</s>FRI WASH DC FRI SPRINGFIELD FRI SPRINGFIELD 900PM URGENT 4-7-68 DJK TO DIRECTOR FROM SPRINGFIPLE (157-838) ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. P.C. RACIAL. MATTERS 2. SPRINFIELD TEL APRIL SIX LAST. / MEMORIAL HELD IN CENTRAL PARK, DECATUR, ILLINOIS BY OFFICIALS NAACP AND DECATURA AREA COUNCIL OF CHURCHES FOR DR. MARTIIN LUTHER. KINC, JR ., J.R ., THIS DATE WITHOUT INCIDENT. JAMES R. DOSTER, SHERIFF, MACON COUNTY, DECAUTUR, INFORMED APRIL SEVEN INSTANT, GEORGE GRANVED, PRESIDENT, LOCAL ASSOC- IATION BLACK ACTION (CLASA), HAS SCHEDULED MEMORIAL AT ST. PETERS AME CHURGH, DECATOR, SEVEN THIRTY PM THIS DAT. NO VIOLENCE ANTIC- IPATED. COP, HAROLD LINOSTEN, NA, DECACTUR, ADVISED APRIL SEVENT INSTANT. A MAJOR FIRE BROKE OUT DOWNTOWN DECATOR NIGHT APRIL LIX LAST, NO 44-8861-2728X19 ARSON SUSPECTED. SMALL FIRE BROKED OUT IN CLOCKING STORE ON LEVER. DECATUR. FIVE FIFTEEN A.M. APRIL SEN STANT. ARSON SUSTEPTED. HONEWER NO FACIAL OVERTONES, FIRE THROUGH UNDER CONTROL A 1968 MINOR DAMAGE. USA ANY S SPRINGFIELD, MI EVANSTON, IILLINOIS AND LOCAL AUTHORITES ADVISEO. END EL1 CC 1010-1-1/1-2-1.1/2-2/2/3/4/4-1 FRI WASH DC MR. TRAINOR ROOM 836 9&D STRYX 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Summary  
The document contains multiple entries from April 1968 detailing memorial services for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., security monitoring by federal agencies, and fire incidents in Illinois. On April 7, 1968, a memorial service was held at St. Peter’s AME Church in Decatur, Illinois, attended by approximately 600 people, with no disturbances reported. Sheriff James R. Doster noted the event proceeded peacefully. Local authorities, including Chief of Police Harold Lindsten and Sheriff Jack Hazel, documented minor fire incidents in Decatur and Carbondale during April 1968, though none were confirmed as arson. A planned chartered bus trip from Peoria, Illinois, to Missouri and Tennessee for a memorial march was organized by civil rights groups like the NAACP and Urban League, with no anticipated violence. The FBI and Secret Service monitored these activities, noting no significant threats. Additional entries reference unrelated investigations, including potential subversive activity in Carbondale, but none directly link to MLK’s assassination. A separate report from Miami details a memorial parade on April 7, attended by approximately 1,000 people, with no incidents reported. The FBI closed its investigation into potential threats related to Dr. King’s assassination as no violations or threats were confirmed.  

Key People  
- James R. Doster (Sheriff of Decatur)  
- Harold Lindsten (Chief of Police, Decatur)  
- Jack Hazel (Chief of Police, Carbondale)  
- George Granved (President, Local Association Black Action)  
- Reverend Samuel George (Organizer of the Decatur memorial)  
- Sergeant Robert Lutes (FBI agent in Miami)  
- John Edger Hoover (FBI Director)  
- William Roberts III (Special Agent, FBI)  

Key Locations  
- St. Peter’s AME Church, Decatur, Illinois  
- Central Park, Decatur, Illinois  
- Peoria, Illinois  
- Carbondale, Illinois  
- Miami, Florida (downtown area, Sunland Park)  
- Springfield, Illinois (FBI office)  

Key Events  
- Memorial service for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., April 7, 1968, at St. Peter’s AME Church (Decatur)  
- Scheduled memorial at Central Park, Decatur, Illinois, on April 7, 1968  
- Fire incidents in Decatur and Carbondale during April 1968 (suspected arson, but no confirmed fires)  
- Planned chartered bus trip from Peoria to Missouri/Tennessee for MLK memorial march  
- Memorial parade in Miami, Florida, on April 7, 1968 (attended by ~1,000 people)  
- FBI closure of investigations into potential threats related to Dr. King’s assassination  

Key Organizations  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- Secret Service  
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)  
- Urban League  
- Illinois State Police  
- Local police departments in Decatur and Miami  
- Southern Illinois University Police Department

MLK Declassified Files

44-hq-38861_hs1-233652821_09-01-part_6_of_9.pdf

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