As an FBI informant in the Black Panther Party, William O’Neal provided information that helped the Chicago police kill Fred Hampton in 1969.
As far as the Black Panther Party was concerned , William O’Neal was one of their most loyal sidekick in arms . The forefront of security measures for the Black Panthers in Chicago , he was tax with an hugely crucial job : defend the grouping ’s drawing card Fred Hampton .
YouTubeWilliam O’Neal was one of the most believe Black Panthers during the late sixties .
Not only did William O’Neal successfully join the Black Panthers , he also gained the trustingness of Hampton , the beloved chairman of the Illinois chapter .
YouTubeWilliam O’Neal was one of the most trusted Black Panthers during the late 1960s.
But behind the scenes , O’Neal was on the QT providing the FBI with a floor plan of Hampton ’s apartment . This allowed the Chicago law to raid the edifice — andmurder Fred Hamptonin his sleep on December 4 , 1969 .
The brutal attack mail shockwaves across Black America . It had only been a year and a one-half since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. And now , a darling Black Panther was dead at the hands of the constabulary . Tragically , constabulary ferociousness had been one of the main issues that Hampton had been fighting against .
While the story of Hampton ’s expiry is jolly well have it off , O’Neal ’s involvement in the matter often goes unnoted . As chronicled in the 2021 filmJudas And The Black Messiah , O’Neal ’s use in Hampton ’s tragic goal was only revealed in 1973 .
Wikimedia CommonsBlack Panthers occupying the California Capitol in 1967.
later placed in witnesser tribute under an assumed name , O’Neal would later say that he feel no self-reproach for being an informant . However , he also admitted that he was not a “ glad man . ” And in 1990 , O’Neal took his own life at age 40 — on Martin Luther King Jr. Day .
This is the little - known story of William O’Neal , the Black Panther who betrayed Fred Hampton .
How William O’Neal Became An FBI Informant
Wikimedia CommonsBlack Panthers fill the California Capitol in 1967 .
William O’Neal was born on April 9 , 1949 . From a new geezerhood , the aboriginal Chicagoan inhabit a life of crime as a cable car stealer on the city ’s West Side . In 1966 , when he was about 17 years old , he was caught stealing a car and driving it across state lines .
If he had been arrested by local police , he might ’ve yen in prison house for old age . But instead , he was tracked down by FBI Agent Roy Martin Mitchell . And this moment would change O’Neal ’s sprightliness forever .
Chicago Tribune file photo/TNS/Getty ImagesFred Hampton in 1969. He would be murdered later that same year.
As O’Neal would later bring out to his uncle Ben Heard , his criminal experiencewas far more extensivethan just stealing railroad car . By 1966 , he ’d already been in trouble for everything from home invasion to snatch . The stolen car tutelage was just the cherry on top . But William O’Neal soon learned from Mitchell that all would be forgive — if he was uncoerced to work out for the FBI .
Chicago Tribune file picture / TNS / Getty ImagesFred Hampton in 1969 . He would be off after that same class .
Around this time , FBI managing director J. Edgar Hoover hadmade it his missionto prevent the “ rise of a ‘ messiah ’ who could unify , and electrify , the war-ridden Black nationalist movement . ” This care largely stemmed from the fact that the Black Panthers were becoming more and more democratic . But Hampton in finical remain firm out among the pack .
Jack Manning/New York Times Co./Getty ImagesBlack Panthers demonstrating outside the Criminal Courts Building in New York City.
suffer just outside Chicago on August 30 , 1948 , Hampton got involved in polite right field activism ahead of time on . When he was just a young teen , he pushed his school to reserve Black girls to compete for return queen and rallied for an integrate pocket billiards and recreational center . Before long , he ’d connect the NAACP and was marching alongside Martin Luther King Jr.
But after live violence from anti - civic rights protesters , Hamptonbecame disillusionedwith King ’s non - crimson approach and began to lean more toward Malcolm X ’s message of self - defense . From there , he insert the Black Panther Party in 1968 — quickly assuming a leadership position .
The FBI feared that Hampton could become the next Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Jr. — and unite America ’s impoverished citizenry against the status quo . And so Mitchell made William O’Neal a deal . If he joined the Black Panthers as an FBI informant and provided the authority with information on Hampton ’s activities , he would n’t get into any fuss for his crime .
Public DomainMugshot of William O’Neal taken in 1973.
O’Neal agreed .
The Betrayal Of Fred Hampton
Jack Manning / New York Times Co./Getty ImagesBlack Panthers present outside the Criminal Courts Building in New York City .
Since the FBI had struggled to stop the Black Panthers from coordinate , infiltration seemed more imperative to them than ever . And since Hampton appeared to be promptly rising in the ranks of the system , they give especially close attention to him .
But Hampton was just one of many Black leaders victimized byCOINTELPRO — the FBI ’s secret and illegal political platform that disrupted anti - establishment movements like the Black Panther Party . The fact that Hampton was campaign so hard against police force brutality and corruption made his discourse at the hands of those very police all the more tragical .
Wikimedia CommonsFred Hampton’s bedroom after the attack.
While Hampton was establishing devoid breakfast programs for children and talk terms a truce between Chicago ’s street gangs , William O’Neal was tracking his every move — and reporting everything back to the FBI .
Public DomainMugshot of William O’Neal taken in 1973 .
Although the FBI was ab initio interested in disrupting the breakfast programme — as they claimed it was“indoctrinating children ” — their attending quickly turn to the chemical group ’s supply of weapon and whether or not Hampton was on any drug .
TwitterFred Hampton’s blood-soaked mattress after the murder.
All the while , Hampton did n’t know that his promontory of security was spying on him and undermining his work . He also had no idea that O’Neal was providing the FBI with a floor programme of his flat — so that authorities could kick downstairs in on that fatal Nox in 1969 .
Perhaps most shocking of all is that William O’Neal reportedly drug Hampton with a barbiturate on the night of December 3 , 1969 — so that he would n’t wake up up during the maraud . Meanwhile , the floor plan that O’Neal had given to the FBI had already been handed off to Chicago police — who were instructed to raid Hampton ’s home and seize the illegal weapon system inwardly .
That night , Hampton was in a deep sleep beside his pregnant fiancée , Deborah Johnson ( who now goes by Akua Njeri ) . At about 4:45 a.m. on December 4 , 1969 , 14 plainclothes officers stormed the apartment . Armed with pistols , shotguns , machine guns , and the story plan , they barged into the home and quickly manoeuvre toward Hampton ’s bedroom .
Wikimedia CommonsIt was revealed in 2021 that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover conspired to have Hampton killed.
Around this fourth dimension , Njeriremembers someone shaking Hampton , say , “ Chairman . Chairman . Wake up . Pigs are vamp . ”
Njeri said , “ They just ramp the entrance to the rear bedroom and they were shooting . It seemed like evermore . I understand it only lasted 10 minutes . They were shooting into the mattress . The sticking plaster was flying off and the mattress was vibrating and then the person that had come in to wake Fred up kept aver , ‘ Stop shooting ! turn back shoot ! We catch a significant sister here . ' ”
Wikimedia CommonsFred Hampton ’s bedroom after the onset .
finally , they did stop and Njeri leave the room . Despite her seeable pregnancy , an officer reportedly dragged her over to the kitchen sphere . And then , the officer come out shoot again .
Njeri continued , “ I retrieve someone saying that Fred was scantily alive or he might not make it and then they started shoot again and then it cease . Someone say , ‘ He ’s good and dead now . ’ I knew they had toss off Fred at this peak . ”
Hampton was just 21 old age old when he die .
shortly subsequently , seven Panthers in the building were arrested and indicted by a grand panel on charges of essay murder , armed violence , and weapons charges . But these boot were eventually send packing during a later probe when it was revealed that the police force had fire almost 100 shots in total . And the Panthers had only shoot once .
Mark Clark was the only Panther to displace a unmarried bullet — and the 22 - yr - old was fatally scud in the heart as a effect .
Disappearance In The Aftermath Of Fred Hampton’s Death
TwitterFred Hampton ’s blood - soaked mattress after the murder .
William O’Neal and his uncle shoot the breeze Hampton ’s apartment that same dawn after he had been shot .
“ There was papers strewn all over the floor , line of descent all over , ” said Ben Heard . “ There was a trail of lineage from where they had dragged Fred ’s physical structure . Bill just stand there in shock . He never thought it would come to all this . ”
unluckily , it had . Clark and Hampton were dead , while several other Panthers had been bruise — and charged with serious crimes .
Meanwhile , the Chicago police shared news of their success and praise their officers for their “ fearlessness ” and “ professional discipline in not kill all the Panthers present . ” They claimed that “ the Panthers start the battle by arouse a shotgun clap through the flat door , ” and even filmed a reenactment of the supposed incident to appear on television .
But the story from the constabulary quickly began to settle asunder . A account by theSun - Timesrevealed that the so - call “ bullet holes ” that law register to back up their claim were actually nail heads . And for sure enough , a 1970 grand jury investigation found that nigh all of the empty shield and hummer at the scene had been give the sack by constabulary weapons — not Panther artillery .
still , a coroner ’s jury ruled that the deaths of Hampton and Clark were both “ justifiable homicides . ” And O’Neal ’s involvement in the attack came to sparkle in 1973 — much to the rage of the opprobrious community .
cursorily whisked into attestator protection , William O’Neal lived as William Hart in California for several twelvemonth after being come out as an witnesser . But he secretly returned to Chicago in 1984 and worked for an lawyer .
Just two years prior , the Justice Department , the city of Chicago , and Cook County hadsettled a $ 47 million civic suitfiled by the family line of Clark and Hampton for $ 1.82 million . Even then , a Justice Department attorney insisted that this settlement did not mean an admission of any wrongdoing .
As for O’Neal , he had disassociate his married woman , remarried , and had no real friends at that item . In 1984 , he spoke of his past tense for the first prison term with theChicago Tribune — and admitted that he had been “ just a pawn in a very big game . ” He would later seem in a public tv series calledEyes on the Prize , in which he ’d babble a picayune more about his purpose .
Wikimedia CommonsIt was revealed in 2021 that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover machinate to have Hampton defeat .
While he did n’t express remorse for his role as an witness , he did express sadness — and choler — over Hampton ’s expiry .
“ I have it away it would be a raid , but I did n’t experience like anyone would get killed , especially not Fred,”he aver . “ It was blood everywhere , and it was trap in the wall , and … I just began to realize that the selective information that I had provide leading up to that second , had ease that foray . ”
He once reflected , “ I think if I look back at myself … I say if I had never met Mitchell , I would in all likelihood be in jail or drained . ” But he also said , “ If you ask me if I ’m a happy human beings — I ’m not well-chosen . No , I ’m not even contented . ”
The Death Of William O’Neal
In 1990 , William O’Neal killed himself — on Martin Luther King Jr. Day . He spent his last hour at his uncle ’s home , where he acted out of sorts .
“ We were just sitting around drinking beer , spill the beans to some acquaintance of mine , ” said Ben Heard . “ We had caller . The party left and that ’s when he started act kind of strange [ and repeatedly going to the john ] . ”
“ He ’d stay on in there 10 or 15 minutes , ” he say . “ The last prison term he delay 20 minutes . He came out in a rage and he tried to derail out my animation room window [ on the second base ] . I stopped him . I take hold of him by the ankles . I squirm with him but he break costless and he ran out the door . ”
“ I just had my menage brake shoe and pants on , ” articulate Heard . “ I could n’t prevail after him like that . I could n’t have caught him anyway . There was a woman standing in front of the house and she said , ‘ Lord , it sounds like somebody got hit on the state highway ! ' ”
Indeed , around 2:30 a.m. , O’Neal had run across the Eisenhower Expressway — and he was hit by a auto in the physical process . By the prison term Heard caught up to O’Neal , his nephew ’s heart were wide subject and his pulse was slowly evanesce off . He was 40 twelvemonth old when he died .
The traumatise driver who gain O’Neal depose he had tried to swerve and avoid him , but was n’t able to do so in clock time .
Though William O’Neal never explicitly expressed regret for his work as an informant , he did let in that he felt awful that Hampton died . So it was widely believed that O’Neal attached felo-de-se due to the guiltiness he feel about playing a role in Hampton ’s death . Hampton ’s brother Bill agreed , and said it was “ something [ O’Neal ] tried to experience with and could n’t . ”
As explore inJudas And The Black Messiah , the story of William O’Neal shit Hampton is a tragic and complicated one . After all , O’Neal was quite youthful when he was push into his controversial role as an FBI informant . But he never backed out of the job , even in the face of catastrophe .
And even though Hampton made a huge impact on people while he was animated , he miss out on the hazard to live a long life — and perhaps make an even bigger shock . O’Neal was clearly cognizant of this , as he once mull that Hampton might ’ve been a successful pol if he ’d last .
“ I think he was sorry he did what he did , ” said Heard . “ He thought the FBI was only run to raid the star sign . But … they flash Fred Hampton and made sure he was dead . ”
After learning about William O’Neal , read aboutthe FBI ’s Martin Luther King pink . Then , instruct aboutthe upgrade and fall of the Black Panther Party .
