Home/ Resources / Projects / CIA Cryptonyms / bigram: OTHER / cryptonym: PARAGON

Cryptonym: PARAGON

Definition:

The domestic surveillance of Thelma King, a Latin American revolutionary whose group possessed alleged ties to a prominent CIA detractor. The CIA's Office of Security also conducted domestic surveillance of several of King's contacts in multiple US cities.

Status:

Documented

Discussion:

Does PARAGON refer to any domestic surveillance conducted by the CIA or is it a joint CIA/FBI CI program...this seems pretty significant? Does this indicate that the CIA's office of security routinely conducted domestic surveillance and is this individual an American citizen?

Sources:

104-10428-10019: PROBABLE COMPROMISE OF INFORMATION FURNISHED TO THE HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE

The Counterintelligence Staff requested the CIA's Office of Security conduct surveillance targeting a Latin American revolutionary.

104-10062-10133: PROJECT INFORMATION ON PERSONS ASSOCIATED WITH NEW ORLEANS URBAN GUERRILLA GROUP

This document contains the membership list of an alleged New Orleans guerrilla organization. It also claims that one member of the group has a connection to New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison.

104-10107-10031: QUESTIONABLE ACTIVITIES

An unredacted version of the first document that identifies Thelma King as the target of Project Paragon. "There was surveillance and mail coverage of several American citizens in regard to a plot reported by Ms. King to assassinate Vice President Agnew and (the) DCI."

https://archive.org/details/ThelmaKingRubenOscarMiro/page/n1

Page 2 of 113: "Osborn (of the Office of Security) states that physical surveillance of individuals in this country has been very rare as far as the Office of Security is concerned. (Estimated less than ten times)...4. A female agent of the Latin American Division who reported to the CIA the existence of a plot to assassinate the Vice President and kidnap the Director of Central Intelligence...The agent involved here was Thelma King, and the surveillance took place in 1971."

178-10003-10453: 178-10003-10453

1975: The Rockefeller Committee asked for information on sixteen Office of Security projects and operations - PARAGON was one of them. The rest were: SALVAGE, MERRIMAC, RESISTANCE, SPYDER, SIESTA, WHDOOR, DMUREC, MOCKINGBIRD, SUNDANCE, PINEAPPLE, BUTANE, REDFACE I (and any subsequent REDFACE projects), CELOTEX I and CELOTEX II, MUD HEN, and TWO FOLD.