</s>UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION In Reply, Please Refer to Memphis, Tennessee File No. May 25, 1974 RE: JAMES BARL RAY, DR. MARTIN LOUIER KING, JR .- VICTIM CIVIL RIGHTS - CONSPIRACY On May 24, 1974, District Attorney General Hugh Stanton, Jr ., Memphis, Tennessee, confidentially advised that he had been approached by Mr. Robert Livingston who is one of the attorneys for James Earl Ray/ Mr. Livingston .- is one for the attorneys who were involved in the investigation of Investigation (FBI) of the story that Livingston was was to tell Stanton, claiming that this life was in great danger. The story related by Livingston to Stanton as follows: During late March, 1974. Livingston was telephoneically contacted at Memphis by a man who identified himself as Cliff Andrews, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. Andrews told Livingston at Owen Sound and Ontario, Ontario for the murder of King and that all would testify, provided they were granted total immunity from prosecution. Andrews were granted to him from prosecution, and his two friends had been hired by three Memphis businessmen and by a fourth man from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to murder King. They were to receive $250,000 for the murder, but due to the circumstances not explained by Livingston, they were never paid. Shortly after receiving this phone call, Andrews came to Memphis and was met by Livingston at the airport. According to Livingston, Andrews searched for Livingston's car and later his office and made a big production of being a certified that Livingston, was not being taped. Accordin that Livingston and Andrews kept one hand on coat at all times as though he were working a shoulder holster. 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Summary  
The document details Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s movements between motels in Memphis on March 28–30, 1968, and his travel to Atlanta. Lt. Nichols escorted Dr. King from a Pontiac to the Riverfront Motel after clearing a crowd, with the driver stating they needed to "get away from trouble." Dr. King and his party checked into the Riverfront Hotel at 11:24 A.M. on March 28. On March 29, Lt. K. H. Arkkin noted Dr. King spent the night of March 28 at the Riverview Motel, then moved to Memphis Police Department facilities before departing via Eastern Airlines for Atlanta at 3:30 P.M. on March 3. On April 1, Inspector G. P. Tines reported that SCLC staff members, including Rev. Jesse Jackson and James L. Bevel, were registered at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Hosea L. Williams advised Dr. King would stay at the Lorraine Motel for a planned mass march on April 5. Lt. Arkin later confirmed Dr. King spent the night of April 3 at the Lorraine Motel and was shot there around 6:00 P.M. on April 4, 1968. The FBI requested a search of files regarding Reverend Xavier Von Koss (a hypnotist allegedly visited by James Earl Ray), Dr. Russell C. Hadley (alleged plastic surgeon who performed nose surgery on Ray), and changes in Dr. King’s Memphis accommodations prior to the assassination. A civil rights division document references a habeas corpus writ and trial details for a case transferred to the USDC Memphis, with a scheduled trial date and judge Robert M. McRaegr.  

Key People  
- Lt. Nichols (Memphis Police Department)  
- Lt. K. H. Arkkin (Memphis Police Department)  
- Inspector G. P. Tines (Memphis Police Department)  
- Hosea L. Williams (Voters Registration Director, SCI)  
- Rev. Jesse Jackson (SCLC staff member)  
- James L. Bevel (SCLC staff member)  
- Ralph D. Abernathy (Dr. King’s aide)  
- Andrew Young (Dr. King’s aide)  
- Reverend Xavier Von Koss (hypnotist, allegedly visited by James Earl Ray)  
- Dr. Russell C. Hadley (plastic surgeon, alleged nose surgery on James Earl Ray)  

Key Locations  
- Riverfront Motel (Memphis, Tennessee)  
- Riverview Motel (Memphis, Tennessee)  
- Lorraine Motel (Memphis, Tennessee)  
- Memphis Municipal Airport  
- Atlanta, Georgia  
- Memphis Police Department facilities  

Key Events  
- Dr. King’s movement between motels in Memphis on March 28–30, 1968  
- Registration of SCLC staff at the Lorraine Motel on April 1, 1968  
- Dr. King’s stay at the Lorraine Motel and assassination on April 4, 1968  
- FBI request to search files for alleged connections to James Earl Ray and accommodation changes  
- Civil rights division case transfer to USDC Memphis with trial details  

Key Organizations  
- Memphis Police Department  
- Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- United States District Court, Middle District of Tennessee (USDC Memphis)

MLK Declassified Files

190-hq-709_bulky_231_sec_008_ser_231_only-part_09_of_12.pdf

Document Summary

Try AI Search