Was Activist Richard Aoki an FBI Informant?

Richard Aoki was respected as a “pioneering political activist and revolutionary in the Asian-American community” for his involvement in the civil rights struggle in the 1960s and beyond. Seth Rosenfeld’s new book “Subversives” presents evidence that Aoki was an FBI informant. Scholar Diane Fujino, author of a biography on Aoki, disagrees.

Rosenfeld cites former FBI agent Burney Threadgill as saying he hired Aoki to supply information on the activities of leftist groups to the FBI. Threadgill contacted Rosenfeld when he heard that Rosenfeld was doing research on the FBI’s suppression of political groups.

—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

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