Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. And the International Hunt for His A

Martin Luther King Jr., Homicide #3367, Supplement #85, Re: C.B. Incident,' Hughes Collection. The Memphis Police Department investigated the probable culprit behind the hoax, a teenage CB enthusiast named in the report. Also see House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA), Final Assassinations Report, pp. 383-85.

⁴⁰⁸ he headed southeast: Ray's exact route out of Memphis is not absolutely known, but he consistently stated that he drove southeast toward Birmingham; Highway 78 would have been the fastest, most direct, and (having stayed in a motel on that same road the previous night) most familiar route for his exit. See Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 80, as well as Ray's testimony in HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 3, p. 240.

⁴⁰⁹ broadcasters now broke in: In all his accounts, Ray consistently stated that he heard the news about King's death over his car radio. However, the FBI investigation of the abandoned Mustang later determined that the radio was not in good working order at the time of inspection.

⁴¹⁰ Coretta King hurried down: My depiction of the scene at the Atlanta airport is adapted from the Atlanta Constitution, April 5, 1968, p. 1, and from Coretta Scott King, My Life with Martin Luther King Jr., pp. 319-20.

⁴¹¹ 'a tragic setback': Author interview with Clark, Oct. 9, 2008, New York City.

⁴¹² 'I think the bureau': This conversation between Clark and DeLoach is recalled in DeLoach's, Hoover's FBI, p. 224.

⁴¹³ 'a crime of immense importance': DeLoach's testimony, HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 7, p. 22.

⁴¹⁴ 'Hoover remained at war': DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 222.

⁴¹⁵ 'He was as anxious': Ibid., p. 226.

⁴¹⁶ 'The FBI's reputation': Author interview with Clark.

⁴¹⁷ 'the guy with a thousand opportunities': DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 225.

⁴¹⁸ Born in Denmark: These biographical details concerning Jensen derive primarily from his obituary in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, March 22, 1992, as well as from Jensen's testimony in HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 6, pp. 586-87.

⁴¹⁹ 'As you well know': DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 225.

⁴²⁰ Now Jensen removed: This passage concerning Jensen's analysis of the evidence is primarily drawn from the FBI FD-302 report filed on April 4 and 5, 1968, by Special Agent in Charge Jensen and Special Agent Robert Fitzpatrick, enumerating and describing all items in the abandoned bundle, Hughes Collection.

CHAPTER 28

THEY'VE TORN IT NOW

⁴²¹ Johnson sat at his mahogany desk: My account of Johnson's reaction to the King assassination is drawn from a number of sources, including Kotz, Judgment Days, p. 415; Dallek, Flawed Giant, p. 533; Risen, Nation on Fire, pp. 40-42, 53-54; and Califano, Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson, pp. 273-75. Especially helpful to me was 'The President's Appointment File, 4/3/68 to 4/11/68,' box 95, Lyndon Baines Johnson Papers, Johnson Presidential Library.

⁴²² 'Justice has just advised': This memo is at the Johnson Presidential Library.

⁴²³ 'A jumble of anxious thoughts': Johnson, quoted in Risen, Nation on Fire, p. 42.

⁴²⁴ 'Everything we've gained': Dallek, Flawed Giant, p. 533.

⁴²⁵ 'America is shocked': 'Statement by the President on the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,' Johnson Presidential Library.

⁴²⁶ 'Don't send your skinny little rookies': Busby, Thirty-first of March, p. 236.

⁴²⁷ 'They're holed up like generals': Ibid.

⁴²⁸ 'The D. C. Civil Defense': Situation Room memorandums from the night of April 4, 1968, Johnson Library.

⁴²⁹ 'King was the last prince of nonviolence': Floyd McKissick, quoted in the Washington Post, April 5, 1968, p. 1.

⁴³⁰ 'The next Negro to advocate nonviolence': Risen, A Nation on Fire, p. 56.

⁴³¹ 'When white America killed Dr. King': Stokely Carmichael, quoted in Gilbert et al., Ten Blocks from the White House, pp. 60-61.

⁴³² 'The nation is steeped in violence': Church, quoted in a UPI report on the White House ticker tape on the night of April 4, 1968, Johnson Presidential Library.

⁴³³ 'It was one of those frozen moments': Mrs. Johnson, quoted in Dallek, Flawed Giant, p. 533, and Risen, Nation on Fire, p. 54.

⁴³⁴ 'I and all the citizens of Memphis': Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 5, 1968, p. 1.

⁴³⁵ 'We feel that the assassin crouched': Memphis Press- Scimitar, April 5, 1968, p. 1.

⁴³⁶ 'damned to hell': Blanchard, quoted in Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 440.

⁴³⁷ 'I'm so sorry': Beifuss, At the River I Stand, p. 300.

⁴³⁸ 'Our neighborhood was like a tomb': Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 444.

⁴³⁹ 'This is the darkest day I've ever seen': Beifuss, At the River I Stand, p. 283.

⁴⁴⁰ 'that nigger King': Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 441.

⁴⁴¹ 'The Lord has deserted us': Beifuss, At the River I Stand, p. 303.

⁴⁴² 'Just respect the man': Ibid.

⁴⁴³ 'rioting and looting is now rampant': Fire and Police Director Frank Holloman, quoted in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 5, 1968, p. 1.

⁴⁴⁴ 'That's what I thought': Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 447.

⁴⁴⁵ 'Stay calm': Beifuss, At the River I Stand, p. 301.

⁴⁴⁶ 'I went numb': Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 437.