</s>(REV. 415-60) 2.249 U. S. Department of Justice (MATERIAL MUST NOT BE REMOVED FROM OR ADDED TO THIS FILED) D. Not D.Not-696 FEDERAL BUREAU Destroy FEDERAL BUREAU DO NOT DESTROY of LUE ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED FILE STRIPPED HEREIN IS U.S. ASSASSIFIED INVESTIGATION: 6/1/03 BY SPICI/M/A/X Volume Number Bureau File Number 44-38861 Volume Number ENTIRE FILE REVIEWED FOR HISTORICAL DECLASSIFICATION 132-1326 See also Nos. 157-1298 14 section DO NOT DISTROY- RESERVE FOR SELECTA. COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS Dee 197-1-1 7 Fleming 4/7/18/85 MUSICN: 10-32/50 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while standing on the second-floor balcony outside Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. The fatal shot came from a 30-06 rifle, which was later found in the bathroom of a rooming house at 422 South Main Street, Memphis. An individual named John Willard rented Room 6-8 at this property and fled with a package containing binoculars and clothing. A white Mustang (linked to Eric S. Galt) was discovered abandoned near 424 South Main Street, and a 30-08 rifle model 760 was recovered. The rifle had been sold by Harvey Lowey to Aeromarine Supply Co., Birmingham, Alabama, on March 30, 1968. A white Mustang with Alabama license plates (1-38993) was later found in Atlanta and traced to Galt, who purchased it from a private seller in August 1967. The FBI identified latent fingerprints on the rifle matching James Earl Ray, who was charged with conspiracy to assassinate King. A federal warrant for Ray’s arrest was issued on April 17, 1968, and he was marked as "armed and dangerous."  

Key People:  
- **Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.** (victim)  
- **James Earl Ray** (suspect; identified via fingerprints on the rifle)  
- **Eric S. Galt** (linked to the white Mustang and purchase of the rifle)  
- **John Willard** (rented room at 422 South Main Street, fled with package)  
- **Harvey Lowey** (sold rifle to Aeromarine Supply Co.)  
- **George Wilburn Strength** (unreliable informant arrested in South Carolina)  
- **William Vaughan Wilburn** (graduate student interviewed by FBI regarding movements on April 4, 1968)  
- **James Henry Short** (witness who allegedly participated in an operation targeting King)  
- **T. P. Daly** and **K. G. Camwood** (postal inspectors involved in checking Ray’s criminal history)  
- **SA Joe H. Roberts** (FBI special agent handling the investigation)  

Key Locations:  
- **Lorraine Motel**, Memphis, Tennessee (scene of assassination)  
- **422 South Main Street**, Memphis, Tennessee (rooming house where weapon was found)  
- **424 South Main Street**, Memphis, Tennessee (abandoned Mustang discovered)  
- **Birmingham, Alabama** (Aeromarine Supply Co., Galt’s address)  
- **Atlanta, Georgia** (recovered Mustang and associated evidence)  
- **Knoxville, Tennessee** (FBI office coordinating investigation; Wilburn’s movements)  
- **Jackson, Mississippi** (location where Ray was allegedly met by Dick Collins)  
- **Roanoake, Virginia** (where Short’s brother-in-law resided after fleeing Memphis)  
- **Elizabethton**, Tennessee (mentioned in fragmented document entries)  

Key Events:  
- **April 4, 1968**: Assassination of Dr. King at the Lorraine Motel.  
- **April 4–5, 1968**: Recovery of rifle, binoculars, and clothing from Memphis and Atlanta.  
- **April 17, 1968**: Federal warrant issued for James Earl Ray’s arrest.  
- **April 19, 1968**: FBI transmitted details about the investigation to continental offices, including Thermo-Seal marking machine codes linked to laundry items found in the Mustang.  
- **April 20–22, 1968**: FBI memos and teletypes detailing informant contacts, suspect leads, and administrative updates on case management.  
- **April 5–6, 1968**: Ray’s movements tracked via motel stays in Memphis, Jackson, and Knoxville.  
- **April 11, 1968**: FBI interviews with witnesses (e.g., Sharon Bradley, Martha Mynatt) to verify Ray’s activities.  
- **April 22, 1968**: Urgent FBI directive to investigate Ray’s connections to stolen postal money orders and his potential involvement in the assassination.  

Key Organizations:  
- **Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)** (led investigation into assassination and related crimes)  
- **U.S. Department of Justice** (oversaw legal actions against suspects)  
- **Memphis Division, FBI** (handled local evidence collection and suspect identification)  
- **Birmingham, Alabama offices** (involved in tracking Galt and weapon sales)  
- **U.S. Postal Service** (involved in tracking Ray’s financial activities related to stolen postal money orders)  
- **U.S. Immigration and Border Patrol** (notified of Ray’s aliases and potential border crossings)  
- **Ku Klux Klan (KKK)** (mentioned as a monitored organization in unrelated inquiries)

MLK Declassified Files

44-kx-696_742347_01-02-part_1_of_8.pdf

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