The Trump administration has recently unveiled the government’s documentation concerning the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., providing fresh insights into the tragic end of this iconic American figure.
This release comprises 6,301 documents plus an audio interview with the brother of the assassin, James Earl Ray. Altogether, the release amounts to 243,496 pages. Here are seven key details from the files.
Texas man claimed early encounter with MLK’s killer
One Texas man, Joseph Meyer, told investigators that he may have seen MLK’s killer in Mississippi two weeks prior to the killing.
A report on his comments to police said he encountered a man firing a rifle into a tree while on a fishing trip with his son.
FBI agents connected the two aliases when store clerks were shown a picture of “Galt” and said he was identical to “Lowmeyer.”
The FBI report states: “Galt initially visited the Aeromarine Supply Company twice: on Friday, March 29, 1968, when he purchased a .243 caliber Remington Model 700 rifle, equipped with a Redfield scope. The following day, Saturday, March 30, 1968, after a phone call, he returned and exchanged this rifle for the weapon ultimately used in the murder—a Remington Model 760, 30.06 caliber, also fitted with a scope.”
Ray’s brother suggested he may have been paid to be implicated in assassination
Ray’s younger brother, Jerry Ray, conducted an interview with law enforcement following MLK’s murder, and he suggested to them that his brother may have been paid by a third party to be “used” in the attack.
He told law enforcement that he hadn’t seen James in four years, when he visited his elder brother in prison.
“I don’t think he was involved. I think he was used as a–he was used some way in it, though. I think that because, you know, of the money he spent and all that. I think his name was used, and because he couldn’t turn himself in because he had so much time to do in Missouri. I think he was implicated in some way, more likely used,” Jerry said.
“Are you saying that someone paid him to pretend to be King’s murderer?” the interviewer asked.
“Well they have two Eric Starvo Galts within about two miles of each other, and every time he went some place there would be another guy like him, and it seems kind of strange,” Jerry responded.
Jerry went on to say he believes his brother thought it was “honorable” not to reveal whether anyone else was involved in King’s murder. He then said he planned to go to Memphis and talk to his brother once Ray arrived in the city in police custody.
“If he definitely didn’t do it, he’ll tell me that, but he won’t tell me the other things, how come he was used or what,” Jerry predicted of talking with Ray. “But he’ll tell me if he did or if he didn’t do it, but he won’t implicate anybody else.”
“So, Jerry, your whole theory is that Ray was paid to implicate himself?” the interviewer pressed.
“That’s what my theory is,” he responded. “I figure he was paid for his name being used. That’s as far as I think he’s involved in it.”
Chinese propaganda urged uprising against ‘yankee imperialists’ after King’s death
Missives from the Chinese Communist Party collected by U.S. intelligence called for Americans to begin an uprising against “yankee imperialists.”
The booklet, found with both Spanish and English translations, was titled “Statement by Comrade Mao Tse-Tung, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in Support of the Afro-American Struggle Against Violent Repression.”
The Chinese Communist Party published a message from Mao Tse-Tung calling for an “uprising” after MLK’s death. (AP)
Published roughly a week after MLK’s death, the book “cites the Negro struggle in the United States as part of the world struggle against the ‘yankee imperialists,’ and asserts that the world revolution has entered a new era, and urges all people to unite and eliminate this enemy,” the FBI report reads.
CIA prepped talking points for Dan Rather interview years after MLK’s death
Included in the trove of documents released this week is a CIA paper titled “Talking Points for Interview with Dan Rather,” with the date of Oct. 29, 1975.
“The CIA was in no way involved in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King,” the proposed talking points begin. “In addition, I would like again to deny categorically that there was any CIA like involvement in the assassinations of President Kennedy or Senator Robert Kennedy, or the attempted assassination of Governor Wallace.”
The talking points document does not identify the CIA official for whom it was intended. Rather and CBS published an interview with then-CIA Director William Colby on Nov. 26, 1975. The interview focused on supposed CIA ties to Lee Harvey Oswald, but did not address MLK’s assassination in the broadcasted portion.
Rather did publish a segment on MLK’s death in late November 1975, but the segment did not include any interview with a CIA official.
