the SCLC to focus the campaign on state repression, surveillance, persecution, and political prisoners. The campaign had support from within the organized labor movement, including endorsements by The Daily Worker, United Steelworkers, and Walter Reuther. However, the official leadership of the AFL–CIO—particularly President George Meany—would not endorse the campaign because of disagreement over the Vietnam War. Government reaction and preparations The prospect of an occupation of Washington by thousands of poor people triggered fears of rioting. Johnson administration The Johnson administration prepared for the campaign as though it might attempt a violent takeover of the nation's capital. Congress Some members of Congress were outspoken about their fear of the campaign. Democratic Senator Russell B. Long called for the censure of congresspeople whom he accused of "bending the knee" to the campaign, also saying: "When that bunch of marchers comes here, they can just burn the whole place down and we can just move the capital to some place where they enforce the law." Another Democratic Senator, John L. McClellan, accused the SCLC of attempting to start a riot, and decried a recent court decision that he said would allow marchers "to go to Washington one night and get on welfare the next day", rendering D.C. a "Mecca for migrants". Richard Nixon Richard Nixon, campaigning for the 1968 presidential election, asked Congress not to capitulate to the campaigners' demands. Military preparations 20,000 army soldiers were activated and prepared for a military occupation of the capital should the Poor People's Campaign pose a threat. Operation POCAM The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) strove to monitor and disrupt the campaign, which it code-named "POCAM". The FBI, which had been targeting King since 1962 with COINTELPRO, increased its efforts after King's April 4, 1967 speech titled "Beyond Vietnam". It also lobbied government officials to oppose King on the grounds that he was a communist, "an instrument in the hands of subversive forces seeking to undermine the nation", and affiliated with "two of the most dedicated and dangerous communists in the country" (Stanley Levison and Harry Wachtel). After "Beyond Vietnam" these efforts were reportedly successful in turning lawmakers and administration officials against King, the SCLC, and the cause of civil rights. After King was assassinated and the marches got underway, reports began to emphasize the threat of black militancy instead of communism. Operation POCAM became the first major project of the FBI's Ghetto Informant Program