But Hampton in particular stood out among the pack.īorn just outside Chicago on August 30, 1948, Hampton got involved in civil rights activism early on. Edgar Hoover had made it his mission to prevent the “rise of a ‘messiah’ who could unify, and electrify, the militant Black nationalist movement.” This fear largely stemmed from the fact that the Black Panthers were becoming more and more popular. But William O’Neal soon learned from Mitchell that all would be forgiven - if he was willing to work for the FBI.Īround this time, FBI director J. The stolen car charge was just the cherry on top. By 1966, he’d already been in trouble for everything from home invasion to kidnapping. And this moment would change O’Neal’s life forever.Īs O’Neal would later reveal to his uncle Ben Heard, his criminal experience was far more extensive than simply stealing cars. But instead, he was tracked down by FBI Agent Roy Martin Mitchell. If he had been arrested by local police, he might’ve languished in prison for years. In 1966, when he was about 17 years old, he was caught stealing a car and driving it across state lines. From a young age, the native Chicagoan lived a life of crime as a car thief on the city’s West Side.
William O’Neal was born on April 9, 1949. How William O’Neal Became An FBI Informant This is the little-known story of William O’Neal, the Black Panther who betrayed Fred Hampton. However, he also admitted that he was not a “happy man.” And in 1990, O’Neal took his own life at age 40 - on Martin Luther King Jr. Subsequently placed in witness protection under an assumed name, O’Neal would later say that he felt no remorse for being an informant. As chronicled in the 2021 film Judas And The Black Messiah, O’Neal’s role in Hampton’s tragic end was only revealed in 1973. While the story of Hampton’s death is fairly well known, O’Neal’s involvement in the matter often goes overlooked. Tragically, police brutality had been one of the main issues that Hampton had been fighting against. And now, a beloved Black Panther was dead at the hands of the police. It had only been a year and a half since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The brutal attack sent shockwaves across Black America. This allowed the Chicago police to raid the building - and murder Fred Hampton in his sleep on December 4, 1969. But behind the scenes, O’Neal was secretly providing the FBI with a floor plan of Hampton’s apartment. Not only did O’Neal successfully join the Black Panthers, he also gained the trust of Hampton, the beloved chairman of the Illinois chapter. Authorities had offered him a deal: Infiltrate the Black Panther Party - or rot in prison. A car thief by trade, O’Neal had been arrested in 1966 for driving a stolen vehicle across state lines. The head of security for the Black Panthers in Chicago, he was tasked with an enormously important job: guarding the group’s leader Fred Hampton.īut little did the Panthers know that O’Neal had infiltrated the organization on behalf of the FBI. Published February 11, 2021/Updated February 25, 2021Īs an FBI informant in the Black Panther Party, William O’Neal provided information that helped the Chicago police kill Fred Hampton in 1969.Īs far as the Black Panther Party was concerned, William O’Neal was one of their most loyal brothers in arms. By Marco Margaritoff | Checked By John Kuroski
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