How The Weather Underground Beat The FBI And Lost The Revolution

In the 1960s and 1970s, a group of radical activists known as the Weather Underground posed a significant challenge to the FBI. This clandestine organization arose as a response to the tumultuous political climate of the time, aiming to bring about a revolution through acts of domestic terrorism. However, despite evading the authorities for years, the Weather Underground ultimately failed in achieving its goals. This article explores the fascinating and dramatic story of how the Weather Underground beat the FBI, yet ultimately lost the revolution.

The Origins of the Weather Underground

The Weather Underground, initially called Weatherman, emerged from the revolutionary anti-war organization Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Frustrated by the lack of tangible progress in the anti-war movement, a faction within the SDS led by Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers sought more aggressive tactics to oppose the Vietnam War and fight for social justice.

Choosing to operate underground due to the increased government repression against dissidents, the Weather Underground embarked on a campaign of bombings targeting government buildings, banks, and other symbols of oppression. Their goal was to incite a revolution and overthrow what they perceived as an oppressive capitalist system.

Bad Moon Rising: How the Weather Underground Beat the FBI and Lost the Revolution

by Arthur M. Eckstein (Kindle Edition)

4.7 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	1339 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	361 pages

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The FBI's Pursuit

The FBI, under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover, quickly identified the Weather Underground as a direct threat to national security. This communist-inspired organization posed a challenge to the establishment and the very foundation of the American government. As a result, the FBI initiated an intensive campaign to infiltrate and dismantle the Weather Underground.

With its vast resources, the FBI employed various tactics to bring down the organization. This included wiretapping, surveillance, and a series of controversial infiltration techniques utilizing informants. The FBI's actions raised questions about civil liberties and the limits of government power, ultimately feeding into the radicalism and paranoia within the Weather Underground.

The Underground Network

One of the primary reasons the Weather Underground managed to elude the FBI for so long was their extensive underground network. This network consisted of supporters who provided safe houses, financial assistance, and legal aid to members on the run. The organization's ability to move around undetected and continuously rebuild its ranks made it a formidable opponent for the FBI.

Furthermore, the Weather Underground was adept at using aliases and fake IDs, allowing its members to evade capture and maintain operational secrecy. As a result, tracking down and apprehending Weather Underground members presented a significant challenge for the FBI.

The Brink of Collapse

In 1970, the Weather Underground experienced a major setback when a mishap during the construction of a bomb in a Greenwich Village townhouse caused it to accidentally detonate. The explosion killed three members, raising public awareness of the group's violent intentions and generating sympathy for law enforcement efforts to combat them.

The incident exposed a fracture within the organization, with some members arguing for a transition to less violent forms of activism. This dissent led to a reevaluation within the Weather Underground, but it also marked the beginning of its decline.

The Influence of Public Opinion

By the mid-1970s, public opinion had turned against radical leftist groups like the Weather Underground. The group's violent tactics had alienated many Americans, prompting a more favorable perception of law enforcement efforts to dismantle the organization.

The Weather Underground's actions had also failed to incite the widespread revolution they had hoped for. Instead, their bombings and violent acts had drawn condemnation from both the general public and even many left-wing activists. As support dwindled, the group's influence and ability to carry out meaningful acts of revolution declined.

The End of the Weather Underground

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a combination of FBI infiltration and internal divisions led to the gradual dismantlement of the Weather Underground. Many members were caught, arrested, and faced prolonged legal battles.

Others, disillusioned by the lack of progress and growing differences in ideology, chose to leave the organization. By the mid-1980s, the Weather Underground had effectively ceased to exist, though its legacy and impact on American activism and counter-terrorism operations would endure.

Lessons Learned

The story of the Weather Underground sheds light on the complex dynamics between political activism, government repression, and the limitations of violence as a means of achieving social change. While the group managed to evade the FBI's pursuit for years, they ultimately failed to achieve their revolutionary goals. Their story serves as a cautionary tale about the potential pitfalls of resorting to violence and the importance of building broad-based support for lasting change.

Ultimately, the Weather Underground emerged as a symbol of radical activism during a divisive era in American history. Their daring actions and defiance of the FBI made them a subject of both fascination and condemnation. Though they lost the revolution they sought to ignite, their legacy and the lessons learned from their struggle continue to resonate today.

Bad Moon Rising: How the Weather Underground Beat the FBI and Lost the Revolution

by Arthur M. Eckstein (Kindle Edition)

4.7 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	1339 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	361 pages

FREE

A startling history of the forlorn war between the Weather Underground and the FBI, based on interviews and 30,000 pages of previously unreleased FBI documents

In the summer of 1970 and for years after, photos of Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Jeff Jones, and other members of the Weather Underground were emblazoned on FBI wanted posters. In Bad Moon Rising, Arthur Eckstein details how Weather began to engage in serious, ideologically driven, nationally coordinated political violence and how the FBI attempted to monitor, block, and capture its members—and failed. Eckstein further shows that the FBI ordered its informants inside Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to support the faction that became Weather during the tumultuous June 1969 SDS convention, helping to destroy the organization; and that  the FBI first underestimated Weather’s seriousness, then overestimated its effectiveness, and how Weather outwitted them. Eckstein reveals how an obsessed and panicked President Nixon and his inner circle sought to bypass a cautious J. Edgar Hoover, contributing to the creation of the rogue Plumbers Unit that eventually led to Watergate.