</s>PAGE THREE FROM LEGAT LONDON STATEMENTS "I FEEL SO TRAPPED" AND "TON GOD" IN AFTERNOON SESSION MAGISTRATE CAUTIOMENT RAY AS TO HIS RIGHTS AND RAY AFTER CAUTION SESSION MAGISSTRATE CAUTIONED RAY IS SO HIS RIGHT'S TESTIMONY AS HE THOUGHT THE HE WANTED TO COMMENT ON SUPT. BUTLER'S TESTIMONY as HE THOUGHT THE TESTIMONY FALSE. RAYS CONSULSALED SAID HIS CONSIDERED DIFFERENCES IMMATERIAL; HOWEVER RAY REPLIED HE WANTED HE WANTEL TO TELL HIS SIDE OF STORY. AFTER TEN MINUTE RECESS WITH COUNSEL, COUNCEL, SPOKED FOR RAY STATING RAY DISAGREES WITH LARGE PART OF EVIDENCE GIVEN BY BUTLER. IN PARTICULAR HE VANTED IT STARTED MOST EMPHATICALLY HE DID NOT STATE I FEEL So TRAPPEO" NOR "OH GOD" - NOR HE COLLAPSCE IN HIS CELL IN MANNER DESCRIBED. MADE RAY WANTED IT HAD REFUSED TO SIGN MEADE NO STATEMENT TO ANY POLICE OFFICER AND THAT HE HAD REDFUSEO TO SIGN FINGERPRINT FORM. COUNSE SAID HE WAS NOT MAKING APPLICATION FOR RECALL A BUTLER . DEFENSE THEN CALLED ON A LONDON TIMES CORRESPONDENT, PETER HOPKIRK, WHO HAD BEEN SUPPORENED FOR A LONDON TIMES COPRESPENDENT, POTER HOSPINK TESTIMENTRE RE TIME SPENT IN AMERICA AND THE AMERICAN SCENE, POINTING OUT HE HARD BEEN IN MEMPHIS DAY AFTER KING WAS KILLED. COULDNEL LED HIM THROUGH SERIES OF SITUATIONS CONCERNING WETHER OR NOT KING LIKED. LED HIM THOUGH SERES OF SITTUATIONS ETC. MAGISTRATIVE AGAIN INTERPURPED DURING THIS TESTIMNEY TO POINT OUT THAT MUCH OF WHAT COUSNEL WAS STATING WAS STAINED WAS COMMON KNOWLEDGE, AT LEAST TO EDUCATED PEOPLE. MAGISTRATE ALSO POINTED OUT IT WAS OBVIOUS THE DEFENSE WAS TRYING TO MAKE POLITICAL FIGURE OUT OF KING IN ORDER TO MAKE A CASE THAT RAY SEXTRADITION BEING SOUGNT AS A POLITICAL REFUGE. END PAGE THREE 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Summary  
The documents detail FBI and international investigations into James Earl Ray’s alleged involvement in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., focusing on extradition proceedings, evidence analysis, and connections to bank robberies. In London, Ray faced extradition hearings for murder charges, denying direct involvement in King’s death and arguing his case should not be considered political. FBI communications reference forensic evidence, including bullets, cartridge cases, and fingerprint examinations from Ray’s belongings, as well as efforts to trace laundry and dry cleaning marks linked to a bank robbery allegedly connected to him. Legal discussions centered on extradition procedures, attorney representation, and the status of Ray’s case in London courts. The FBI coordinated with U.S. and international authorities, including Scotland Yard, RCMP, and Portuguese officials, to verify Ray’s involvement in multiple robberies, including a fatal 1967 attempt at the National Provincial Bank in London. Investigations also explored financial transactions, travel routes, and potential ties to mercenary activities in Africa and Rhodesia.  

Key People  
- James Earl Ray (suspect in MLK Jr.’s assassination, bank robberies)  
- Peter Hopkirk (London Times correspondent, testified about Ray’s activities; later killed)  
- Magistrate (London court official overseeing extradition proceedings)  
- B.B. Gullitt (Tennessee attorney involved in extradition matters)  
- Charles Stephens (linked to Ray, resided in Memphis area)  
- Arthur Jackson Hanes (British Home Office inquiry)  
- Sydney W. Whitaker (Toronto contact regarding a man named Sneydat Bar)  
- Harold Swenson (Missouri State Penitentiary warden, denied knowledge of Cooley Organization)  

Key Locations  
- London, England (extradition hearings, Scotland Yard investigations, bank robberies)  
- Memphis, Tennessee (King’s assassination site, Ray’s alleged last known location)  
- Birmingham, Alabama (Ray’s alleged purchase of revolver)  
- Lisbon, Portugal (investigation into Ray’s travel and embassy interactions)  
- Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C. (Ray’s scheduled arrival on June 28, 1968)  
- Toronto, Canada (Whitaker’s contact)  
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin (FBI SAC operations)  

Key Events  
- Extradition hearings for James Earl Ray in London, June 27–28, 1968  
- FBI analysis of forensic evidence (bullets, fingerprints, laundry marks) linked to Ray  
- Bank robbery at London Trustee Savings Bank (June 4, 1968), identified via fingerprint evidence  
- Attempted robbery at National Provincial Bank in London (June 9, 1967), resulting in a fatality  
- Coordination with Scotland Yard, RCMP, and Portuguese authorities to verify Ray’s criminal history  
- Investigation into financial transactions, including cash payments from Lisbon to London  
- Inquiries into potential mercenary ties and unsolved robberies in Plymouth, England  

Key Organizations  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- United States Department of Justice  
- British legal system (Queen’s Bench Court, Lords Appeal)  
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)  
- Scotland Yard (UK Metropolitan Police)  
- British Home Office  
- Portuguese authorities (Lisbon embassy inquiries)  
- National Institute of Drying Cleaners (coordinated evidence tracking)

MLK Declassified Files

44-hq-38861_hs1-233652821_18-02-part_2_of_4.pdf

Document Summary

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