The FBI’s investigation into the events of November 18, 1978 focused upon the assassination of Leo Ryan and any actions of members of Peoples Temple which may have shown evidence of a conspiracy related to that assassination. Code-named RYMUR – short for Ryan Murder – the investigation yielded 2750 serials totalling more than 10,000 pages, eventually separated into 42 large sections.
This page includes the contents of Section 40, including serials 2711-2746. They are dated between May 1985 and July 1987.
The table below lists each document by serial number, the number of pages within each serial, the date the serial was generated, the federal agency originating the serial, and a brief description. Each entry then includes the PDF and the text of the serial. Additional notes appear at the bottom of the page.
A listing of abbreviations used in the RYMUR documents – including FBI field offices and State Department embassies – is here.
In citing these documents, each serial should open with the official designation of “RYMUR 89-4286.” As an example, Serial 2730 would be cited as “RYMUR 89-4286-2730.”
| Serial | # of pages | Date | Office of Origin | Description | Text | |
| 26 | Section 40 Administrative Memoranda | Text | ||||
| 2712 | 1 | 7/30 | FBI-SF | Appeals court upholds trial judge | Text | |
| 2713 | 3 | 7/30 | FBIHQ | Appeals court upholds trial judge (dupe of 2712) | Text | |
| 2714 | 1 | 9/11 | FBI-SF | Judge sets new trial date | Text | |
| 2715 | 3 | 9/11 | FBIHQ | Judge sets new trial date (dupe of 2714) | Text | |
| 2716 | 2 | 10/27 | FBI-SF | Judge postpones new date | Text | |
| 2717 | 4 | 10/27 | FBIHQ | Judge postpones new date (dupe of 2716) | Text | |
| 2718 | 5 | 1/7/86 | FBIHQ | Prosecutors request to travel to Guyana (dupe of 2722) | Text | |
| 2720 | 5 | 1/10 | SecState | State discusses travel plans to Guyana | Text | |
| 2722 | 3 | 1/7 | FBI-SF | Prosecutors request to travel to Guyana | Text | |
| 2726 | 2 | 2/25 | FBI-SF | Trial date may be changed | Text | |
| 2727 | 3 | 3/11 | FBIHQ | Retrial date postponed until 6/86 (dupe of 2728) | Text | |
| 2728 | 2 | 3/11 | FBI-SF | Retrial date postponed until 6/86 | Text | |
| 2728x | 2 | 3/11 | FBI-WFO | Transmittal of Guyana Survey Report (not included) | Text | |
| 2729 | 4 | 6/2 | FBIHQ | Retrial date postponed until 10/86 (dupe of 2729x) | Text | |
| 2729x | 2 | 6/2 | FBI-SF | Retrial date postponed until 10/86 | Text | |
| 2730 | 3 | 9/26 | FBI-SF | Description of tapes to be used in trial | Text | |
| 2733 | 4 | 9/25/86 | DOJ Criminal Division | FBI summarizes commencement of retrial | Text | |
| 2734 | 8 | 7/10 | FBIHQ | Transmittal of trial exhibits | Text | |
| 2735 | 3 | 8/21 | FBI-SF | US alerts Guyanese witnesses of schedule to testify | Text | |
| 2736 | 1 | 10/30 | FBI-SF | FBI agents to testify | Text | |
| 2737 | 5 | 8/21 | FBIHQ | US seeks Guyanese witnesses (dupe of 2735) | Text | |
| 2739 | 2 | 10/8 | FBI-SF | FBI requests additional money for expenses for witnesses | Text | |
| 2740 | 2 | 10/9 | FBIHQ | FBI HQ grants request | Text | |
| 2742 | 5 | 10/9 | FBIHQ | Detailed description of tapes to be used in trial | Text | |
| 2743 | 3 | 12/2 | DOJ Criminal Division | Layton convicted | Text | |
| 2744 | 1 | 10/31 | FBI-SF | FBI agents to testify | Text | |
| 2746 | 2 | 3/13/87 | FBI-SF | Layton convicted | Text |
The pdf of the complete section is here. It should be noted that this document is unique to this site, based upon the FBI’s official release of documents in 2014 and augmented with additional documents. The additional documents include: those released by the State Department; those released through the litigation of McGehee et al v. Justice; and those released by the FBI in 2001 but not included in the later release.
The information released in these serials may change as the FBI releases additional information pursuant to ongoing litigation under the Freedom of Information Act.