</s>FBI MEMPHIS FBI SAN FRAN 530M URGENT 5/1/68 NJM TO DIRECTOR (44-38861), BOSTON, AND CHICAGO (44+1114) MEMPHIs (44)-1987) AND SAN DIEGO (444-3887) FROM SAN FRANCISCO (173-65) (P) 2P MURKIN RE DONALD STOUT /SUSPECT. CO-CONSPIRATOR. RE SAN DIEO TELETYPE TO SAN FRANGISCO AND ABOVE OFFICES, APRIL THIRTY HEALY, CHARTER MANAGER, NATIONAL CAR RENTALS SYSTEM, SEVEN JAMES LAST. THREE FIVE HARRISON STREET, SAN FRANCEISCO, WHICH RENTS AUPOMOBILES AND OPERATES BUSES IN SAN FRancisco AND OAKLANDS, CALIFORNIA, APRIL THIRTY LAST ADVISED NO RECORD FOR DONALD SOUT OR DONALD LAWRANCE STOUT IN FILES. ADVISID ROBERT E. STOUT ., SORN PLACE NOT INDICATED, EMPLOYED THEIR COMPANY AS BUS DRIVER MAY NINE NINE- TEEN SIXTY THREE AND STILL EMPLOVED. PHOTOGRAPH OF DONALD LAWRENCE STOUT NOT IDENTICAL TO PRESENT EMPLOYEE ROBERT e. STOUT, ACCORDING TO HEALV. HOWEVER INVESTIGATION CONTINUING TO DEFINITELY RESOLVE AS NON IDENT TO DONALD STAOUT. MARGARET REED, PAYROLL CLERK, ABOVES COMPANY, ADVISIED THIS DATE UNABLE LOCATE ANY RECORD for DONALD LAWRENCE SOUT or END PAGE ONE SEARCHED A. JEFF-100J SERIALIZED A .. FILLED. MAY - 1968 FB- MEMPHISHES 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14178

Summary  
The documents detail FBI investigations into potential threats against Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) in 1965–1968, focusing on individuals linked to alleged plots or warnings. Donald Lawrence Stout was scrutinized through employment records, phone logs, and vehicle registrations; the FBI found no record of him as a National Car Rentals employee and noted discrepancies between his photo and a driver named Robert E. Stout. A 1968 Chevrolet Impala with license plate PSJ 907-53 was tracked but its connection to Stout remained unclear. Thomas E. Cramer (also known as Thomas B. Crater) was investigated for allegedly receiving an assignment to kill MLK at a Chicago meeting in March 1965. He claimed expertise in marksmanship and provided details about his movements, including hotel stays in Seattle and employment records at the White Front Department Store. Robert C. Buxton of Chicago made a threatening call to FBI offices on March 17, 1965, stating he would kill MLK if he "got in his way." The FBI concluded Buxton was not involved after further checks. Additional records reference Thomas Eugene Cramer’s prior arrests in Ohio (1960–1964) for offenses including intoxication and non-support, as well as interactions with the Deacons For Defense and alleged connections to a bomb threat at Stuart Warner Corporation. Louis Fee, who met Cramer in Denver in March 1968, recalled discussing MLK’s assassination on April 4, 1968 (the actual date of the event). The FBI also referenced James Earl Ray as a suspect in MLK’s assassination, noting a hitchhiker resembling him observed near Love Field, Dallas, Texas. A hotel registration card linked to an individual resembling James Earl Bay was submitted for handwriting analysis by the FBI Laboratory, with check-in dates spanning April 10, 1966, to April 11, 1968.  

Key People  
- Donald Lawrence Stout (suspect, co-conspirator)  
- Thomas E. Cramer (alleged plot participant, Seattle; prior arrests in Ohio)  
- Robert C. Buxton (threatened MLK, Chicago)  
- Louis Fee (met Cramer in Denver, recalled discussing MLK’s assassination on April 4, 1968)  
- James Earl Ray (suspect in MLK’s assassination; referenced as hitchhiker near Love Field, Dallas)  
- Margaret Reed (payroll clerk, National Car Rentals)  
- Curt Kraft (advertising manager, San Francisco Chronicle)  
- Carl Waski (photographer whose Minutemen photos were under FBI review)  
- Hotel manager at Rockland Hotel, Denver  

Key Locations  
- Memphis, Tennessee  
- Chicago, Illinois  
- Seattle, Washington  
- Oakland, California  
- Reno, Nevada  
- Denver, Colorado  
- Dallas, Texas  
- Lima, Ohio  
- Omba, Nebraska  
- Rockland Hotel, Denver  

Key Events  
- FBI checks on Stout’s employment and vehicle records (May 1968)  
- Investigation into Cramer’s alleged plot to kill MLK via a meeting in Chicago (March 1965)  
- Threatening call from Buxton to FBI offices (March 17, 1965)  
- Retaliation incidents reported by Cramer, including theft of his car and threats attributed to the Deacons For Defense  
- Louis Fee’s recollection of discussing MLK’s assassination on April 4, 1968  
- FBI request for handwriting analysis of hotel registration card linked to James Earl Bay (April 10–11, 1966–1968)  
- Teletypes referencing inquiries into Minutemen photographs and James Earl Ray’s potential involvement in MLK’s assassination  

Key Organizations  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- National Car Rentals System  
- San Francisco Chronicle (advertising records checked)  
- White Front Department Store (Seattle)  
- Deacons For Defense (allegedly linked to retaliatory actions against Cramer)  
- Minutemen (mentioned in teletypes as a group associated with an unidentified photograph under FBI review)  
- Rockland Hotel, Denver

MLK Declassified Files

44-me-1987_hs1-852611265_77-02-part_3_of_3.pdf

Document Summary

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