1913-1982) was born in Brazil, Indiana. He was heavily involved with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters between the years 1932-1971, first as an organizer and then serving as the union’s general president from 1958-1971. He played a major role in the development of the union, securing the first national agreement for teamsters’ rates in 1964. In 1964, Hoffa was convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery, and fraud. Hoffa was imprisoned in 1967, but released in 1971 in accordance with a pardon from President Nixon, which blocked him from participating in the union until 1980. After attempting to run for the union presidency again, Hoffa disappeared from the front of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Township, MI in 1975 and was declared dead in absentia in 1982. As of 2013, his body had not yet been found.

The Jimmy Hoffa FBI Files contain FOIA request copies of FBI files related to the case of Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance. These files were acquired by the Detroit Free Press in response to the settlement and order in the matter of Detroit Free Press v. Department of Justice. The Free Press received pages from a prosecutive report dated May 13, 2002, and its attachments prepared by the FBI Detroit Field Office, as well as thousands of pages from the FBI Headquarters file 9-60052, relating to the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. The Free Press also received pages from files of the Department of Justice and other related FBI case files. Included in the collection are copies of reports that have not been redacted, given to Barbara Crancer by Mike Betzold, who found them in a discarded school locker and wrote about them in the Sunday Journal.

Viola Liuzzo Papers

drice — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:22:41 -0400

On March 25, 1965, Viola Liuzzo, a Wayne State University student and mother, was shot and killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan after participating in civil rights protests in Alabama. The impact of Liuzzo’s death was felt across the country. Despite a FBI informant's eyewitness testimony at the trial of the three Klansmen, none of the men were found guilty of murder. Liuzzo's family, as well as two civil rights workers involved in the 1965 protest, would later file unsuccessful suits against the U.S. government based on this FBI informant's involvement in the incident. Speculation about the exact nature and circumstances of Liuzzo’s murder continues.

The Viola Liuzzo Papers contain documentation of the events surrounding the murder of Liuzzo, the resulting investigation, and later litigation on behalf of the Liuzzo Family. They include FBI murder investigation files, legal precedents to the 1980s lawsuit, related legal motions and proceedings, correspondence, and depositions from FBI handlers, expert witnesses, and eyewitnesses. The collection also contains the fulfilled Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (FOIPA) requests for the FBI's involvement with the Ku Klux Klan, FBI policy, information about the Liuzzo family, and a portion of documents related to the Freedom Riders.

Organization in Solidarity with Central America Records

drice — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:19:04 -0400

Formed through the merging of several Detroit and Michigan groups, the OSCA educated the public on Central American issues, particularly the human rights violations in El Salvador in the 1980s. Their papers represent the activities and writings of the Latin American solidarity movement.

FBI File on Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers

kschmeling — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 13:46:51 -0500

The work of Cesar Chavez, former President of the United Farm Workers, on behalf of farm migrants, resulted in his being closely examined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was seen as possibly subversive in the 1960s for several reasons, such as his empowerment of minorities against a powerful and Anglo-controlled agribusiness and association with Alinsky, a known radical. The FBI records are microfilm copies published in cooperation with the FBI, and released under the Freedom of Information Act. They deal primarily with the 1960s, the period fo the UFW's greatest growth.