This MLK question is important as the past can give important lessons for the future.
The King family supported a successful 1999 civil trial for conspiracy to murder MLK at which Dr William Pepper presented some of the mountain of evidence about who conspired to kill MLK.
1999 Trial Conclusion
The jury believed Dr. King had been executed by a conspiracy involving, among others, officials and members of the MPD, the State of Tennessee, the FBI and Justice Department, and the U.S. Army. The jury's verdict, arrived at in about an hour, indicated they understood and fully agreed with this [147]. So did the trial judge, who apportioned 30% of the liability for the murder to Jowers, and 70% to the other co-conspirators [147].
Below is a video of Dr William Pepper the King family lawyer discussing the MLK assassination background and what happened at the trial
The web archieve video is slow to load but is good. It is not available in full on YouTube - which is odd and links to other sources fail
BBC MLK Assassination Documentary
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=se9iEP-TiT0&feature=youtu.be
Some of the Evidence
Captain Weiden the local fire chief confirmed that he escorted 2 photographers with US Army IDs to the fire station roof and watched them set up their cameras to photograph MLK. At the trial it was set out one of the photographers said he and his partner got pictures of the Dr. King falling and the sniper in the bushes (not James Earl Ray) lowering his rifle.
The military
The involvement of the military on the day of the MLK assassination was confirmed by at least two witnesses at the trial.
One was a police officer in whose office members of the 111th Military Intelligence Group (MIG) conducted coordination of the day's events [128,143,315].
The other was the captain of the fire station across the street from the Lorraine, who testified that that day he'd honored the demand of two plainclothes photographers with U.S. army credentials that they be taken up to the roof of the fire station, and had watched them begin setting up [128]. He was never interviewed. One of the photographers said he and his partner got pictures of the Dr. King falling and the sniper in the bushes (not Ray) lowering his rifle [79-80]].
The jury heard from a witness who'd held a series of interviews with a sniper from an 8-man Alpha 184 crisis team from the 111th MIG [129].
The sniper said that his squad was in town that day, and that he and a buddy and another pair had taken up positions on two nearby roofs that day with mug shots of Dr. King and Andrew Young, with orders to shoot the two men upon receiving radio orders to fire [69].
During the day they were in radio contact with the head of the withdrawn MPD TACT10 unit, who told them "friendlies were not wearing ties" [69].
However, they'd heard an unanticipated shot and then been ordered to leave, going to the river and using a boat to reach exit vehicles [70].
The book provides a detailed description of the day according to the sniper [67-71], and a verbatim written Q-and-A from him [299-310].
The jury learned that the man seen kneeling over Dr. King's body checking for signs of life [160] -- and who was not wearing a tie -- was a black undercover MPD officer who had infiltrated the black defense group the Invaders [205]. It turned out he had been detailed to the MPD by the 111th MIG [205], for whom he was working an intelligence informant [74].
And the jury learned that "Eric S. Galt," the identity Ray had been using, was a Canadian with connections to U.S. military intelligence who had a top-secret clearance [116,209].
Note
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights in 1972 condemned the U.S. Army for "massive and unrestrained" domestic surveillance uncovered by its investigations. The most significant increase in this activity was from 1961 to March 1968. From 1967-68 it was heavily involved in the Justice Department's civil disturbance structure [204-5].
Summary of the main findings of Dr Williams book see link below
A connection to JFK shooting?
An Ex FBI agent Mr Wilson revealed during the MLK trial that he had a note found in Ray's car at the time which had Jack Ruby's Dallas club telephone number on it plus other info which the FBI dismissed. However...later
In an ironic twist, Justice Department lawyers argued before a federal magistrate judge that they had "probable cause" to believe Wilson had papers "removed from James Earl Ray's Ford Mustang on April 11, 1968."
....it stands in contrast to a year ago, when the FBI categorically dismissed Wilson's account as a "total fabrication."
As Wilson tells it, as a 25-year-old FBI agent he went to the Atlanta housing development and pulled open the passenger-side door of Ray's 1966 Mustang. He said several papers fell out which he kept
www.chicagotribune.com
Note Dr Pepper was a close friend of MLK. The King family and friends had previously asked Dr Pepper to meet with James Earl Ray because they believed Ray may not have killed MLK. Pepper agreed Ray did not kill MLK. 10 years later Dr Pepper agreed to legally represent Ray.
While the trial was limited in scope and cross examination it did allow for much to be made public.
The information disclosed was very news worthy however the media showed little interest with reporters staying in the corridors and plans to TV broadcast all the trial were stopped or blocked by third parties - though the cameras remained and recorded a few things.
There is much disinformation about the events that happened. As seen the FBI specifically dismissed some testimony from an ex FBI officer as a "fabrication" then later bought legal action to recover MLK trial documents linking James Earl Ray with Jack Ruby. See Chicago Tribune link above
Dr Bill Pepper has been a key player in keeping the MLK info flowing. He was a close friend of MLK, who wrote a book about the assassination. His first publishers were connected to Rupert Murdoc and asked Pepper to remove the chapter setting out the evidence of US military involvement. Pepper refused and found a less well known publisher.
Pepper has answered some questions about how did James Earl Ray manage to escape from jail and fund himself before and after MLKs death traveling around Mexico, Canada, the USA and Europe.
Media Stories the money came from a US bank he robbed were shown to be untrue. Dr William Pepper said he talked to the local sheriff and also the bank said who said Ray was not wanted for the robbery. So where did Ray get his money from ?
In 1978, Pepper called one of the police officers in charge in Alton. He offered to return his then client, Jerry Ray, to Alton to stand trial for the crime. The officer replied that neither Jerry Ray nor any of his brothers were suspects. Further, they had never been suspects in that crime. The Department of Justice came to the same conclusion. The FBI analyzed the fingerprint impressions at the scene and said that the prints of James Earl Ray did not match any of the prints in the Alton bank robbery file. (Pepper, pgs 107-109)
kennedysandking.com
It is alleged that Ray's jail escape involved bribing various jail officials. This is set out in the Pepper video.
What seems clear is that not much is properly reported about what went on behind the scenes before and after MLKs death. While we may never know the whole truth we can look behind the motives and try to find what really may have happened.
We do know MLK was followed and bugged by the FBI. It is also clear the FBI sent anonymous letters and tapes to MLK to blackmail and break him. One letter with a tape told him there was only one way out and he should take it within 34 days - many have said the FBI was trying to get MLK to commit suicide
en.m.wikipedia.org
Given the MLK murder and background is such an important subject its strange how little is written on this and how it is even less clear than JFK or RFK.
The FBI actions shows the extent to which those with power try to control others who are seeking more honesty and openness.
Today the MLK murder background seems to be being faded by those now looking after MLKs legacy.
Lets learn from the past so we can act today
Those who disputed who killed MLK Junior included the King family and his close friends, who said they did not believe James Earl Ray killed MLK. The state seemed keen for Ray to die and blocked a free of cost life saving liver transplsant needed as a result of an infection caused by a blood transfusion given following a murder attempt on Ray in jail.
Dr Pepper also acts for Sirhan Sirhan RFKs supposed assassin.
If Sirhan is guilty is an on going question. It has never been clarified how Sirhan managed to shoot RFK in the back of his head and back 4 times at point blank range leaving powder burns when he was never behind RFK or close enough to do so and was pinned down after the first 2 shots. Other questions are claims of recordings showing more shots fired than were in Sirhan's gun
The JFK, MLK, RFK and other deaths or murders of the time beg many questions as much for the way they were dealt with as well as the guilt of those who were accused of the murders.
Let us learn from the past and ask the right questions today about who is pulling our strings and controlling what we know
MLK 1999 Trial Transcript see link below
The King family supported a successful 1999 civil trial for conspiracy to murder MLK at which Dr William Pepper presented some of the mountain of evidence about who conspired to kill MLK.
1999 Trial Conclusion
The jury believed Dr. King had been executed by a conspiracy involving, among others, officials and members of the MPD, the State of Tennessee, the FBI and Justice Department, and the U.S. Army. The jury's verdict, arrived at in about an hour, indicated they understood and fully agreed with this [147]. So did the trial judge, who apportioned 30% of the liability for the murder to Jowers, and 70% to the other co-conspirators [147].
Below is a video of Dr William Pepper the King family lawyer discussing the MLK assassination background and what happened at the trial
The web archieve video is slow to load but is good. It is not available in full on YouTube - which is odd and links to other sources fail
William Pepper, An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King, Jr 01/29/03 : Justice Vision : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
This is a talk about the book An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King, Jr. and runs over two hours.From WilliamPepper.com:Bill Pepper was a friend...
archive.org
BBC MLK Assassination Documentary
Some of the Evidence
Captain Weiden the local fire chief confirmed that he escorted 2 photographers with US Army IDs to the fire station roof and watched them set up their cameras to photograph MLK. At the trial it was set out one of the photographers said he and his partner got pictures of the Dr. King falling and the sniper in the bushes (not James Earl Ray) lowering his rifle.
The military
The involvement of the military on the day of the MLK assassination was confirmed by at least two witnesses at the trial.
One was a police officer in whose office members of the 111th Military Intelligence Group (MIG) conducted coordination of the day's events [128,143,315].
The other was the captain of the fire station across the street from the Lorraine, who testified that that day he'd honored the demand of two plainclothes photographers with U.S. army credentials that they be taken up to the roof of the fire station, and had watched them begin setting up [128]. He was never interviewed. One of the photographers said he and his partner got pictures of the Dr. King falling and the sniper in the bushes (not Ray) lowering his rifle [79-80]].
The jury heard from a witness who'd held a series of interviews with a sniper from an 8-man Alpha 184 crisis team from the 111th MIG [129].
The sniper said that his squad was in town that day, and that he and a buddy and another pair had taken up positions on two nearby roofs that day with mug shots of Dr. King and Andrew Young, with orders to shoot the two men upon receiving radio orders to fire [69].
During the day they were in radio contact with the head of the withdrawn MPD TACT10 unit, who told them "friendlies were not wearing ties" [69].
However, they'd heard an unanticipated shot and then been ordered to leave, going to the river and using a boat to reach exit vehicles [70].
The book provides a detailed description of the day according to the sniper [67-71], and a verbatim written Q-and-A from him [299-310].
The jury learned that the man seen kneeling over Dr. King's body checking for signs of life [160] -- and who was not wearing a tie -- was a black undercover MPD officer who had infiltrated the black defense group the Invaders [205]. It turned out he had been detailed to the MPD by the 111th MIG [205], for whom he was working an intelligence informant [74].
And the jury learned that "Eric S. Galt," the identity Ray had been using, was a Canadian with connections to U.S. military intelligence who had a top-secret clearance [116,209].
Note
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights in 1972 condemned the U.S. Army for "massive and unrestrained" domestic surveillance uncovered by its investigations. The most significant increase in this activity was from 1961 to March 1968. From 1967-68 it was heavily involved in the Justice Department's civil disturbance structure [204-5].
Summary of the main findings of Dr Williams book see link below
A connection to JFK shooting?
An Ex FBI agent Mr Wilson revealed during the MLK trial that he had a note found in Ray's car at the time which had Jack Ruby's Dallas club telephone number on it plus other info which the FBI dismissed. However...later
In an ironic twist, Justice Department lawyers argued before a federal magistrate judge that they had "probable cause" to believe Wilson had papers "removed from James Earl Ray's Ford Mustang on April 11, 1968."
....it stands in contrast to a year ago, when the FBI categorically dismissed Wilson's account as a "total fabrication."
As Wilson tells it, as a 25-year-old FBI agent he went to the Atlanta housing development and pulled open the passenger-side door of Ray's 1966 Mustang. He said several papers fell out which he kept
DOCUMENTS TOOK A LONG, ODD JOURNEY
Note Dr Pepper was a close friend of MLK. The King family and friends had previously asked Dr Pepper to meet with James Earl Ray because they believed Ray may not have killed MLK. Pepper agreed Ray did not kill MLK. 10 years later Dr Pepper agreed to legally represent Ray.
While the trial was limited in scope and cross examination it did allow for much to be made public.
The information disclosed was very news worthy however the media showed little interest with reporters staying in the corridors and plans to TV broadcast all the trial were stopped or blocked by third parties - though the cameras remained and recorded a few things.
There is much disinformation about the events that happened. As seen the FBI specifically dismissed some testimony from an ex FBI officer as a "fabrication" then later bought legal action to recover MLK trial documents linking James Earl Ray with Jack Ruby. See Chicago Tribune link above
Dr Bill Pepper has been a key player in keeping the MLK info flowing. He was a close friend of MLK, who wrote a book about the assassination. His first publishers were connected to Rupert Murdoc and asked Pepper to remove the chapter setting out the evidence of US military involvement. Pepper refused and found a less well known publisher.
Pepper has answered some questions about how did James Earl Ray manage to escape from jail and fund himself before and after MLKs death traveling around Mexico, Canada, the USA and Europe.
Media Stories the money came from a US bank he robbed were shown to be untrue. Dr William Pepper said he talked to the local sheriff and also the bank said who said Ray was not wanted for the robbery. So where did Ray get his money from ?
In 1978, Pepper called one of the police officers in charge in Alton. He offered to return his then client, Jerry Ray, to Alton to stand trial for the crime. The officer replied that neither Jerry Ray nor any of his brothers were suspects. Further, they had never been suspects in that crime. The Department of Justice came to the same conclusion. The FBI analyzed the fingerprint impressions at the scene and said that the prints of James Earl Ray did not match any of the prints in the Alton bank robbery file. (Pepper, pgs 107-109)
Eyewitness to Murder: The King Assassination
Author James DiEugenio reviews the CNN documentary Eyewitness to Murder: The King Assassination.
kennedysandking.com
Officials suspect Illinois robbery bankrolled Ray - CNN.com
When James Earl Ray bought a white Mustang in the summer of 1967, he stood on a streetcorner in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, and pulled the cash out of his shirt pocket, $2,000 in all.
www.cnn.com
It is alleged that Ray's jail escape involved bribing various jail officials. This is set out in the Pepper video.
What seems clear is that not much is properly reported about what went on behind the scenes before and after MLKs death. While we may never know the whole truth we can look behind the motives and try to find what really may have happened.
We do know MLK was followed and bugged by the FBI. It is also clear the FBI sent anonymous letters and tapes to MLK to blackmail and break him. One letter with a tape told him there was only one way out and he should take it within 34 days - many have said the FBI was trying to get MLK to commit suicide
FBI–King suicide letter - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
Given the MLK murder and background is such an important subject its strange how little is written on this and how it is even less clear than JFK or RFK.
The FBI actions shows the extent to which those with power try to control others who are seeking more honesty and openness.
Today the MLK murder background seems to be being faded by those now looking after MLKs legacy.
Lets learn from the past so we can act today
Those who disputed who killed MLK Junior included the King family and his close friends, who said they did not believe James Earl Ray killed MLK. The state seemed keen for Ray to die and blocked a free of cost life saving liver transplsant needed as a result of an infection caused by a blood transfusion given following a murder attempt on Ray in jail.
Dr Pepper also acts for Sirhan Sirhan RFKs supposed assassin.
If Sirhan is guilty is an on going question. It has never been clarified how Sirhan managed to shoot RFK in the back of his head and back 4 times at point blank range leaving powder burns when he was never behind RFK or close enough to do so and was pinned down after the first 2 shots. Other questions are claims of recordings showing more shots fired than were in Sirhan's gun
The JFK, MLK, RFK and other deaths or murders of the time beg many questions as much for the way they were dealt with as well as the guilt of those who were accused of the murders.
Let us learn from the past and ask the right questions today about who is pulling our strings and controlling what we know
MLK 1999 Trial Transcript see link below
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