Source: Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images / Getty
An investigative podcast revealed facts that the Federal Bureau of Investigation hired a violent felon to sow discord at Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020.
A newly released podcast, Alphabet Boys, unveiled information that showed that the FBI paid Michael Adam Windecker II to infiltrate protests organized by the social justice group in Denver, Colorado in 2020. The journalist behind the podcast, Trevor Aaronson, revealed how the agency paid Windecker $20,000 to ingratiate himself with activists on the ground who were protesting police brutality after the deaths of George Floyd and Elijah McClain.
Aaronson utilized documents obtained from the FBI through Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests to detail how the former felon agreed to be an informant because he wanted to “fight terrorists” and viewed those protesting as “people who participate in violent civil unrest are terrorists.” Windecker, who is white, would stand out at those protests driving a silver hearse full of weapons.
The podcast goes on to show how Windecker tried to recruit other activists as he got more involved with them over that summer, including Zebbodios “Zebb” Hall. “How extreme do you want it to go? Do you want to learn to shoot a gun and throw someone around, or do you want to go all the way uptown? If that’s what you want to do, I can make it happen,” he was overheard saying on undercover recordings. Windecker would go on to organize demonstrations in August that would lead to assaults against police stations in the city.
The plot became sinister as he coerced Hall to purchase a firearm for him after Hall refused to go along with a plot to assassinate Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. “I had to get this guy this gun because if I don’t get this guy this gun, he’s got my information. He’s got my family’s information,” Hall said in an interview. Aaronson would relate that Windecker used intimidation on everyone: “Windecker spoke of having killed people. He had a criminal history that was violent.”
The podcast has caused reactions of outrage and demand for accountability, including a statement from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). “If the allegations are true, the FBI’s use of an informant to spy on first amendment-protected activity and stoke violence at peaceful protests is an outrageous abuse of law-enforcement resources and authority,” he said. “I think you’re allowing these tactics to win if ultimately you’re choosing not to exercise your First Amendment rights for fear of government infiltration,” Aaronson said of the podcast.
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