Q756 Summary

Summary prepared by Fielding M. McGehee III. If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.

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FBI Catalogue Jones Speaking

FBI preliminary tape identification note: One Tracs 60/ “News April 19, 1978”

Date cues on tape:   Tape content consistent with label 

People named:

Bible verses cited:   None 

Summary:

Jim Jones reads the news for April 19, 1978.

This tape is fairly typical of the news readings throughout 1978. Jones apparently receives his information from news services in the Soviet Union and its client states in Eastern Europe. As such, it is often difficult to tell whether the constant descriptions of the United States as the fountainhead of monopoly capitalism and of imperialism, of Western Europe as the fascist puppet regimes of the US, and of white minority governments of Africa as racist, oppressive and belligerent, come from Jim Jones or the copy that he is reading. Certainly the interjection of such editorializing into an essay from TimeMagazine, comes from Jones himself.

It is indisputable that the praise for the Soviet Union comes solely from Jones himself. As on many other occasions, the Temple leader describes the Soviet Union as “the great liberators of mankind, the avant garde of social justice,” whose military is far superior to that of its Western adversaries. So too is his description of East Germany as “the most advanced communist society in the world outside of the Soviet Union, modern in every way.”

There are several references to the inevitability of nuclear war, which will come about because of the West’s development of the neutron bomb (and the Soviets’ legitimate response to it), and because capitalists are concerned only about their immediate profit, without any thought towards the world’s future. Jones’ final reference comes as part of his plea for the people of Jonestown to work harder so that they might bring their comrades to safety from the US and free them from that catastrophe.

Most of the reading is of short news items. The piece on which he devotes the most time is an American magazine article which praises socialism as having delivered on its promises to bring benefits to the people living in countries which are governed by it.

Among the other items:

• The wealth of Jimmy Carter’s family has grown since he became president;
• France deploys a neutron bomb at the request of US;
• Demonstrations in capitals of Western democracies protest neutron bomb;
• The US warns the Soviets over involvement in Ethiopia, which Moscow rejects;
• Italy’s Red Brigade executes its prisoner, former Prime Minister Aldo Moro;
• The Los Angeles Free Press closes;
• States files antitrust suits against national Organization of Women for use of boycott tactic;
• Minnesota governor withdraws state troopers who confronted protesters against high-voltage power lines;
• The US attempts to bring down the Zambian government;
• Vietnam and China trade border incursions.

FBI Summary:

Date of transcription: 4/11/79

In connection with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the assassination of U.S. Congressman LEO J. RYAN at Port Kaituma, Guyana, South America, on November 18, 1978, a tape recording was obtained. This tape recording was located in Jonestown, Guyana, South America, and was turned over to U.S. Officials in Guyana and subsequently transported to the United States.

On April 3, 1979, Special Agent (name deleted) reviewed the tape numbered 1B62#73. This tape was found to contain the following:

A news broadcast by JIM JONES on the day of the death of ALDO MORRO of Italy. The broadcast contains numerous anti-capitalistic and pro-communistic references.

Nothing was contained thereon which was considered to be of evidentiary nature or beneficial to the investigation of Congressman RYAN.

Differences with FBI Summary:

The summary is accurate and meets the FBI’s purposes.

Tape originally posted January 2019.