</s>CC0411 2351520Z 00 HQ DL DE OC 0 231520X AUG 78 FM OKLAHOMA CITY (44-686) (CRUC) FM DIRECTOR, FBI (44+38861) IMMEDIATE DALLAS, IMMEDIAE UNCLAS EFTO BT ATTENTION: CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRY INQUiry UNIT, ROOM 9988, JEH BLDG. TURKIN RE XANSAS CITY TELETEYE TO BUREAU; ETAL, ETAL. AUGUST 21, 1978. FOR INFORMATION DALLAS; REFERENCED TELETYPE ADVISED AS FOLLOVS: ON AUG. 19, 1978, BURGESS AUDIE WILSON, DOPB AUG, 28, 1938'S (YEAR UNKNOWN), MISSISSIPPI; "SILL", BROWN EYES; BROWN HAIR; FBI No. 879 421 A1, WAS INTERVIEWED BY AGENTS OF THE JACKSON OFFICE AT GULFFORT, MISSISSIPPI ., WILson TOLD, INTERVIEWING AGENTS HE HAD SHOT AND KILLED MARTIN LUTHER, KING IN MEMPHIS, . . TENNESSEE. AMONG OTHER INFORMATION FINISHED, VILSON ADVISED DURING THE PERIOD IN WHICH HE SHOT and KILLED KING, HE RESIDED AT 13125 HERRICK AVE ., GRANDVIEN, MISSOURI, AND HE WAS AT THAT Searchied Serifzed Faded Hind 44686-289 Pteo 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Summary:  
The documents detail an FBI investigation into allegations involving James Earl Ray, who was suspected of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Robert E. Hart, a convicted felon serving a two-year sentence for firearm possession, was interviewed in November 1978 at the Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma. Hart claimed that Ray visited him at his residence on Rutger Street in St. Louis, Missouri, shortly after King's assassination on April 4, 1968. During this visit, Ray allegedly asked Hart to deliver a handwritten note to his brother, Jerry Ray, who owned a bar on Broadway in St. Louis. The note contained racist threats against Black individuals and white women. Hart stated he did not know at the time that Ray had assassinated King but later realized this after Ray's arrest in England. Hart also mentioned that Ray was an escaped fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary and feared prosecution for harboring him if his visit to Hart’s residence during the assassination night were discovered. The FBI concluded that Hart did not have access to a vehicle or airplane in April 1968, nor was he involved in the investigation, though no active probe was initiated due to insufficient evidence.  

Key People:  
- **Robert E. Hart**: Inmate number 23747, interviewed by the FBI in 1978; claimed to have met James Earl Ray after King’s assassination.  
- **James Earl Ray**: Suspected assassin of MLK; allegedly visited Hart in St. Louis following the murder.  
- **Jerry Ray**: Brother of James Earl Ray, owner of a bar on Broadway in St. Louis.  
- **David Sellers**: Manager of the apartment where Hart resided on Rutger Street in St. Louis.  

Key Locations:  
- **El Reno, Oklahoma**: Site of Hart’s interview with the FBI.  
- **St. Louis, Missouri**: Location of Hart’s residence and the alleged meeting between Ray and Hart.  
- **Missouri State Penitentiary**: Where Ray was reportedly incarcerated prior to his escape.  

Key Events:  
- **April 4, 1968**: Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee.  
- **November 28, 1978**: FBI interview with Robert E. Hart regarding James Earl Ray’s alleged visit after the assassination.  
- **Ray’s arrest in England**: Hart claimed to have learned about the assassination through this event.  

Key Organizations:  
- **Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)**: Conducted the investigation into Ray and Hart’s claims.  
- **Bureau of Prisons**: Facility where Hart was incarcerated during the interview.

MLK Declassified Files

44-oc-686_sec_003_ser_276-part_3_of_3.pdf

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