Probably. On the other hand they do like radicalizing people so they can use them as an excuse to outlaw or further surveil or attack organizations so it’s not impossible they were really hoping to paint MLK with the communist brush and if they had to literally turn people into communists around him to get that to work they were quite willing to do so. Hoover in particular was desperate for it so absolutely wouldn’t have been beyond trying to create some communists if it meant giving him more ammo to take down the civil rights movement and MLK.
Probably. On the other hand they do like radicalizing people so they can use them as an excuse to outlaw or further surveil or attack organizations so it’s not impossible they were really hoping to paint MLK with the communist brush and if they had to literally turn people into communists around him to get that to work they were quite willing to do so. Hoover in particular was desperate for it so absolutely wouldn’t have been beyond trying to create some communists if it meant giving him more ammo to take down the civil rights movement and MLK.
I guess they need to secure their job security somehow.