Militarized FBI

AHTG's Tripartite Alliance Earth timeline describes a dystopian U.S. where an increasingly dictatorial government militarizes the Federal Bureau of Investigation to crack down on militant black liberation rings, and all civil rights groups in general in the 1960s. Eventually it becomes so powerful that the FBI apparently is able to stage a coup in the Philippines of all places (replacing the CIA as America's number-1 agency for foreign dirty tricks?) and having death squads round up political prisoners in the dead of night.

So how could the FBI or any other federal agency become militarized in the real world? They don't have to do this in a necessarily evil manner, but it would probably be a bad sign. It would take a lot of unrest to have a FBI or ATF acting like paramilitaries.
 
Define militarised. The way you are describing is simply increasing their capabilities and authority. Giving them SWAT-like force equiped with light military stuff (wheeled APCs....). Basically creating American Gendarmerie.
 
Doesn't the ATF have tanks ? Wasn't it them who burnt down Waco ? Aren't they a federal agency somewhat akin to the FBI ? So, if the FBI had their responsibilities too ?

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Doesn't the ATF have tanks ? Wasn't it them who burnt down Waco ? Aren't they a federal agency somewhat akin to the FBI ? So, if the FBI had their responsibilities too ?

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

Those were borrowed from the Texas National Guard's engineering regiment IIRC.
 
I saw a documentary and I think they where on loan from US Army but I'm not sure. Anyway, I think there is two dimentions to it. A dirty trick FBI ignoring civil liberties is one thing, a militarized FBI is another. I think a early war on terror or whatever might lead to a FBI going after troublemakers abroad and that might develop into a CIAish group overthrowing goverments. (On a side note, I think one of Chavez pals blame DIA for some local trouble.)

I could see a militarized FBI (or US Marshalls) as a result of them getting shot at OR that the local SWATs getting to brutal and incopetent so the federales step in and take over.
 
I'm imagining something like a massive federal response against a huge virulent growth of militia movements sprung up as a backlash against some unspecified atrocity in the past.
 
FBI had "jurestiction" on the Latin American espionage during and just after WWII. It made sence, the main risk was destabilasation while I dubt much *information* was availiable.

So a FBI keeping that role would turn into a dirty trick departmant since Latin America was a big playground for CIA during the same era (and I belive they acctually took over the agents and organisation as is).

Does that work?
 
No... that's not how NERV works.

The FBI doesn't have to be a CIA-like foreign dirty tricks organization. I'm more interested in what would cause them to have their assault teams expanded and more equipped to act as almost like a roving paramilitary for the federal government. A greater right-wing militia threat could be one possibility, I think.
 
No... that's not how NERV works.

The FBI doesn't have to be a CIA-like foreign dirty tricks organization. I'm more interested in what would cause them to have their assault teams expanded and more equipped to act as almost like a roving paramilitary for the federal government. A greater right-wing militia threat could be one possibility, I think.

bigger threat. Say 1960s/70s anti-war groups are more violent. Or black movement is more violent. FBI tries to take them down but take casualties in raids. After using local SWAT teams prove unsitassfactory they develop their own simialr force. Due to larger territory to cover (being federal and all) they soon add helicopter and air fleet component as well to ease movement. from then on natural tendencies of big agencies to expand takes over
 
Well, the FBI HRU acted much like a "Super-SWAT" on numerous occasions.
Further back, during WWII, the FBI was a foreign espionage agency in South America...and they still have charge of counterintelligence.
 
But militarized do you mean SWAT style or Waffen SS style? A rival army seems cool, not seeing it happening though.
 
HRT

Dudes, the FBI already has its own SWAT team- the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), whose training and status is actually similar to that of Delta Force or Seal Team 6- but WI the HRT actually expanded ?
 
I think uniforms could be achived the other way. Say that it was FBI agents rather then CIA agents involved in the Watergate break-in and a whole range of rouge activites. And then have somebody suggesting that a good way to keep track of what FBI does is requiring them to wear uniforms at all times.
 
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