Jonestown Audiotape
Primary Project : Summaries
Summary prepared by Fielding M. McGehee, III. If you
use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.
Tape Number : Q 016
To read the Tape Transcript, click here. To listen to MP3, click here.
To return to the Tape Index, click here.
FBI Catalogue: Tapes not summarized
Date cues on tape: May 1978 (Jones speaks of "Methodist officials"
in Jonestown who are "very impressed"; John Moore, a Methodist minister,
traveled with his wife Barbara to visit their daughters Carolyn Layton and Ann
Moore during that month. They pronounced themselves "very impressed"
with the project.)
People named:
Temple adversaries; members of Concerned Relatives:
Debbie (Layton) Blakey
Tim Stoen
Visitors to Jonestown
People referred to by unfamiliar first names, likely codes:John and Barbara Moore (by reference)
Bible verses cited:
"The truth does indeed set you free." (John 8:32, "And ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.")
"Remember the teachings of Jesus Christ about turning the other cheek."
(Matthew 5:39, "But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.)
"One cannot overcome the consciousness of Jesus Christ that precious love
cast out all fear." (1John 4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect
love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made
perfect in love.")
Summary:
This tape consists of ham radio traffic going back and forth between Jonestown
and Peoples Temple members in other locations, probably in San Francisco. There
is much distortion in the tape, due to edits made by the recorder, the competing
radio voices, and the fact that it was apparently recorded off the air by a
third person who rarely speaks and who never identifies himself. The FBI summary
includes a marginal note that the tape was supplied to the agency by an unnamed
source, whom the FBI describes as "confidential." The only clear voice,
then, is probably that of the unnamed confidential source.
On the intelligible portions of the tape — probably about two-thirds of
its length — much of it is concerned with questions from family members
going back and forth: did someone receive a package? did someone receive a letter?
did the pictures arrive? Although some former members have said the messages
going back and forth were coded, these portions of the tape seem to be what
they purport to be. When one man asks the woman in the States what is in the
package coming down to him, she answers almost playfully that she does know,
because she opened it, and there's underwear and sandals.
Still, there are significant portions that seem to have been transmitted with
the idea of disguising identities or messages from casual eavesdroppers or the
government agents whom Jonestown residents (correctly) surmised were listening
in. Most speakers are unidentifiable, but Jim Jones does transmit for a while,
during which he talks about "Rachel" and "Mr. Dexter." These
and other names are unfamiliar. In addition, the people on the radio are hesitant
when they use an unfamiliar name — as if they're referring to a list? taking
notes? trying to understand the code? — and some of the acknowledgments
are tentative. In these cases, it does seem they were transmitting in code,
and much information is being transferred via these codes or couriers.
Jones spends some time during an "inspirational program" describing
the beauty of Jonestown, a beauty that can't be captured on film, praising the
health of the people who have gone down there, extolling the birth of a premature
baby in Jonestown. He says he looks forward to the arrival of more people from
the States.
Even though Jones says he will have "no more to say on the subject,"
much of his conversation centers on Temple opponents, and the harassment they
have caused the people of Jonestown. "People are coming in, new families
moved in tonight, and ... all our people want to do is to keep out of the critical
word that's controversy, and build an agricultural project... I've found no
more goodness and no more caring or sharing community than this one. And that's
all the people want to do, is to continue to care and share."
The Temple's opponents should have no illusions about the effects of their harassment,
Jones says. "They know what they're doing. They know exactly what they're
doing. But it won't succeed. Rationalizing away guilt never works."
Despite the trouble, Jones admonishes his followers on the radio, people should
be cool and not over-zealous, and turn the other cheek, because their opponents
will never prevail. "They cannot possibly win with people who have nothing
at all to lose."
Jones is particularly critical of Tim Stoen, who he says is on a vendetta. Later,
he says Stoen will become his own nemesis. More than once, he says Stoen needs
a psychiatrist. "I thought perhaps for a moment ... that maybe, he was
being manipulated, but [now] I think he very sickly knows what he's doing."
FBI Summary:
Date of transcription: 1/14/80
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
of radio transmissions on amateur radio frequencies was furnished to the FBI
by (name deleted).
(A marginal note indicates the words were deleted under Freedom of Information
Act exemption b7d, "investigatory records compiled for law enforcement
purposes ... [and which] disclose the identity of a confidential source...")
On March 6, 1979, Special Agent (name deleted) reviewed the tape numbered 1B46
#20. This tape was found to contain the following:
This tape was reviewed, and nothing was contained thereon which was considered
to be of evidentiary nature or beneficial to the investigation of Congressman
Ryan.
Differences with FBI Summary:
There is nothing to compare the two summaries, since the FBI did not write anything
for this, or 64 other tapes which bear the notation "Tapes Not Summarized."
These tapes seems to have little on them which the FBI could use for its purposes
of investigating crimes arising from the Jonestown tragedy, but then again,
that describes many other tapes as well. The difference seems to be that one
or two FBI agents catalogued this set of tapes — as evidenced by the typewriter
used in writing the reports — and that generally, the transcriptions were
made early in the process, before someone may have asked for greater detail
in the reports. With that said, however, this FBI summary has a later transcription
date than most others.