0 222355Z NOV 78
FM SACRAMENTO (89-191) (P)
TO DIRECTOR IMMEDIATE
SAN FRANCISCO (89-250) IMMEDIATE
LOS ANGELES IMMEDIATE
DALLAS IMMEDIATE
BT
UNCLAS
RYMUR 00: SF
Re: Sacramento teletype, November 21, 1978.
On November 21, 1978, [deleted name] was reinterviewed at FBI office, Fresno, CA. [deleted name] stated he had been mistaken on date of his exit from People’s Temple (PT) and actual departure had been in December, 1975 rather than 1974. [deleted name] stated that a nurse who allegedly defected with several others in about 1973 was Faith Kice or Chris Kice. [deleted name] knew Kice to be a close girlfriend of Jones and knew she and two other nurses supplied him with drugs. He said there were two Kices
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both Faith and Chris in the PT and he could not recall if both were nurses or if both defected at the same time.
[deleted name] stated that in regards to assassination plots he had only overheard conversations within the Planning Commission (PC) concerning the proposed assassination of national and state leaders. He stated he could not furnish specifics as to these conversations but believed that Jones and others mentioned in Retel [reference teletype] would have been in on the discussions. He stated that discussions were often held some type of coding terminology for instance “going to New York” meant to commit suicide.
[deleted name] stated that Jones publicly requested members to bring him all of their small arms because he told them they would do them no good and he would dispose of them. As a result [deleted name] stated he saw numerous small arms of all types brought to the Temple and turned over to Jones. He stated that he had never seen any automatic weapons but believes the church probably purchased some and recalls a PC meeting where it was decided that automatic weapons and explosives would be purchased.
[deleted name] stated that he recalls conversations between himself, Jones, and Archie and others in which an escape from the
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Guyana compound was discussed. He stated he believes that there was probably some type of plan for the members to flee from the compound into Venezuela and eventually reach the Caracas airport for further flight.
[deleted name] stated he recalls one conversation between himself and Jack Beam shortly after the hierarchy had returned to San Francisco from a nationwide bus tour sometime in 1973 or 1974. Allegedly during this tour Jones had been invited to speak to the U.S. Congress. Beam related to him that during the tour at possibly either Indianapolis or Chicago a man believed to be with the news media had infiltrated the meeting wearing some type of disguise. According to Beam Jones recognized this man from some previous contact and ordered him removed from the meeting by Beam and Jim McElvane (ph) [phonetic]. Beam then told [deleted name] that they beat the man to death and dumped his body.
[deleted name] stated that he also knew Chris Lewis to be an assassin for Jones but that Jones had difficulty in controlling Lewis and therefore had Lewis shot. This occurred approximately a year after [deleted name] left and apparently was mentioned in a “New West” magazine article. He stated he also recalls an
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incident wherein a young man gave a great deal of money to the PT but then wanted it returned. This young man allegedly committed suicide by jumping from a tall building. [deleted name] believes this to be a murder. He stated that Jackie and Marvin Swaney (ph) [Swinney] now living in South Carolina could possibly furnish additional information. He stated Jackie Swaney was a member of the PC and defected shortly before [deleted name] left the PT. He stated they left two children in the PT and her parents, the Shays, are believed to be in Guyana. [deleted name] stated that Deana Myrtle [Mertle] in San Francisco would know the Swaneys address. He also stated that another Swaney, Linda, no known relation, defected several years ago and is possibly in Ukiah, California. [deleted name] stated he has a vague recollection that Linda Swaney was present during some assassination conversations.
[deleted name] stated that he was a member of the PT for six or seven months during which time he believed the PT was just a good Christian church with severe discipline. After he was taken into the PC he learned that instead the PT, particularly the Planning Commission, was an underground revolutionary movement structured along Marxist Leninist lines and that Jones[‘] espousal
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of socialism was only for appearances sake.
[deleted name] stated that when he defected a total of twentyone members of his family also left the PT. He stated that of his family members he was the only one involved on the PC and that none of them have the quantity or quality of information he has.
He specifically requested that his [deleted name] not be interviewed at this time as she is very shaken by recent occurrences. [deleted name] denied any rest record, mental treatment, or use of drugs.
Leads should be left to the discretion of San Francisco.
BT