> COINTELPRO (1956–1971) was a series of covert, and at times illegal,[1][2] projects conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI%E2%80%93King_suicide_lette...

> The letter does not specify precisely what action it is urging King to undertake; King understood the letter as advocating that he commit suicide, ...