On March 8, 1971, a group of eight Vietnam War protestors broke into a Federal Bureau of Investigation field office in Media, Pennsylvania and stole hundreds of government documents that shocked a nation.

The stolen memos, reports and internal correspondence provided the first tangible evidence that J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI was systematically targeting and harassing hundreds of American citizens then known collectively as “the New Left.”

That discovery eventually led to Congressional investigations, more revelations of secret, illegal FBI actions, and sweeping reforms. But the burglars were never caught — despite a massive five-year investigation by the FBI — and their identities have remained secret – until now.

A new book by Betty Medsger, The Burglary, identifies the Media burglars for the first time. It also details the planning, execution, and consequences of the long-forgotten heist, which was carried out by a group that included college professors, graduate students, and a cab driver. Their story is also chronicled in a new documentary by Johanna Hamilton, 1971.