The Central Intelligence Agency's controversial MKUltra program, infamous for its mind control experiments, biological weapons research, and secret human testing, is once again under the microscope as lawmakers prepare to examine the decades-old initiative. The program, which the CIA largely attempted to erase by destroying most of its files, has resurfaced in public discourse following new whistleblower claims and political pressure.
The Why Files Host Highlights Forgotten Horrors
AJ Gentile, the host of The Why Files, a popular online show that explores UFO phenomena, government secrecy, and hidden histories, has brought renewed attention to the disturbing nature of MKUltra. He argues that many Americans have forgotten the true extent of the CIA's experiments. "People versus power, that's what it is," Gentile told the Daily Mail. "I don't like authority, I don't like corruption, and I don't like our rights being violated."
Among the operations Gentile highlighted was Operation Sea-Spray, a covert 1950 experiment in which the CIA released bacteria over San Francisco to assess the vulnerability of U.S. cities to biological attacks. "They sprayed… they covered San Francisco with bacteria," Gentile said. "They did it in New York, too."
The Mysterious Death of Frank Olson
The conversation also turned to the death of CIA scientist Frank Olson, who fell from a New York hotel window in 1953 after being secretly dosed with LSD by colleagues involved in MKUltra. Olson's death has long fueled suspicions of a government cover-up. "If nothing happened, why did President Ford give them money and make them sign an NDA?" Gentile said, referring to the later settlement with Olson's family.
Recent Hearings and Whistleblower Claims
A hearing on MKUltra was originally scheduled for May 13 but was postponed days before. However, former CIA officer James Erdman testified before the Senate last week, alleging that U.S. intelligence officials seized "40 boxes of JFK and MKUltra files" that were being prepared for declassification. House Oversight Committee members Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Eric Burlison of Missouri have supported Erdman's claims and marched into CIA headquarters in Virginia to demand the return of the files. The lawmakers gave the agency 24 hours to preserve and relinquish the data.
Burlison stated on X: "We went to deliver a message, and that message is that this is a new era. This president is demanding disclosure, and we wanted assurances that they are understanding of that and on the same page." He added, "That message was received, and we expect to be able to see all of the files for JFK and [MKUltra], etc, and we await these actions."
The CIA's Wild West Era
The CIA's formative years from the 1950s through the 1970s were characterized by a "Wild West" ethos. Faced with a new global frontier of espionage, operatives often relied on rugged individualism, covert sabotage, and swashbuckling field tactics reminiscent of Western folklore. Gentile pointed to the Church Committee investigation of the 1970s, which exposed decades of intelligence abuses involving surveillance, chemical testing, and covert experimentation. "It will make you angry," he said of the report.
Gentile expressed skepticism about the recent hearing, noting that the majority of MKUltra documents were deliberately destroyed decades ago. "It's gone, they were destroyed," he said. "So that's why the hearing, to me, is… you've heard the expression, limited hangout? It sounds like a limited hangout to me." The term "limited hangout" refers to the release of partial truths meant to distract from deeper secrets, a concept long associated with intelligence agencies and political scandals.
The Scope of MKUltra
The CIA officially launched MKUltra in 1953 under Director Allen Dulles, with the stated goal of developing mind control and interrogation techniques during the Cold War. Thousands of pages later revealed that the agency experimented with LSD, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, and psychological abuse, often on unsuspecting Americans. The program, conducted from 1953 to 1964, aimed to develop procedures and drugs for interrogations, weakening individuals and forcing confessions through brainwashing and psychological torture. Gangster James "Whitey" Bulger, a former organized crime boss, was used as a test subject in 1957 while an inmate at the Atlanta penitentiary, experiencing panic and paranoia as part of the experiments.
A total of 144 projects were carried out under MKUltra during that period, highlighting the vast scale of the CIA's secret experimentation program.
The Frank Olson Case in Detail
Gentile emphasized that one of the most disturbing cases tied to the program remains the death of Frank Olson. Olson was one of at least eight men given LSD on November 19, 1953, as part of an MKUltra experiment, according to Paul Vidich, Olson's nephew. During a 1977 hearing, it was revealed that a "very small dose" of LSD was added to a bottle of Cointreau served after dinner. In the days following, Olson became paranoid, barely ate, and threw away his wallet, identification badge, and money after believing his boss, Vincent Ruwet, had instructed him to do so. Olson was scheduled to travel to a mental health facility on November 27, but at approximately 2:45 a.m. on November 28, 1953, Ruwet received a call from Dr. Sidney Gottlieb reporting that Olson had died. Olson's body was later found outside the Statler Hotel, where he had been staying on the 13th floor.
Operation Sea-Spray and Other Experiments
Operation Sea-Spray was a covert 1950 CIA experiment in which bacteria were released over San Francisco to study the vulnerability of American cities to biological attacks. For one week in September 1950, the U.S. Navy sprayed massive amounts of bacteria into the air two miles off the coast of San Francisco. The bacteria used were Serratia marcescens, which can cause respiratory issues and meningitis, and Bacillus atrophaeus, which can be lethal to immunocompromised individuals. At the time, the Navy believed these bacteria were harmless, but after inhaling thousands of bacterial spores, 11 people checked into Stanford Hospital with rare, serious urinary tract infections that doctors ultimately determined were caused by the experiment. "They covered San Francisco with bacteria," Gentile said. "They did it in New York, too." Reports suggest the CIA may have been involved in "open air" biological warfare tests in streets and tunnels in the New York City area in 1955 and 1956, according to CIA records released in 1979 by the Church of Scientology. A four-month investigation found that the CIA acquired equipment for covert experiments involving the release of unidentified substances through aerosol devices hidden inside suitcases and the exhaust system of a modified 1953 Mercury sedan.
Plum Island and Lyme Disease Theories
Gentile also pointed to Plum Island, the controversial government research facility off the coast of New York, while discussing theories surrounding Lyme disease and Cold War bioweapons research. "Eric Traub was brought in to create that facility," he said, referring to the German scientist accused of overseeing Nazi biological warfare research during World War II. Traub later worked with the U.S. government after the war as part of America's recruitment of former German scientists. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested Lyme disease may have originated from a failed U.S. bioweapons program in the 1970s tied to research at Plum Island. However, the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly stated that Lyme disease was never studied at the facility.
Public Distrust and Secrecy
Gentile argued that public distrust toward intelligence agencies is rooted in decades of secrecy that many Americans either never learned about or dismissed as conspiracy theories. "Most Americans don't know what MKUltra is," he said. "We think everybody does, because we like this stuff. But my neighbors, if I say that to my neighbors, they won't know what that is." He also claimed that programs tied to psychological manipulation never truly disappear once they begin. "Once a program starts, it never really stops," Gentile said. "Psychic spies or MKUltra, it just never stops."
