On March 8th 1971 , the Carry Nation tuned in to catch Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier battle it out in the Fight of the Century . Unawares , the FBI were having hundreds of secret documentsstolen from their post by a team of activists .
The inspiration of William C. Davidon , a professor of aperient at Haverford College , a team of burglar broke into an FBI office in Media , Philadelphia , and acquire nearly every document they could find . Amazingly , they were never caught — and are only now speaking out about the crime , to the New York Times . Naturally , as you ’d expect from a band of crook conduce by a prof , that ’s for secure rationality : they can no longer be prosecute for what bump that night .
The break - in resonates with late event . Though less hi - tech than Edward Snowden ’s leaks from the NSA , the 43 - year - old offense was repulse by similar motivation . Disgusted by government spying , the perpetrators leaked the document they stole to journalist , opening internal public debate about the practice session . Keith Forsyth , one of the members of the team , explainedto the New York Times :
“ When you babble to mass outside the movement about what the F.B.I. was doing , nobody wanted to believe it . There was only one elbow room to win over people that it was true , and that was to get it in their handwriting . ”
The military operation itself insure the squad make for the former - fashioned mode : they case FBI offices for months , carefully removed document into suitcases while wear down gloves , and sped off in getaway cards . After the crime , the team quietly dispersed , never to discuss it again . Until now , apparently .
It was clearly well think through . The team of eight originally planned to break into and FBI billet in downtown Philadelphia but think it too hazardous . rather , they plumped for a satellite office in Media ; though concerned they would n’t get the best stuff , they think it far safer . calendar month of surveillance meant the prison-breaking - in went fair swimmingly — apart from one lock , which refuse to be plunk and instead was harness by a crow Browning automatic rifle .
Now , Betty Medsger — a former reporter for The Washington Post and the first recipient role of the stolen documents — haswritten a bookabout the criminal offense and subsequent pressure stories . It ’s a well timed admonisher that government spying is nothing new — but something we ought take as seriously as ever . [ New York Times ]
Image byOleksiy & Tetyanaunder Creative Commons license
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