Bad-jacketing

Bad-Jacketing is a technique used to isolate and eliminate individuals from playing an effective role in an organization, movement, or community. It generally involves slandering them as an agent provocateur who is secretly operating against their peer group and in the employ of the group's opponents. ^[1]

This technique was used by COINTELPRO to undermine the credibility of Stokely Carmichael in 1968-1970. It involved planting false documents on him, visiting his parents to make him scared of his comrades and circulating rumours. It resulted in Carmichael being accused by Huey P. Newton of being a Central Intelligence Agency agent.^[1]

The technique had previously been developed by US prison guards to undermine targeted prisoners and so making them vulnerable to manipulation.^[2]

It is frequently purported that most protesters who deviate from nonviolent action at demonstrations are paid agents provocateurs, particularly protesters using the black bloc tactic. ^{[3][4] [5]} Numerous activists, including Harsha Walia, have challenged this claim. ^{[6][7] [8] [9]} Peter Gelderloos argues that most of these charges are spurred by sectarian ideological opposition to the militant and often anarchist black bloc participants: "There was a time when the only people dishonest enough to toss around the accusation that a Black Bloc or other masked protesters are police infiltrators were Stalinists. Now, this has become a stock argument, not only by conspiracy nuts but also by pacifists...Lies and manipulations are a resort of those who have lost an argument but don’t have the decency to admit it."^[10]

References