Documents / FOIA release

FOIA on Martin Luther King

Central Intelligence Agency · 2025-06-12 · 295 pages · text by GLM-OCR

This Central Intelligence Agency FOIA release, dated 2025-06-12, collects 1976 CIA paperwork on Harold Weisberg's request (76-F-382) for records on Martin Luther King, Jr. It includes routing slips, an Operations Staff memorandum listing releasable press items and exempt cables, dispatches and memoranda, and a CI Staff reply citing a 1968 Office of Security memo on Coretta Scott King. It also contains a 16 May 1968 memo to the FBI reporting that Gerald Lee Richards, investigated in Japan, did not resemble suspect James Earl Ray.

Open the PDF at page 101 Original source ↗

“King”60+ pages

  • p. 1 …The first time the Bureau sent those, they combined King-Ray docs with Kennedy assassination dogs…
  • p. 3 …Weisberg Request (Martin Luther King, Jr.) Part I REFERENCE: 76-F-382 1. This office maintains…
  • p. 5 …Martin Luther King, Jr. are releasable to the requestor. There are no exemptions. Look, 15 April…
  • p. 7 …documents which mention either Dr. or Mrs. King are held in OPS/ITG (SI) vault: 3…
  • p. 8 …3 of this cable mentions an intercepted letter addressed to President Johnson protesting the King assassination…
  • p. 9 …Martin Luther King; exempt under (b)(3)(a) and (b)(6). (e) OEPA-1097, dated 29…
  • p. 10 …an incidental mention of the name Dr. King) by or about a Jonathan Power; exempt under…
  • p. 11 …Investigation of Death of Martin Luther King, Jr. concerns a subject who did not appear to…
  • p. 12 …as being in contact with Martin Luther King; exempt under (b)(3)(a) and (b)(6…
  • p. 14 …documents which mention either Dr. or Mrs. King are held in OPS/ITG (SI) vault: 3…
  • p. 17 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. ## Para C: I cannot match the documents with the list you provided…
  • p. 20 …Martin Luther King (Request #F-76-382) In response to this request, CI Staff has no…
  • p. 21 …Stevens SUBJECT KING, Coretta Scott #541 487 AKA: Mrs. Martin Luther KINGnee: Coretta SCOTT 1. Subject…
  • p. 31 ## PRIORITY HANDLING FOIA REQUEST SUBJECT: (Optional) Martin Luther King, Jr., requested by Weisberg TO: (Officer designation…
  • p. 34 …July 1966. - A-62 (7) DDO biographic data on Martin Luther King, dated 5 November 1967.
  • p. 41 …GA-20 SUBJECT OF INDEX SEARCH SURNAME KING GIVEN NAMES Martin Luther Jr. SPELLING VARIATIONS TO…
  • p. 43 …0001 KING, MARTIN LUTHER SEX M CIT USA TO BE INTERVIEWED BY PAUL KRASSNER CONTACT OF…
  • p. 47 …DJSJ REPORTEDLY SHOT AND KILLED MARTIN LUTHER KING SUSPOSEDLY VISITED MEXICO ***LOCATOR DATA: DRUER FROM IP…
  • p. 49 …6 4. 5. SUBJECT (must be furnished): KING HO. FILE NUMBER DOCUMENT SYMBOL AND NUMBER DOCUMENT…
  • p. 50 …SUBJECT (must be furnished) King Martin HQ FILE NUMBER DOCUMENT SYMBOL AND NUMBER OUT DOCUMENT DATE…
  • p. 53 …OR SUBJECT WEISBERG request on Martin Luther King and James Earl Ray SEARCH COST (To be…
  • p. 59 …Martin Luther King, Jr. b. Earl Ray c. Other individuals involved with the assassination of Dr…
  • p. 60 …Martin Luther King, Jr. by the Dade County/Florida police (Criminal Intelligence); excluded under 1900.3…
  • p. 66 …Assassination of Martin Luther King. Subject in this memorandum is a James Ray, born 8 March…
  • p. 68 …have had something to do with Dr. King. (n) Panama City-6193 (IN-98420), dated 25…
  • p. 75 …Assassination of Martin Luther King. Subject in this memorandum is a James Ray, born 8 March…
  • p. 77 …have had something to do with Dr. King. (n) Panama City-6193 (IN-98420), dated 25…
  • p. 81 …Martin Luther King, Jr. 1. At the Attorney General's direction, a task force was established…
  • p. 87 …FBI Referral re Harold Weisberg Request on Martin Luther King, Jr. and James Earl Ray REFERENCES…
  • p. 89 …MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. 2. ANOTHER SENSITIVE RELIABLE SOURCE IN MEXICO CITY REPORTED THAT MCLAREN DEPARTED…
  • p. 91 …MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. 2. ANOTHER SENSITIVE RELIABLE SOURCE IN MEXICO CITY REPORTED THAT MCLAREN DEPARTED…
  • p. 94 …of the suspected killer of Martin Luther King, Jr, and asked for a check against visitors…
  • p. 97 …1234567 APR111968 ENGIPHERED ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. REURTELS NUMBERS TWO AND FOUR DATED APRIL…
  • p. 98 …Rap Brown advocated the death of Martin Luther King and King's assassination would benefit the…
  • p. 103 …Allegedly, they are being detained in connection with the assassination of Martin Luther King. These individuals…
  • p. 104 …MURKIN no knowledge of any connection between these individuals and the assassination of Martin Luther King…
  • p. 107 …Sullivan This is the case involving the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., 4/4/68…
  • p. 108 …and said he had killed Martin Luther King, Jr. There is no Whitefield, North Carolina. There…
  • p. 110 …Martin Luther King. Liaison advised of the receipt of information from Richard Helms, Director of CIA…
  • p. 113 …Martin Luther King. Liaison advised of the receipt of information from Richard Helms, Director of CIA…
  • p. 114 …In one on which I have paid the CIA large sums without compliance, the King assassination…
  • p. 115 …In one on which I have paid the CIA large sums without compliance, the King assassination…
  • p. 117 …Martin Luther King, Jr. 2. All records pertaining to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King…
  • p. 118 …Martin Luther King, Jr., and/or James Earl Ray and any of his alleged or suspected…
  • p. 119 …Martin Luther King, Jr., and to those dealing with James Earl Ray and any of his…
  • p. 120 …Martin Luther King, Jr. and his assassination. Because you require a down payment of half the…
  • p. 121 …Coretta King and James Earl Ray, respectively." Because Mr. Weisberg's request undoubtedly comprises records which…
  • p. 122 …receipt of the sworn waiver from Mrs. King, as mentioned in your letter of 3 December…
  • p. 123 FOIA Appeal - Harold Weisberg, for information about Martin Luther King, Jr. and James Earl Ray IPS…
  • p. 127 …Martin Luther King, Jr.: 1. All receipts for any letters, cables, documents, reports, memorandums, or other…
  • p. 128 …Coretta King Rev. Andrew Young Rev. Samuel B. Kyles Harry Wachtel 9. All notes or memorandums…
  • p. 130 …Martin Luther King, Jr. since April 15, 1975. 17. All notes, memoranda, correspondence or investigative reports…
  • p. 132 UNCLASSIFIED INTERNAL USE ONLY CONFIDENTIAL SECRET ## PRIORITY HANDLING FOIA REQUEST FBI Referral re Martin Luther King…
  • p. 140 …Association, care of the Rev. M. L. King, Dexter Ave. Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama.' The above…
  • p. 144 …Martin Luther King, Jr.: 1. All receipts for any letters, cables, documents, reports, memorandums, or other…
  • p. 145 …Coretta King Rev. Samuel B. Kyles Rev. Andrew Young Harry Wachtel 9. All notes or memorandums…
  • p. 147 …Martin Luther King, Jr. since April 15, 1975. 17. All notes, memoranda, correspondence or investigative reports…
  • p. 158 …Some disturbing parallels; assassination of M.L. King and J.F. Kennedy." Ramparts Magazine, 29 Uma…
  • p. 162 …28-31, 90. "Ruby and the King of Torto." Times Literary Supplement, 17 March 1966, p…
  • p. 164 …10. "Did Ray Kill King?" National Review, 23 April 1968, pp. 376+. "Doctor King." National Review…

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

## INITIAL REVIEW FORM

Document Description: Mario

FOIA/PA Request No. ___

Document Located By : FB1 (Office Designation)

Dated: 4/28/68

---

Document referred to DDO for review by: ___

## RECOMMEND:

RECOMMEND:

Release in full-text

Release in sanitized form

Deny in toto

Defer decision to ___

Coordination with ___ prior to above denial/release

EXEMPTIONS ARE BEING CLAIMED TO PROTECT THE FOLLOWING:

| | FOIA | PRIVACY |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| ( ) Classification | (b)(1) | (k)(1) |

| ( ) Information from a foreign liaison service | (b)(3) | (j)(1)(b)(c) |

| ( ) Information pertaining to a foreign liaison relationship | (b)(3) | (j)(1)(b)(c) |

| ( ) Information which would/could identify the source | (b)(3) | (j)(1)(b) |

| ( ) Information pertaining to a source | (b)(3) | (j)(1)(b) |

| ( ) Information pertaining to intelligence methods | (b)(3) | (j)(1)(b) |

| ( ) Location of CIA overseas installation | (b)(3) | (j)(1)(b) |

| ( ) Location of unacknowledged domestic installation | (b)(3) | (j)(1)(b) |

| ( ) Name of CIA employee | (b)(3) | (j)(1)(e) |

| ( ) File number | (b)(2) | (j)(1)(b) |

| ( ) Pseudonym | (b)(3) | (j)(1)(b) |

| ( ) Cryptonym | (b)(3) | (j)(1)(b) |

| ( ) Internal organizational data | (b)(3) | (j)(1)(e) |

| ( ) Name of an FBI agent | (b)(7) | (j)(1)(b) |

| ( ) FBI file number | (b)(2) | (j)(1)(b) |

| ( ) Privacy of other individual | (b)(6) | (j)(1)(f) |

| ( ) Does not pertain to request | N/A | "Exempted portions are not relevant to the requester" |

| ( ) Information from another Government agency | (b)(1) | (j)(1)(c) |

( ) Information from another Government agency (b)(1) (j)(1)(c)

* Other, specify: This issue is subject to new regulations as of the USS

* For further guidance regarding exemptions, please see DDA-75-5943,

16 December 1975 (Privacy Act) and HN-70-21, 14 February 1975 (FOIA).

COMMENTS AND/OR SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:

Signature of Reviewing Officer & Office

Document No.

(To be completed by ISS/PICG)

E 2 IMPDET CL BY 012170

Not linked to a story yet.

About this file

FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 295 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.