The film focuses on the events of March 8, 1971, when eight people orchestrated the burglary and public distribution of government files from an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania. The theft was altogether different than the numerous contemporary
draft board office break-ins, in which activists (including many of the burglars) burned government draft paperwork to interfere with America's continued participation in the
Vietnam War. The group, all of whom were ordinary citizens, called themselves the
Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI and stole every relevant file in the office. The goal of the burglars was to gather tangible evidence of government surveillance of civilian political activists, which was infringing on
First Amendment rights. The stolen files exposed that the FBI was indeed running extensive, illegal operations intended to spread paranoia and distrust among numerous
New Left and black civil rights organizations. (Other files included training manuals, information about
organized crime, and information about
draft resistance.) Over time, the group mailed copies of the files to various newsrooms. Most news organizations returned the files to the FBI and refused to run stories regarding the stolen documents, but the notable exception was
The Washington Post, which ran a front-page story on March 24, 1971, about the files which were mailed to journalist Betty Medsger. Arguably the most significant element in the stolen materials turned out to be a single file mentioning "
COINTELPRO", a secret surveillance program that was run by
J. Edgar Hoover. Subsequent investigations and
freedom of information requests regarding COINTELPRO played a role in the 1975
Church Committee. ==Reception==