Q996 Summary

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

To read the Tape Transcript, click here. Listen to MP3 (Pt. 1, Pt. 2).
To return to the Tape Index, click here.

FBI Catalogue           Jones Speaking

FBI preliminary tape identification note: None

Date cues on tape:     Part I: late April 1978; Part II: winter 1978

People named:

Bible verses cited: None

Summary:

This tape consists of two separate parts.

In Part 1, Jim Jones reads reviews and articles of three separate sources on the political economy, including one from a communist party publication. He reads the pieces in a fairly straight-forward manner, with only a few editorial comments and even fewer asides to draw parallels between the subject matter and current events.

Part 2 is an agriculture and livestock meeting chaired by an unknown man – not Jim Jones, who does not even make an appearance in the meeting – to discuss progress on various projects. There is also discussion on the need for better coordination in purchasing necessary farm supplies in Georgetown and in ways to solve problems to avoid duplication and wasted effort.

Only once does the conversation steer off course, when a woman criticizes a man for not being prepared with his presentation and for figuring out expenditures in response to questions rather than having the information already written down. The man answers firmly, he in fact had them turned in previously, but the questions that night were new, and he was calculating expenses on the fly in response. Another woman then accuses the male speaker of being defensive, and several others chime in. The man stands his ground without apology.

FBI Summary:

Date of transcription: 7/6/79

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 June 26, 1979, Special Agent (name deleted) reviewed the tape numbered 1B110-61. This tape was found to contain the following:

JIM JONES reading “U.S. Capitalism in Crisis” and commentary on “America by Design”. There follows a discussion concerning crops, husbandry and construction at Jonestown.

Differences with FBI Summary:

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

Tape originally posted June 2021.