G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century

by Beverly Gage

Initial news coverage described a gun raid gone bad. In Panther circles, though, word spread quickly that Hampton had been “murdered in his bed,” in the words of Panther leader Bobby Rush—and that Hoover had been at least tangentially responsible. When blood tests suggested that Hampton had been drugged, those suspicions took on new weight. “A pig agent must have given it to him because Fred never used any drugs and J. Edgar Hoover has said he has infiltrators in the Black Panther Party,” Rush told the press. Hoover may or may not have known in advance about the drugging or about the precise plan for the raid; such local operational details sometimes made their way up to headquarters, sometimes not. Either way, he helped to make Hampton’s death possible: by vilifying the Panthers and pressuring his men to act, by authorizing and orchestrating the larger COINTELPRO effort, and by encouraging FBI field offices to coordinate their efforts with local police.[28]