</s>FBI WASH DC 1035 PM DEFERRED 4-10-66 JWD TO DIRECTOR FROM JACKSON (157-5956) JURKIN. RE BUREAU TELL THIS P.M ., REGARDING RICHARD ANTHONY BARRETT. ON NIGHT OF APRIL FOUR, LAST, IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION WAS INSTITUATED TO ACCOUNT FOR BARRETI'S WHEREABOUTS DURING PERINTINENT PERIOD. INVESTIGNATION DISCLOSED THAT BARREITT WAS IN JACKSON AT noon: AND DURNING AFTERNOON OF APRILY FOUR. LAST. A CONFIDENTIAL SOURCE ADVISED BARREtti WAS AT HIS RESIDENCE IN JACKSOON AT APPROXIATELY EIGHT FIFTEEN ON APRIL FOUR, LAST. AND HAD BEEN IN JACKSON ALL DAY ON APRILA FOUR; LAST. BARREIT ACTIVITIES CLOSELY FOLLOWED. END BGM FBI WISH DC Sorcheon E. Intimited Included Filed 157 9586-127 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Summary  
The documents detail FBI investigations and reports on disturbances in Mississippi following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968. These include memorial marches, protests, and civil unrest across multiple towns, with local law enforcement and federal agencies coordinating responses. Key events involve looting, property damage, school closures, and arrests of demonstrators. The FBI tracked movements of Black activists, monitored threats involving explosives, and investigated potential connections to individuals linked to firearms and dynamite. Separate inquiries focused on Thermo-Seal laundry marking machines found at the assassination scene, motor vehicle records, and suspects such as Eric Starvo Galt and John D. Dial. Coordination between FBI offices in Jackson, Memphis, and other locations was emphasized for cross-referencing evidence, including handwriting analysis and inventory checks of laundries.  

Key People  
- Martin Luther King Jr. (assassinated April 4, 1968)  
- Richard Anthony Barrett (monitored for whereabouts on April 4)  
- John Buffington (local leader encouraging students to return to school)  
- Arcelli Mitchell (identified as leader of student disturbances in Crystal Springs)  
- Charles Evers (NAACP Field Director, planned attendance at King’s funeral)  
- Reverend John F. Redman (led orderly marches in Greenville)  
- C. L. Gunn (Chief of Police, Meridian, Mississippi)  
- L. J. Matthews (alleged connections to explosives and threats)  
- Blaine Smith (linked to explosives and firearms)  
- Jos Daniel Hakins (connected to ammunition sales)  
- Eric Starvo Galt (suspect linked to a white Mustang and Rebel Motel in Birmingham)  
- John D. Dial (associated with a Ford automobile and license plate numbers)  
- SA L. Dean Paarmann (FBI agent coordinating investigations)  
- Agent RAY (FBI agent reviewing textile marking machine records)  
- Floyd Agnew (individual who sold the Amory Steam Laundry to Robert and Melvin Hood)  

Key Locations  
- Jackson, Mississippi (sites of looting, school disruptions, FBI operations, and National Guard deployment)  
- Oxford, Mississippi (student protests, bomb threats, campus closures)  
- Greenville, Mississippi (marches led by local ministers)  
- Crystal Springs, Mississippi (student disturbances at Holtzlaw Memorial School)  
- Meridian, Mississippi (marches, arrests of teenagers)  
- Carthage, Mississippi (NAACP-led march)  
- Cleveland, Mississippi (theatre fire incident)  
- Columbia, Mississippi (memorial march)  
- Birmingham, Alabama (linked to Galt’s motel and vehicle registration)  
- Amory, Mississippi (laundry associated with Thermo-Seal machine sales)  
- Hattiesburg, Mississippi (Phoenix Laundry and Dry Cleaners)  
- Tupelo, Mississippi (Long’s Laundry and Cleaners)  
- Starkville, Mississippi (Mississippi State University laundries)  

Key Events  
- Disturbances in Jackson on April 4–8, 1968, including looting, property damage, and arrests of 150–200 youths.  
- Student-led protests in Oxford leading to school closures, bomb threats, and police intervention.  
- Bomb threats at the University of Mississippi student union prompting campus lockdowns.  
- Memorial marches in Meridian, Carthage, Cleveland, and Columbia on April 7–9, 1968, with arrests of 19 teenagers for attempted unrest.  
- Fire at an abandoned theatre in Cleveland linked to racial tensions.  
- FBI monitoring of potential threats involving explosives, dynamite, and firearms, including claims about five tons of dynamite.  
- Investigation into Thermo-Seal laundry marking machines used to create tags found at the assassination scene.  
- Coordination between FBI offices in Jackson, Memphis, and Albany for cross-referencing evidence, including handwriting analysis and motor vehicle records.  
- Examination of laundries sold to Robert and Melvin Hood, including Amory Steam Laundry and Phoenix Laundry.  

Key Organizations  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol (MISP)  
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)  
- Mississippi National Guard  
- Negro Baptist Church (Meridian, Mississippi)  
- Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SNCC)  
- Textile Marking Machinery Company (Syracuse, New York)  
- Memphis Division (FBI office involved in evidence analysis)  
- Alabama Department of Public Safety (motor vehicle records referenced)

MLK Declassified Files

157-jn-9586_624938_427a-02-part_2_of_5.pdf

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