</s>One particular dissemination, the contents of which was not revealed in the files, was apparently initiated and carried out personally by the Director. On January 22, 1965, the SAC in Atlanta advised Mr. Sullivan that, pursuant to their electronic surveillance, the Bureau learned that King had phoned Ralph Abernathy and the Bureau that Hoover had had a meeting with a particular Atlanta official while in Washington attending the Inauguration. According to King, when this official returned to Atlanta he contacted Dr. King senior and passed on a "good deal" of information. According to Sullivan's mane to Belmont, Dr King, Jr. was very upset. (HR 100- 106670-768). Dr. The files did not reveal any formal proposal for this briefing but Section Chief Baumgartner: later speculated that the Atlanta official was Chief of Police Jenkins since the Director had met with him on January 18, 1965 (HQ 100-1066770-780). The files do not indicate whether the Director suggested that the information be passed on to Dr. Kings' father. -134- 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

The documents detail FBI surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1961–1963, focusing on his civil rights activism, including roles in the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956), March on Washington (1963), and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The Bureau monitored his associations with organizations like the NAACP, SCLC, and Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), as well as alleged ties to the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), including attendance at a 1957 training school. These connections were later deemed exaggerated by the FBI. The reports also note that King was identified as a potential assassination target due to political tensions during the civil rights movement.  

James Earl Ray, convicted of MLK’s murder in 1969, had financial records showing expenditures for travel (e.g., Mexico, Canada), lodging, and purchases like firearms. His income included payroll checks totaling $644.34 from jobs between April 1967 and June 1968. The autopsy confirmed a single gunshot wound to the neck, severing the spinal cord, with no defensive wounds, aligning with Ray’s confession of firing from a hotel room window.  

Supporting documents include biographies by Jim Bishop and Gerold Frank, as well as analyses by Paul Hoch et al., referencing FBI files, congressional hearings, and legal proceedings. The assassination is linked to the broader context of racial injustice and systemic racism, with its aftermath contributing to the Civil Rights Act of 1968.  

Key People: Martin Luther King Jr., James Earl Ray, Clyde Tolson (FBI), Mr. W. C. Sullivan, Mr. F. J. Baumgardner, Mr. A. H. Bolmont, Miss Gandy  
Key Locations: Montgomery, Alabama; Washington, D.C.; unspecified key areas of the country  
Key Events: FBI surveillance (1961–1963), March on Washington (August 28, 1963), MLK’s assassination (April 4, 1968), Ray’s trial and conviction (1969)  
Key Organizations: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Communist Party USA (CPUSA), Security Assistance Committee (SAC)

MLK Declassified Files

44-la-1574_742142_005-01-part_4_of_7.pdf

Document Summary

Try AI Search