John Curtis Raines (27 de octubre de 1933 en Minneapolis - 12 de noviembre de 2017) fue un profesor, activista y denunciante estadounidense . Fue miembro de la Comisión Ciudadana para Investigar el FBI , que robó documentos de una oficina del FBI y expuso actividades ilegales y abusos de poder, incluido COINTELPRO . [1]
Raines era hijo de un ministro metodista adinerado en Minneapolis. [2] Se graduó de Carleton College en 1955 con especialización en inglés y pasó a estudiar ética social cristiana en Union Theological Seminary . [2] En 1961 se involucró en el movimiento de derechos civiles después de que el Congreso de Igualdad Racial lo invitara a viajar como parte de los Freedom Riders en un autobús integrado de St. Louis a Little Rock. [3] Fue en este viaje, donde las turbas blancas se encontraron con los jinetes y fue enviado brevemente a la cárcel, sus ojos se abrieron a la injusticia y su intersección con su propia fe cristiana. Raines y su esposa, Bonnie, continuaron involucrados en causas políticas y protestas en los años siguientes, incluso irrumpieron en las oficinas de la junta de reclutamiento para alterar los registros relacionados con el reclutamiento para la Guerra de Vietnam . [1] Se convirtió en profesor de religión en la Universidad de Temple , donde enseñó durante más de 40 años. [1]
While a professor at Temple, Raines was approached by William C. Davidon, a Haverford College physics professor, who suggested breaking into the FBI office to find proof of illegal practices.[3] While initially skeptical, John and Bonnie eventually became convinced and began planning the break in with a group of eight co-conspirators in the attic of their home.[4] They targeted a small FBI office outside of city limits in Media, which had far less security than the more prominent Philadelphia building.[5] The group carefully researched and made extensive preparations--Bonnie went undercover as a Swarthmore student studying FBI hiring practices of women, and was allowed access to the interior of the building, where she took note of security systems and layout.[3] They decided to break in on March 8, 1971, the night of the historic boxing match between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, knowing that security personnel would be distracted by the fight. That evening, Raines was stationed in a getaway car parked near Swarthmore College while the others went into the office. The plan went almost without a hitch and was completed in less than an hour.[5] In total, the group shoved more than 1,000 documents into suitcases, which they inspected in a nearby farmhouse that night, discovering that their suspicions about the FBI's activity were correct. They made copies of the documents and mailed them to three major news outlets, as well as two Democratic government officials.[2] To preserve their safety, the group agreed never to meet again and went their separate ways.
Several months later, FBI agents visited the Raineses at their house to ask if they had any information that could help them find the culprits behind the theft. Raines cited his indignation at the information from the documents published in the Washington Post and refused to offer his help.[2] The case remained unsolved for decades until Raines revealed his involvement to investigative reporter Betty Medsger (who had initially broken the original story), long after the statute of limitations had past.[2]