Mont Wesley Swearingen (May 20, 1927Steubenville, Ohio - November 13, 2019Hemet,California)[1] was anFBI Special Agent from 1951 to 1977. He wrote two books drawn from his experience:FBI Secrets (1995),[2] andTo Kill a President(2008), an examination of theJohn F. Kennedy assassination.
Born in Steubenville, Ohio, Swearingen served in theUnited States Navy from 1945 to 1946.[1] After the war, he used the GI Bill to study atOhio State University, where he graduated.
He joined the FBI and began his career conductingblack bag jobs onCommunists inChicago.[3]
InKentucky andNew York City, he spent years doing serious criminal investigations, which had been his goal in joining the FBI. But DirectorJ. Edgar Hoover had become fixated on the threat in the 1950s and 1960s that he believed was posed by civil rights groups: first because of links to American communists. posed by such groups as theBlack Panther Party.[3][4] and theWeathermen.[5]
Assigned to the Los Angeles FBI field office, Swearingen burglarized theTucson Five and their lawyers during the FBI's efforts to prosecute them, but no incriminating evidence was found. The Tucson Five were exonerated.[6]
After 25 years with the FBI, Swearingen retired in 1977.[7]
Swearingen was interviewed in the documentary filmsAll Power to the People!(1997), which explored issues related to the Black Panthers,[8] andThe U.S. vs. John Lennon.[9]
He died inHemet, California on November 13, 2019.[10]
M. Wesley Swearingen.
tucson five.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
 | This article about an American writer is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
