</s>FD-245 (REV. 4:13:60) H. S. Department of Justice: MATERIAL MUST NOT BE REMOVED FROM OR ADDED TO THIS FILE DO NOT DESTROY CLASSIC RECORD NO. HISTORICAL VALUE NATIONAL ARCHIVES FEDERAL BUREAU DO NOTDESTROY PENDING LITIGATION of INVESTIGATION Volume Numbers: Series: Bureau File Number 4/4-38861 230 thet. 300 See also Nos. Hmmys 4-868 C JUNY BULKES 10.3510 2026 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14178

Summary  
The declassified documents detail an FBI investigation into James Earl Ray’s potential use of aliases and his movements following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968. The text includes fragmented entries referencing phone numbers, locations such as San Antonio and Dallas, and coded phrases like “ARMED AND DANGEROUS.” It highlights efforts to track Ray’s associates, including checks with Liberty Mutual Insurance Company records and interviews at hotels in San Antonio. The FBI also monitored white supremacist groups for potential involvement in post-assassination unrest. Key suspects like Graham Robert Smith and NALL were ruled out due to physical discrepancies or alibis. The documents suggest an ongoing surveillance operation with unclear formatting and possible OCR errors, indicating a partial or redacted record from the 1960s–1970s.  

Key People  
- James Earl Ray (alleged assassin of MLK Jr.)  
- Graham Robert Smith (suspect ruled out due to physical mismatch)  
- NALL (ruled out for hospitalization during assassination dates)  
- Mrs. WESH, Mr. McDonald (individuals contacted for phone booth surveillance)  
- Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (reviewed for potential links to Ray)  

Key Locations  
- San Antonio, Texas (hotel interviews at Palacio Del Rio and Bamboo Hut)  
- Dallas, Texas (Southwest Index Bureau contact for professional claimant records)  
- Route 90, Texas (payphone surveillance area)  

Key Events  
- FBI investigation into James Earl Ray’s alias use, referencing fictional characters from Ian Fleming’s *James Bond* novels.  
- Surveillance of payphones along Route 90 and interviews with individuals to verify communication patterns.  
- Review of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company records and Southwest Index Bureau databases for potential accomplices.  
- Monitoring of white supremacist groups and racial tensions following MLK’s assassination.  
- Ruling out suspects like Graham Robert Smith and NALL due to physical descriptions or alibis.  

Key Organizations  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- Ku Klux Klan (monitored for post-assassination unrest)  
- Southwest Index Bureau (contacted for national professional claimant records)

MLK Declassified Files

44-sa-1242_742152_02-04-part_1_of_4.pdf

Document Summary

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