(VOVworld) – The US National Security Agency spied on the civil rights icon Martin Luther King, boxer Muhammad Ali and other Vietnam war critics for 6 years.

US President Lyndon Johnson (right), Martin Luther King (right) and assistant Whitney Young      Source: AP

The documents have been issued by researchers at George Washington University on Wednesday. The documents also revealed that the NSA tracked journalists from the New York Times and the Washington Post as well as two senators. The operation, dubbed “Minaret”, was originally exposed in the 1970s. According to researchers, the abuse of spying during the Vietnam war period far exceeded the scale of its programs in the present day. The revelation about American spying activities has raised anger among the public.