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 Unidentified Individuals Speaking
FBI preliminary tape identification note: None
Date cues on tape: None
People named:
Stephan Jones
Carolyn Layton
Paul
Sue (former wife of speaker)
Ann Peterson
Bible verses cited: None
Summary:
A young unidentified man submits his resignation from Peoples Temple in a recorded letter. He has failed to pass the bar for the third time, and until he can pass, he believes the Temple should not expend any more resources or time on him, especially since the goal of his endeavor was to become an attorney for the church.
Even though he recognizes that several people who have left the Temple can – and should – be considered traitors, he professes no disagreements with Temple policies or personalities, and offers his continuing, unwavering support for the group’s goals. Several times, he says he will do whatever Jim Jones wants him to do, including taking out some of the traitors or – if Jones prefers – for him to die himself. “I don’t give a damn what happens to me.”
In the meantime, he says he will leave his few possessions to the church, including a 1976 Toyota. As for himself, he’ll travel to Europe and join a South African liberation movement. Since he has white skin, he says, he should “be able to do a great deal more for black freedom and liberation than I am over here.”
The tape includes innumerable pauses and edits, sometimes a half dozen in a single sentence.
FBI Summary:
Date of transcription: 6/25/79
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 10, 1979, Special Agent (name deleted) reviewed the tape numbered 1B102-C19. This tape was found to contain the following: Side A contains an unknown man resigning from the Temple because he failed the bar exam for a third time. Side B is blank.
Differences with FBI Summary:
The summary is accurate and meets the FBI’s purposes.
Tape originally posted January 2019.