Martin Luther King Jr. FBI Files – Vol 2: Assassination – Jacksonville Mississippi FBI Bureau Files

Description

MLK Assassination: Investigation and Conspiracies Timeline

• 1964: Henry Sero and James Earl Ray (using the alias Eric Starvo Galt) have conversations while inmates in Block B of the Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) in Jefferson City, Missouri. These conversations would later be documented in FBI memoranda.
• April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated.
• Post-April 4, 1968 – 1977: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducts an investigation into the assassination, primarily focusing on leads and possible suspects.
• Initial Investigation: Early mentions of James Earl Ray refer to him by the alias Eric Starvo Galt.
• Ongoing Investigation Activities:Interviews are conducted with people in Mississippi associated with James Earl Ray.
• Memoranda are sent to the Jackson Bureau concerning evidence from the assassination and information about Ray.
• The FBI accounts for the whereabouts of Jacksonville and Mississippi residents who were bombing suspects, subjects having a propensity for violence, and current and former members of the Ku Klux Klan at the time of the assassination.
• FBI Conclusion: The FBI concludes that James Earl Ray was the sole assassin of Martin Luther King Jr.
• Continued Documentation: Files related to the investigation continue to be generated until 1977. These files also document individuals whom some believe were complicit in the assassination, including Donald Nissen, Leroy McManaman, William Kenneth Knight, and Don Sparks.

Cast of Characters

• Martin Luther King Jr.: The prominent Civil Rights leader who was assassinated on April 4, 1968. The FBI files specifically focus on the investigation into his death.
• James Earl Ray: Identified by the FBI as the sole assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. He initially used the alias Eric Starvo Galt. His associations and past conversations (with Henry Sero) were part of the FBI’s investigation.
• Eric Starvo Galt: An alias used by James Earl Ray, particularly in early mentions within the FBI investigation.
• Henry Sero: An individual who was an inmate with James Earl Ray (under the alias Eric Starvo Galt) in 1964 at the Missouri State Penitentiary. His accounts of their conversations were documented in FBI memoranda.
• Donald Nissen: An individual mentioned in the FBI files whom some believe was complicit in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
• Leroy McManaman: An individual mentioned in the FBI files whom some believe was complicit in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
• William Kenneth Knight: An individual mentioned in the FBI files whom some believe was complicit in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
• Don Sparks: An individual mentioned in the FBI files whom some believe was complicit in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. FBI Files – Volume 2: King Assassination – Jacksonville Mississippi FBI Bureau Files

3,333 pages of Jacksonville Mississippi FBI Bureau files related to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., files dating from 1968 to 1977.

The files document the FBI’s investigation of leads and possible suspects in the April 4, 1968 assassination of King. The Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded that James Earl Ray was the sole assassin of King. Includes documents concerning individuals some believe were complicit in the assassination of King, including Donald Nissen, Leroy McManaman, William Kenneth Knight and Don Sparks.

Highlights include:

Accounting for the whereabouts of Jacksonville and Mississippi residents who were bombing suspects, subjects having a propensity for violence, and current and former members of the Ku Klux Klan at the time of the assassination.

Early mentions of James Earl Ray refer to him by the alias Eric Starvo Galt.

Interview of people in Mississippi associated with Ray.

Memorandum concerning evidence from the assassination and information about Ray, sent to the Jackson Bureau.

Memorandum on accounts given by Henry Sero of 1964 conversations between him and James Earl Ray while they were inmates in Block B of the Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP), Jefferson City, Missouri.