Family sues over scientist's death in CIA mind-control experiment
WASHINGTON (AP) - The sons of a Cold War scientist who plunged to his death in 1953 several days after unwittingly taking LSD in a CIA mind-control experiment sued the government Wednesday. They claimed the CIA murdered their father, Frank Olson, by pushing him from a 13th-story window of a hotel - not, as the CIA says, that he jumped to his death.
Sons Eric and Nils Olson of Frederick, Md., sought unspecified compensatory damages in the lawsuit filed in federal court, but their lawyer, Scott D. Gilbert, said they also want to see a broad range of documents related to Olson's death and other matters that they say the CIA has withheld from them since the death.
Olson was a bioweapons expert at Fort Detrick, the Army's biological weapons research center in Maryland. Their lawsuit claims the CIA killed Olson when he developed misgivings after witnessing extreme interrogations in which they allege the CIA committed murder using biological agents Olson had developed.
The CIA had a program in the 1950s and '60s called MK-ULTRA, which involved brainwashing and administering experimental drugs like LSD to unsuspecting individuals. The project was investigated by Congress in the 1970s.
Olson consumed a drink laced with LSD by CIA agents on Nov. 19, 1953, the suit says. Later that month, after being taken to New York City purportedly for a "psychiatric" consultation, Olson plunged to his death.
At the time - when Eric and Nils Olson were 9 and 5 years old, respectively - the CIA said he died in an accident and did not divulge to his family that Olsen had been given LSD.
But in 1975, a commission headed by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller released a report on CIA abuses that included a reference to an Army scientist who had jumped from a New York hotel days after being slipped LSD in 1953. Family members threatened to sue, but President Gerald Ford invited the family to the White House, assuring them they would be given all the government's information. CIA Director William Colby handed over documents and the family accepted a $750,000 settlement to avert a lawsuit.
In an email, CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood said that while the agency doesn't comment on matters before U.S. courts, "CIA activities related to MK-ULTRA have been thoroughly investigated over the years, and the agency cooperated with each of those investigations." She noted that tens of thousands of pages related to the program have been released to the public.
In a statement, Eric Olson said that the CIA has not given a complete picture of what happened to his father.
"The evidence shows that our father was killed in their custody," he said. "They have lied to us ever since, withholding documents and information, and changing their story when convenient."
Sons Eric and Nils Olson of Frederick, Md., sought unspecified compensatory damages in the lawsuit filed in federal court, but their lawyer, Scott D. Gilbert, said they also want to see a broad range of documents related to Olson's death and other matters that they say the CIA has withheld from them since the death.
Olson was a bioweapons expert at Fort Detrick, the Army's biological weapons research center in Maryland. Their lawsuit claims the CIA killed Olson when he developed misgivings after witnessing extreme interrogations in which they allege the CIA committed murder using biological agents Olson had developed.
The CIA had a program in the 1950s and '60s called MK-ULTRA, which involved brainwashing and administering experimental drugs like LSD to unsuspecting individuals. The project was investigated by Congress in the 1970s.
Olson consumed a drink laced with LSD by CIA agents on Nov. 19, 1953, the suit says. Later that month, after being taken to New York City purportedly for a "psychiatric" consultation, Olson plunged to his death.
At the time - when Eric and Nils Olson were 9 and 5 years old, respectively - the CIA said he died in an accident and did not divulge to his family that Olsen had been given LSD.
But in 1975, a commission headed by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller released a report on CIA abuses that included a reference to an Army scientist who had jumped from a New York hotel days after being slipped LSD in 1953. Family members threatened to sue, but President Gerald Ford invited the family to the White House, assuring them they would be given all the government's information. CIA Director William Colby handed over documents and the family accepted a $750,000 settlement to avert a lawsuit.
In an email, CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood said that while the agency doesn't comment on matters before U.S. courts, "CIA activities related to MK-ULTRA have been thoroughly investigated over the years, and the agency cooperated with each of those investigations." She noted that tens of thousands of pages related to the program have been released to the public.
In a statement, Eric Olson said that the CIA has not given a complete picture of what happened to his father.
"The evidence shows that our father was killed in their custody," he said. "They have lied to us ever since, withholding documents and information, and changing their story when convenient."
The US government has a history of abusing citizens. If this were true it would not surprise me.
If the Olson's wish to sue then they had better return the $750,000 they accepted back around 1975! Preferably with interest..... This is a dead issue that was legally laid to rest in the '70s. Hasn't all statutes of limitations expired? But, this will add to the deficet and give Washington more reasons to raise taxes.....
@MickRoh Surely, you jest. The possiblity of the US Government performing the acts, as accused are quite possible. That should be enough evidence to promote the pursuance of the truth.
They still use MK ultra like programs to brainwash people such as the colorado shooting dude.
 @portlandborn83 What? Where are you getting your evidence for this?
Well the colorado shooting dude was apart of a DOD funded psychology program at the University of Colorado which researches and uses mind-control. Keep in mind that the state of colorado is almost all military.
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The nurse he saw is also ex-military.
Unfortunately for Eric and Nils, I don't think they have a leg to stand on, so to speak. If the family accepted money as a settlement, that means the legal matter is closed.
@theprodigal That would depend upon the conditions of the settlement, as well as what evidence they were given at the time. If the government knowingly and deliberately withheld information then the previous settlement would not preclude a lawsuit nor a decision in their favor.
This is just in time for the New Show that is based on facts . One is about a scientists in the 50's that experimented with personalities. . You think life is normal Until stories such as these come to be. This is not a conspiracy, This is fact. Mind control is and has always been used.
 @lee986321 'This is not a conspiracy'
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MK-ULTRA may not be a conspiracy, however, the article is not about that. Although nothing was mentioned about what involvement Olson had with that program, staying on topic with this story, I believe the the conspiracy would be the CIA using the MK-ULTRA program as an excuse to coverup the death of Frank Olson.
 @str1ngb3nd3r  Exactly. Everyone knows about MK-ULTRA so why not say that's the only story here, and people will stop asking questions about their bioweapons programs and whether he was murdered because of his involvement there. "Mind control" is a red herring.
 @badcat  @str1ngb3nd3rYeah well, mind control is just one of various facets the CIA has been involved in over the past many decades. He probably was murdered because of his involvement, but I'm guessing lots and lots of other people have disappeared over the years.