1\TYTimes
12. Dec 70
NEW YORE,TIMES, SATURDAY DECEMBER 12, 1970
Army Hits F.B.Lion Riot Inquiry
tigated by Senator Sani J. Ervin Jr., Democrat of North Carolina, chairman of the Senate
112!H—I I .3aCI `NO.LONIHSVAI Subcommittee
on Constitutional
Pentagon officials said recently
Rights. The subcommittee plans
attempt
that an unsuccessful
hearings early next year.
was made in the spring of 19-69
Interviews 'with a number- of
to have the Federal Bureau of Defense Department and Army
Investigation take ciyer from • sources disclosed that about
Army investigators tft"task of 1,200 Army investigators were
at work around the country,
looking into the prospects of some
of whom have apparently
riots in major American cities. taken initiatives that were nei"The Army was willing to ther approved nor even known
provide manpower during ac-i to top officials in Washington.
tual crises," one official said,I An example of this was a
"but we felt advance investiga-1 crew of Army mgh who grew
dons involving civilians be- beards, painted a van With the
name 'of a nonexistent televilonged to a civilian agency.. sion news company, and staWe weren't successful in getting tioned themselves outside the
them to do it
main auditorium during the
Another Defense Department 1968 Democratic Convention in
source said, "The Justice De- Chicago, and at various outdoor
partment was unable to get the rallies there, to take pictures
F.B.I. to be sufficiently respon- of "suspicious individuals."
One recent news report assive."
Apprised of these assertions, serted that Army investigators
a Justice Department spokes- had apparently intercepted a
telephone message to Senator
man declared:
J. McCarthy of MinneEugene
Department
the
as,
far
"As
Democratic conventhe
at
sota
there
of Justice is concerned,
in 1968. Mr. Jordan said
have been no requests by the tion
knew of no such intercept,
Army that the F.B.I. assume he
then or any other time, but
its investigations of cities where was
investigating the report.
riots might occur. The F.B.I.
does conduct such investiga- Officials said that a number
tions for the Department of of reforins intended to remove
Justice."
the Army from such activity, has
Pentagon officials say the been put into force. They inrejection by the F.B.I. came in clude a prohibition of any such
the course of drawing up a covert intelligence without the
memorandum of understanding specific advance approval of the
between the Defense Secretary, Undersecretary of the Army.
and the Attorney General spe`No One Else Was Around'
cifically defining each depart
In an appearance today bement's responsibilities in the
fore the Senate Foreign Recivil disturbance field.
In those discussions, con- lations Committee, Defense Secducted at a high level, Pen- retary Melvin R. Laird conceded
tagon sources said, the Army that Army intelligence operaattempted to insert language tions had been active at the
thaf would have turned over Democratic and Republican. Naprincipal responsibility for civil tional Conventions in 1968:
disturbance intelligence to the
Other sources said that each
F.B.I. It was turned down, the of the three armed services
sources insisted.
had provided about 200 men
The contentions that the assigned on temporary duty
Army was rebuffed in its effort to the Secret Service to help
to turn over a large part of its protect Presidential contenders.
civil disturbande investigative
"This followed the assasinawork to the F.B.I. come when tion of Bobby Kennedy,' one
the Pentagon is under fire from official said, "and Congress
Congress and the news media passed a resolution that all canover the extent and character didates be protected. But the
of Army intelligence activities Secret Service didn't have nearwithin the United States.
ly enough manpower."
Recent news articles have
Commenting on the over-all
alleged that military intelligence question of the role of Army
operatives had built up com- Intelligence in domestic activiputerized data banks on suspecRobert E. Jordan 3d, gented trouble-makers and had ties,
eavesdropped on telephone con- eral counsel of the Army; said
versations in at least one in- in an interview:
"I honestly believe we drifted
stance at the 1968 Democratic•
into this area without quite'
National Convention.
realizing what we were getting i
Ervin to Lead Inquiry
into and because no one else
The extent of military in- was around to do the jab.
"I'm convinced that no, one
quiries into supposed radical
political groups is being invesBy WILLIAM BEECHER
Speedal to The New Volt TIntes.
mission of using its 1,200 field
investigators to work up a
intended to spy on ineivrauars series of studies showing where
or control civilian life in any ghatto discontent •ways greatest
way. But I also believe that and where relations' between
local police
some of the things begun, if ghetto dwellers
expanded, sure as hell posed' a were bad.
Until that ti' , the investireal risk."
Sources said the roots of this gators were primarily enagaged
Army involvement reach back in routine security clearances
to the. Detroit riots in the sum- of military and defense indusmer of 1967 when Army:troops try personnel, With secret and
were dispatched to the city 'to top secret clearances.
restore order.
"Many of liese youlig men,"
"There were so many rumors Mr. Jordan s ys, "were 'operaand unsubstantiated reports ting on their own initiative in
that nobody really knew what a way that was hard to control
was quite happening," says one from Washington. They tried to
official inVolved in that event. anticipate any questions we
In the spring of 1968, after might ask and have answers
the assassination of the Rev. ready."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
Pentagon sources said' that
Army troops were rushed to most of the background inforChicago, Washington and Balti- mation gathered by the military
more to put down civil dis- sleuths came from talks with
turbances and the Army was local policemen and F.B.I. agents
put on notice that it might and from local newspaper cliphave to send additional troops pings.
to Detroit, Pittsburgh and
Nearly a year was devoted to
Memphis.
developing information on poAfter that, the Army was tential trouble spots, Mr. Jortold to 'prepare plans to send dan said. In February of 1969,
as many as 10,000 troops each he said, he and David McGiffert,
to 25 cities simultaneously.
then Under Secretary of the
But to plan for the special Army, concluded that the abiltraining, movement and de- ity of the Army to forecast
ployment of as many as 250,- riots was pool- and that the
000 troops at one time was activity was "potentially danregarded •as a monumental task. gerous" and "might make peo"How could we predict ple fearful."
where our troops might have
was at that juncture that
to go, where the potential theItArmy
issued an order bartrouble spots were?" one offi- ring covert
investigations in
cial asked. "No one cared so ckyil disturbance cases without
much 'who the troublemakers the personal approval of the
were, but• how serious was the Under Secretary.
potential for riots in different
And it was at about the
cities?"
time that the Justice Desame
At that paint, the Army In- partment was urged to get, the
telligence Command at Fort F.B.I. to assume a substantial
Holabird, Md., was given the share of the work frorn the
Army, sources said.