Betty Medsger Collection of the Burglary of the FBI Office, Media, Pennsylvania
Scope and Contents
The Medsger Collection contains research materials for the book. There are copies of the original documents taken from the Media FBI office, more than 30,000 pages of FBI documents Medsger obtained through a FOIA request, as well as interview notes with the burglars and other supporting materials.
Dates
- Event: Majority of material found within 1971-2014
Physical Access Note
All or part of this collection is stored off-site. Contact Swarthmore College Peace Collection staff at peacecollection@swarthmore.edu at least two weeks in advance of visit to request boxes.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
None.
Biographical / Historical
Betty Medsger is an author, teacher, and investigative reporter. She worked for the Washington Post in 1971, and broke the story of the break-in of the FBI field office in Media, Pennsylvania. The burglars, calling themselves the Citizens Committee to investigate the FBI, stole more than 1,000 files, eventually revealing the role of the FBI in domestic surveillance of Vietnam war era anti-war organizations, student groups, civil rights groups, black power groups, and individual American citizens. The burglars were never caught. In 2014 Medsger published a book, The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI, detailing the history of the FBI break-in. With the publication of the book, most of the burglars still alive came forward. One of them was William Davidon, whose papers are also in the Peace Collection.
Extent
30 linear ft.
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Betty Medsger is an author, teacher, and investigative reporter. She worked for the Washington Post in 1971, and broke the story of the break-in of the FBI field office in Media, Pennsylvania. In 2014 Medsger published a book, The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI, detailing the history of the FBI break-in. With the publication of the book, most of the burglars still alive came forward. One of them was William Davidon, whose papers are also in the Peace Collection.
Arrangement
This collection is divided into two Series. Series A contains the FBI records that Medsger obtained via a Freedom of Information Act to aid in researching and writing her book. This series is further subdivided into sections and parts, using designations applied by the FBI. The investigation by the FBI into the Media burglary was known internally to the FBI as Medburg. Series B contains the other materials that Medsger collected and used to write the book, as well as copies of the FBI records originally stolen from the Media, PA FBI office in 1971.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Betty Medsger
Legal Status
Copyright to the Betty Medsger Collection created by Betty Medsger has been transferred to the Swarthmore College Peace Collection. Copyright to all other materials is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Find It at the Library
Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting repoductions from Swarthmore College Peace Collection Library
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore 19081-1399 USA US
610-328-8557
610-328-8544 (Fax)
peacecollection@swarthmore.edu
