Document Type
Student Paper
Publication Date
2025
Recommended Citation
Draper, Robert, "Federal Policing After the Church Committee: A Critical Retrospective" (2025). Colorado Law Student Scholars. 3.
https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/colorado-law-student-scholars/3
Previous Versions
COinS
Comments
It was supposed to be the fight of the century. On March 8, 1972, Muhammad Ali – recently stripped of his boxing titles for refusing military service in Vietnam – would face Joe Frazier, champion of the Silent Majority. That both men were undefeated heavyweight champions who shared a genuine mutual contempt only raised the stakes. Everyone would be watching. Everyone, that is, except the eight members of the Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI. Instead, they planned to rob the Bureau’s field office in Media, Pennsylvania, that night, gambling that the fight would leave its lone guard distracted. They hoped to steal as many documents as possible and find proof of illegal surveillance by the FBI. It was a lofty goal for a small group of habitually law-abiding academics, but the Citizens’ Commission carried out the plan flawlessly. Armed with multiple suitcases full of hard evidence, they mailed copies of the most incriminating documents to influential figures in media and politics. After initial hesitation, the Washington Post published its copies, and the New York Times soon followed suit.