The editors of the jonestown report are in the process of uploading a number of transcripts and summaries of the hundreds of audiotapes which the FBI recovered from Jonestown following the deaths in 1978. Twenty of them will be available by the end of November on the "Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple" website, which may be found at its new address: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~remoore/jonestown. Other transcripts will be added in coming months.

The tapes transcribed so far consist principally of meetings of the Jonestown community — mostly chaired by Jim Jones, but including the voices of other Jonestown residents — during 1978. Several of the tapes were recorded during one White Night in April 1978. There are also transcripts of sermons and other recordings of Jones from San Francisco and Los Angeles soon to be available on the website.

Summaries of the tapes — also new to the website — will offer capsules of the conversations, lists of people either who are mentioned by name and/or who speak on the tape, and documentation (as far as it can be determined) of the date of the tape.

Many tapes remain

The FBI catalogued several hundred of the Jonestown tapes within a year of recovering them as it developed evidence to prosecute Larry Layton on charges of assassinating a Congressman. Many of the tapes were blank or contained nothing but music. For the remaining tapes — about 400 of them — the FBI divided them into categories such as "Jones Speaking," "Radio Transmissions," and "Unidentified Persons Speaking." It then prepared short summaries for each of these tapes. However, since the summaries had a limited purpose and the agents who reviewed them had limited knowledge of the people whose voices they were hearing, the summaries are sketchy at best.

After reviewing the summaries which the FBI prepared, the editors of the jonestown report requested about 200 of the tapes. These tapes promise to reveal the daily workings of the Jonestown community, the early sermons of Jim Jones, and the voices of the members of Peoples Temple.

While we have not transcribed even a substantial portion of the tapes, we are willing to share what we have received. For a copy of our compilation of FBI summaries, or for copies of the tapes themselves, write to us through our e-mail address remoore@mail.sdsu.edu or our street address (Fielding M. McGehee III, 3553 Eugene Place, San Diego, CA 92116). We can offer the summaries at no charge, but will request the cost of tapes and postage for any requests for duplication.

We can also provide you with a list of tapes we have not requested, in case you have additional interests.

If you prefer to contact the FBI directly, the tapes are also available under the Freedom of Information Act for the cost of duplication, which is about $1.50 per tape. The address is:

Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts Section
Office of Public and Congressional Affairs
Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20535