Background and admission On February 6, 1976, federal authorities acknowledged that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had conducted prolonged electronic and physical surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The admission came after years of reporting, congressional inquiries, and legal actions that had brought portions of the FBI’s activities into public view. Scope and methods Declassified documents and subsequent investigations established that the FBI used wiretaps, mail interception, informants, and photographic surveillance to monitor King’s activities, associates, and communications. The surveillance was carried out under the direction of FBI leadership at the time and was justified internally as part of counterintelligence efforts aimed at alleged communist influence within the civil rights movement. Historians and later government reviews found that many of the techniques used exceeded lawful or appropriate bounds and targeted King’s personal life as well as his public work. Legal and political context Surveillance began during a period of intense domestic security concern and expansive FBI counterintelligence programs, notably COINTELPRO, which targeted a range of civil rights organizations and leaders. While some agency officials viewed monitoring as a security necessity, critics argued the work reflected political bias and an improper attempt to discredit a constitutional movement leader. Congressional hearings in the 1970s, including those by the Church Committee, investigated intelligence abuses and helped prompt reforms and new oversight measures. Consequences and historical assessment The 1976 acknowledgment reinforced conclusions reached by later scholars and reviews that the FBI’s surveillance was intrusive and contributed to efforts to undermine King’s public standing. Documents released over subsequent decades have provided scholars and the public with detailed evidence of the bureau’s methods and internal discussions. In 1999 and later, civil rights advocates and some officials called for formal recognition and further examination of the FBI’s actions; historians continue to assess the legal and ethical implications. Uncertainties and disputes Precise motivations and the full extent of internal decision-making remain subjects of historical interpretation. While archival records document the scale of surveillance and many specific actions, some internal deliberations and classified records from that era have been incompletely preserved or remain redacted, leaving certain details contested among researchers. Legacy The FBI’s surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. is widely cited as a defining example of Cold War–era intelligence excesses that targeted domestic activists. The episode influenced changes in congressional oversight of intelligence agencies and remains a focal point in discussions about civil liberties, governmental power, and the handling of dissent in American history.