</s>File #: 62-11/72 90- SECTION 6 Serial Scope: 353,356,361,366,366.368,369,371,371.372,375,376. 378 424 380 426 382X 428 THRU 431 385 433 390 THRU 395 437 .397. 400 404 THRU 409 413 THRU 415 418 420 429 NW 88608 Docdl: 32897949 Page 1

Summary  
The documents detail extensive communications between the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) and federal agencies, primarily the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), regarding investigations into the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) and related civil rights activities. The HSCA requested access to FBI files on informants, counterintelligence operations, electronic surveillance, and individuals linked to MLK’s assassination, including James Earl Ray, Jerry Ray, and members of organizations such as the National States Rights Party (NSRP), Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The FBI provided records on informants like SL 1495-E and SL 145-E, who reported activities against civil rights groups. No evidence of counterintelligence efforts targeting MLK or the SCLC was found in reviewed files. Electronic surveillance details were shared, including monitoring locations such as hotels in Washington, D.C., Memphis, and Los Angeles. The FBI confirmed no surveillance on specified individuals between 1967–1968. Requests for records on figures like Richard Geppert, Robert Nichols, and Clifton Baird were processed or deferred. Interviews with retired agents like Joe C. Hester addressed Ray’s alleged methods and motives, with Hester asserting Ray acted alone. The FBI also responded to HSCA inquiries about COINTELPRO activities, civil rights investigations, and the Alton, Illinois bank robbery (1967), which was linked to Ray’s fugitive status.  

Key People  
- **SL 1495-E** (informant, former Bureau file 134-1968)  
- **Jerry Ray** (NSRP member allegedly involved in MLK’s assassination)  
- **Marjorie Louise Fetterson** (recipient of letters from Jerry Ray)  
- **G. Robert Blakey** (HSCA director)  
- **Michael Eberhardt** (HSCA staff attorney)  
- **James Earl Ray** (suspected assassin of MLK)  
- **William Herman Jackson** (subject of FBI Identification Division record)  
- **Special Agent William F. Kusch** (interviewed about New Orleans investigations)  
- **Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.**  
- **Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young** (SCLC affiliates under surveillance)  
- **Richard Geppert, Robert Nichols, Clifton Baird, Brent Hardin, Arlie Blair** (individuals requested for records)  
- **Joe C. Hester** (retired FBI agent interviewed by HSCA)  

Key Locations  
- **St. Louis, Missouri** (FBI SAC office, Grapevine Tavern)  
- **New Orleans, Louisiana** (FBI field office, MLK surveillance investigations)  
- **Memphis, Tennessee** (MLK assassination site)  
- **Savannah, Georgia** (NSRP office where informant reported activities)  
- **Washington, D.C.** (FBI headquarters, HSCA offices)  
- **Atlanta, Birmingham, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Mobile, El Monte, Metairie, Quantico, San Quentin, Springfield, Marietta, Birmingham, Memphis, Alton** (cities involved in civil rights investigations and surveillance)  

Key Events  
- FBI provided Xerox copies of informant files and letters to HSCA for review.  
- SL 1495-E waived confidentiality to allow HSCA access to his records.  
- Informant SL 145-E reported NSRP activities in Savannah, including claims about FBI knowledge of MLK’s assassination.  
- FBI confirmed no counterintelligence actions against MLK or SCLC in reviewed files (1965–1976).  
- Electronic surveillance of MLK occurred between January 1964 and October 1965, with monitoring at hotels in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and New York City.  
- HSCA requested records on Richard Geppert, Robert Nichols, and others; some were cleared for interview or deferred pending review.  
- FBI reviewed files on the Alton, Illinois bank robbery (1967), which was closed unsolved in 1972 with no link to James Earl Ray.  
- Joe C. Hester stated Ray acted alone and the FBI did not support a conspiracy theory.  
- Efforts were made to release former agents from secrecy agreements related to MLK’s case.  

Key Organizations  
- **House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA)**  
- **Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)**  
- **Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)**  
- **National States Rights Party (NSRP)**  
- **Ku Klux Klan (KKK)**  
- **Black Panthers**  
- **American Nazi Party**  
- **Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)**  
- **Liberty Lobby**  
- **Minutemen organization**  
- **Citizens Council of America**  
- **Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO)**  
- **National Security Agency (NSA)**  
- **U.S. Department of Justice**

JFK Declassified Files

124-10180-10324_multirif.pdf

Document Summary

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