General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Get One Thing Clear: NSA Domestic Spy Op Is FASCISM [View all]SleeplessinSoCal
(9,123 posts)And this happened because she gave to civil rights causes. Although her support for the Black Panthers set off a smear campaign and possibly worse. Under the category: Nothing new under the sun . . .
"FBI COINTELPRO investigation
FBI inter-office memo: "... cause her embarrassment and cheapen her image"
FBI inter-office memo: "Usual precautions to avoid identification of the Bureau"
During the late 1960s, Seberg provided financial support to various groups supporting civil rights, such as the NAACP and Native American school groups such as the Mesquaki Bucks at the Tama settlement near her home town of Marshalltown, for whom she purchased US$500 worth of basketball uniforms. The FBI was upset about several gifts to the Black Panther Party, totalling US$10,500 (estimated) in contributions; these were noted among a list of other celebrities in FBI internal documents later released under FOIA. This financial support, and her alleged interracial love affairs or friendships were evident triggers to a large-scale FBI program deployment in her direction.[citation needed]
The FBI operation against Seberg used COINTELPRO program techniques to harass, intimidate, defame, and discredit Seberg.The FBI's stated goal was an unspecified "neutralization" of Seberg; all intended to be done while hiding FBI involvement. One stated FBI subsidiary objective was to "cause her embarrassment and serve to cheapen her image with the public", while taking the "usual precautions to avoid identification of the Bureau".[19] FBI strategy and modalities can be found in FBI inter-office memos, since declassified and released to the public under FOIA.
In 1970, the FBI created the false story from a San Francisco-based informant, that the child Seberg was carrying was not fathered by her husband Romain Gary, but by a member of the Black Panther Party, Raymond Hewitt. The story was reported by gossip columnist Joyce Haber of The Los Angeles Times. The story was also printed by Newsweek magazine. Seberg went into premature labor and, on August 23, 1970, she gave birth to a 4 lb (1.8 kg) baby girl. The child died two days later. She held an open casket funeral in her hometown to allow reporters to see the infant's white skin, to disprove the rumors that the child's father was African American. Seberg and Romain later sued Newsweek for libel and defamation and asked for US$200,000 in damages. Seberg contended that she became so upset after reading the story, she went into premature labor which resulted in the death of her daughter. A Paris court ordered Newsweek to pay the couple US$10,800 in damages and also ordered Newsweek to print the judgement in their publication plus eight other newspapers."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Seberg#FBI_COINTELPRO_investigation