"Resign" looks better on one's resume. lol
You have to look at this from a historical context not in terms of today. Back then, we were in the Cold War and Vietnam War. There were many violent protesting groups among college age people pushing for Civil Rights and against the Vietnam War. The government had the population all spun up about commies coming over to kill us. They tested out air raid sirens and the emergency broadcasting network at least once a month in cities. Yes, they actively surveilled anyone who ended up on their radar screen as potential subversives.
After this god-awful hysterical period of time, measures were put into place to stop this nonsense. Looks like starting under Bush Jr they went back somewhat to their old practice.