96th Congress, 1st Session
\nHouse Document No. 96-223<\/p>\n
\n
THE ASSASSINATION OF REPRESENTATIVE LEO J. RYAN AND THE JONESTOWN, GUYANA TRAGEDY<\/p>\n
\n
\n
REPORT OF A
\nSTAFF INVESTIGATIVE GROUP<\/p>\n
\n
TO THE<\/p>\n
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
\nCLEMENT\u00a0J. ZABLOCKI, Wisconsin, Chairman<\/p>\n
L. H. FOUNTAIN, North Carolina
\nDANTE B. FASCELL, Florida
\nCHARLES C. DIGGS, Jr., Michigan
\nBENJAMIN S. ROSENTHAL, New York
\nLEE B. HAMILTON, Indiana
\nLESTER L. WOLFF, New York
\nJONATHAN B. BINGHAM, New York
\nGUS YATRON, Pennsylvania
\nCARDISS COLLINS, Illinois
\nSTEPHEN J. SOLARZ, New York
\nDON BONKER, Washington
\nGERRY E. STUDDS, Massachusetts
\nANDY IRELAND, Florida
\nDONALD J. PEASE, Ohio
\nDAN MICA, Florida
\nMICHAEL D. BARNES, Maryland
\nWILLIAM B. GRAY III, Pennsylvania
\nTONY P. HALL, Ohio
\nHOWARD WOLPE, Michigan
\nDAVID R. BOWEN, Mississippi
\nFLOYD J. FITHIAN, Indiana
\nWILLIAM S. BROOMFIELD, Michigan
\nEDWARD J. DERWINSKI, Illinois
\nPAUL FINDLAY, Illinois
\nJOHN B. BUCHANAN, Jr., Alabama
\nLARRY WINN, Jr., Kansas
\nBENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York
\nTENNYSON GUYER, Ohio
\nROBERT J. LAGOMARSINO, California
\nWILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania
\nJOEL PRITCHARD, Washington
\nMILLICENT FENWICK, New Jersey
\nDAN QUAYLE, Indiana<\/p>\n
JOHN J. BRADY, JR., Chief of Staff
\nROBERT T. HUBER, Staff Consultant
\nROXANNE PERUGINO, Staff Assistant
\nSHARON M. WILLCOX, Staff Assistant<\/p>\n
\n
Staff Investigative Group<\/p>\n
GEORGE R. BERDES, Staff Consultant
\nIVO J. SPALATIN, Subcommittee Staff Director
\nTHOMAS R. SMEETON, Minority Staff Consultant\/Special Projects<\/p>\n
\n FOREWORD<\/p>\n House Of Representatives,<\/p>\n Committee On Foreign Affairs,<\/p>\n Washington, D.C., May 15, 1979.<\/p>\n This investigative factfinding report has been submitted to the Com\u00admittee on Foreign Affairs by the Staff Investigative Group. Per my directives and pursuant to the committee\u2019s investigative authority, the Staff Group conducted a comprehensive inquiry into the international relations aspects of the activities of the People\u2019s Temple, the tragic events that led to the murder of Representative Leo J. Ryan and other members of his party, and the mass suicide\/murder of the followers of People\u2019s Temple that occurred in Jonestown, Guyana on November 18, 1978.<\/p>\n The findings and recommendations in this report are those of the Staff Investigative Group and do not necessarily reflect the views of the membership of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n CLEMENT J. ZABLOCKI, Chairman.<\/p>\n \n H. Res. 349<\/p>\n IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, U.S.,<\/p>\n November 7, 1979<\/p>\n Resolved, That there shall be printed as a House document the volume entitled \u201cThe Assassination of Representative Leo J. Ryan and the Jonestown, Guyana Tragedy\u201d, a report submitted by the Staff Investigative Group to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In addition to the usual number, there shall be printed for the use of the Commit\u00adtee on Foreign Affairs such number of copies of the report as does not exceed a cost of $1,200.<\/p>\n Attest:<\/p>\n EDMUND L. HENSHAW, Jr.,<\/p>\n Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives.<\/p>\n LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL<\/p>\n House Of Representatives,<\/p>\n Committee On Foreign Affairs,<\/p>\n Washington, D.C., May 15, 1979.<\/p>\n Hon. CLEMENT J . ZABLOCKI,<\/p>\n Chairman, Committee On Foreign Affairs,<\/p>\n House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Based on your directives, we are enclosing the results of the inquiry you ordered into the assassination of Represent\u00adative Leo J. Ryan and related events. We believe we have accom\u00adplished your objective in conducting an initial but comprehensive fact\u00adfinding investigation into this matter.<\/p>\n This report summarizes the highlights of the investigation and presents our findings and recommendations. All documents and mate\u00adrial generated in the course of the investigation are available in the committee\u2019s files for more complete examination and review by the members of this committee and others with appropriate security clearances.<\/p>\n In isolated cases, documentation provided to the Staff Investigative Group and contained in the appendixes to this report are of poor legibility as a result of several reproductions. Nonetheless, the docu\u00admentation is important to various aspects of the investigation and is therefore included.<\/p>\n This has been one of the most challenging and difficult assignments any of us has ever undertaken in our work as congressional staff employees. Your consistent and enthusiastic support greatly facili\u00adtated the success of this effort. Equally generous encouragement and help has been provided by Representatives Dante B. Fascell, William Broomfield, Edward J. Derwinski, and John H. Buchanan, Jr., as well as the Committee on House Administration. All assistance we felt necessary to request of the Congress in the fulfillment of this under\u00adtaking has been provided.<\/p>\n This report is submitted to you and the committee with the hope it will provide a sound and adequate basis on which the committee\u2019s col\u00adlective judgment can now be made on whether any future action is warranted or necessary.<\/p>\n GEORGE R. BERDES,<\/p>\n Staff Consultant,<\/p>\n Ivo J. SPALATIN.<\/p>\n Staff Director, Subcommittee on<\/p>\n International Security and Scientific Affairs,<\/p>\n THOMAS R. SMEETON,<\/p>\n Minority Staff Consultant.<\/p>\n (v)<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n \n I. Introduction<\/p>\n \n A. Ryan Trip Background<\/p>\n \n The chain of events which led to Representative Leo J. Ryan\u2019s death in Guyana on November 18,1978 began 1 year earlier almost exactly to the date. The spark that ignited. his interest was a San Francisco Examiner article of November 13, 1977, involving an old friend and constituent, Mr. Sam Houston of San Bruno, Calif. Headlined \u201cScared Too Long,\u201d the story recounted the death of Sam Houston\u2019s son, Bob, beneath the wheels of a train on October 5, 1976, 1 day after he had announced his decision to leave the People\u2019s Temple. The article explained that Mr. Houston was \u201cspeaking out\u201d because he was outraged by the way the Temple had treated his son, about whose \u201caccidental\u201d death he had lingering doubts. He was also speaking out because his two granddaughters, who were sent to New York on a \u201cvacation,\u201d ended up at the People\u2019s Temple agricultural mission in Jonestown, Guyana \u2013 never to return. Sam Houston was also described as speaking out because he didn\u2019t have much time left. Doctors would be removing his cancer-choked voice box within a few days. Finally, Sam Houston said he was speaking out because he was \u201ctired of being scared.\u201d<\/p>\n Representative Ryan read that story and soon thereafter took the initiative to contact the Houstons and visited their home. Reinforced by the fact that a relative had been involved in an unusual church group, Mr. Ryan decided at that time that the matter needed to be looked into.<\/p>\n Over the next 6 to 8 months several other developments took place which increased his interest in the activities of the People\u2019s Temple. One was another San Francisco newspaper story recounting the defec\u00adtion from People\u2019s Temple of Debbie Blakey, including excerpts from her sworn affidavit of June 15, 1978<\/a>, noting mass suicide rehearsals at Jonestown. Further impetus came in letters he received from con\u00adcerned relatives of People\u2019s Temple members, some of whom were constituents, asking his assistance and alleging, among other things, social security irregularities, human rights violations, and that their loved ones were being held in Jonestown against their will. He subsequently met with a group of these concerned relatives in August 1978. As his interest in People\u2019s Temple became more widely known, he also began receiving extensive mail and petitions favorable to People\u2019s Temple. Throughout this period he directed his staff to begin compiling information on the People\u2019s Temple. He also hired a young Cali\u00adfornia attorney to interview former People\u2019s Temple members and concerned relatives. His specific instruction was to look for possible violations of Federal and California State laws.<\/p>\n The cumulative effect of this effort undertaken by Representative Ryan led him to request a meeting on September 15, 1978, with Viron P.<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n \n Vilky, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, U.S. Department of State, and other State Department officials. What he had earlier considered merely the \u201cpossibility\u201d of going to Guyana appears to have become firm in his mind at that meeting. On October 4, 1978, he requested House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Clement J. Zablocki\u2019s permission to go to Guyana. He explained his in\u00adterest in part stemmed from his membership on this committee\u2019s Sub\u00adcommittee on International Operations, as a result of which he had be\u00adcome increasingly aware \u201cof the problems related to protecting the lives and property of U.S. citizens abroad.\u201d A key paragraph in his letter stated:<\/p>\n It has come to my attention that a community of some 1,400 Americans are presently living in Guyana under somewhat bizarre conditions. There is con\u00adflicting information regarding whether or not the U.S. citizens are being held there against their will. If you agree, I would like to travel to Guyana during the week of November 12-18 to review the situation first-hand.<\/p>\n In response to Chairman Zablocki\u2019s request, and in compliance with committee travel guidelines, Mr. Ryan subsequently attempted to in\u00adterest other committee members in accompanying him. (See Appendix I-A-l.) Although Hon. Edward J. Derwinski was originally sched\u00aduled to do so, he subsequently had to cancel those plans because of unavoidable conflicts in his schedule.<\/p>\n Prior to his departure for Guyana on November 14, Mr. Ryan and members of his staff and this committee\u2019s staff received briefings and met with State Department officials on October 2, 25, and November 9 and 13. Chief among the topics discussed in those briefings was the Privacy Act because both the Embassy and the State Department were highly sensitized by legal actions taken under this statute by the People\u2019s Temple and because some 1,000 Americans living in Jones\u00adtown were protected by the provisions of this act. Logistical problems in getting to Jonestown and other related matters were also reviewed.<\/p>\n During approximately this same period the media became aware of Mr. Ryan\u2019s trip as did members of the Concerned Relatives of People\u2019s Temple members in San Francisco. By the time he departed for Guyana on November 14, the group of newspaper and television media representatives accompanying him grew to 9 and the Concerned Relatives delegation numbered\u00ad 18. In this connection, it is important to note that neither the media nor Concerned Relatives were a part of Mr. Ryan\u2019s official Codel. [Codel is an abbreviation for an official Congressional Delegation traveling overseas.] Rather, the official party was made up of Mr. Ryan, Mr. James Schollaert, staff consultant for the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Miss Jackie Speier, of Mr. Ryan\u2019s personal staff and whose expenses were not paid for by the U.S. Government.<\/p>\n On November 1, Mr. Ryan sent a telegraph to Jim Jones<\/a><\/span> outlining his plans and expressing his desire to visit Jonestown. On that same date, Mr. Ryan wrote to Hon. John Burke, U.S. Ambassador to Guy\u00adana, informing the Ambassador of his proposed date of arrival in Georgetown (November 14), and relaying to Ambassador Burke the text of his telegram to Jones. On November 5 the U.S. Embassy ad\u00advised Mr. Ryan that the People\u2019s Temple wanted Mr. Ryan to work with People\u2019s Temple legal counsel. Mark Lane, on the appropriate arrangements for the Ryan Codel to visit Jonestown.<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n \n The Embassy also relayed to Mr. Ryan that the People\u2019s Temple had informed an Embassy official that Mr. Ryan could visit Jonestown provided: (1) that the Codel was \u201cbalanced\u201d; (2) that there would be no media coverage associated with the visit; and (3) that Mr. Lane be present during the visit. Attempts by Mr. Schollaert to negotiate these matters with Mr. Lane on Representative Ryan\u2019s behalf were unproductive.<\/p>\n On November 6, Mr. Lane wrote a letter to Mr. Ryan<\/a><\/span> outlining logistical difficulties if the Ryan Codel decided to visit Jonestown and informing Ryan that Lane would be unable to be in Jonestown at the time Ryan wished to visit the settlement. Lane also made inferences in the letter to a \u201cwitchhunt\u201d against the People\u2019s Temple by the U.S. Government. On November 10, Mr. Ryan responded to Lane\u2019s letter<\/a><\/span>, expressing regret at Lane\u2019s remarks about the Codel\u2019s motives and informing him that despite Lane\u2019s scheduling conflicts, the Codel planned to leave for Guyana on November 14. Further negotiations between Representative Ryan and Messrs. Lane and Charles Garry, also legal counsel to the People\u2019s Temple, resumed in Georgetown after the Codel\u2019s arrival. (See Appendix I-A-2.)<\/p>\n \n B. SUMMARY OF EVENTS OF NOVEMBER 14-19, 1978<\/p>\n The Ryan Codel, together with its unofficial contingent of media and Concerned Relatives, arrived in Georgetown, Guyana at approxi\u00admately midnight November 14. The official Codel group proceeded into Georgetown where Mr. Ryan was a house guest of U.S. Ambassador John Burke and Miss Speier and Mr. Schollaert registered at the Pegasus Hotel. Despite confirmed reservations, the Concerned Rela\u00adtives group was unable to obtain rooms at the same hotel and spent the night in the lobby. With one exception, the media group cleared cus\u00adtoms and took rooms at the Pegasus Hotel. The exception, Mr. Ron Javers of the San Francisco Chronicle, was detained overnight at the airport because he lacked an entry visa and for what was later described as on orders from \u201chigher ups.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the next 2\u00bd days the following incidents took place:<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0With the assistance of Embassy personnel, Mr. Javers was even\u00adtually allowed to enter, other members of the media group were summoned to the Ministry of Immigration, and attempts were made to shorten their visas from 5 to 1 day;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Representative Ryan, Miss Speier, and Mr. Schollaert received briefings from members of the U.S. Embassy team;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Mr. Ryan paid a courtesy call on Guyanese Foreign Minister Rashleigh Jackson to discuss United States-Guyanese bilateral relations;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Mr. Ryan arranged a meeting between Ambassador Burke and the Concerned Relatives group at which they voiced their concerns and allegations regarding their relatives in Jonestown;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Mr. Ryan made an unannounced visit to the People\u2019s Temple Headquarters in Georgetown at 41 Lamaha Gardens; Mr. Charles Krause of the Washington Post accompanied Mr. Ryan but did not enter the headquarters;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Some of the Concerned Relatives groups also attempted to talk with People\u2019s Temple representatives at the Lamaha Gardens People\u2019s Temple facility but were generally unsuccessful;<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n \n \u2013\u00a0Because negotiations between Representative Ryan and Messrs. Lane and Garry were still unresolved, the plane originally char\u00adtered to go to Jonestown on Thursday, November 16, was re\u00adscheduled for Friday, November 17;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0By late Friday morning Mr. Ryan advised Messrs. Lane and Garry that he was leaving for Jonestown at 2:30 p.m. regardless of Jones\u2019 willingness to allow the Ryan party to visit Jonestown. He also assured Lane and Garry of two seats on the plane if they decided to accompany him;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Mr. Ryan, Miss Speier, Deputy Chief of Mission Richard Dwyer, Messrs. Lane and Garry, all nine media representatives, four in\u00addividuals representing the Concerned Relatives group, and Mr. Neville Annibourne, a Guyanese Information Officer, left for Jonestown at approximately 2:30 p.m, Friday, November 17, Guyana time (12:30 p.m., e.s.t., Washington, D.C.).<\/p>\n On the group\u2019s arrival at the Port Kaituma airstrip the chronology of events which ensued was as follows:<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0They were met initially by a Corporal Rudder, described as a Guyanese Regional Official assigned to the Northwest territory. He advised them that he had orders \u201cfrom Jonestown\u201d not to allow anyone off the plane except Messrs. Lane and Garry. Repre\u00adsentatives of the Jonestown People\u2019s Temple facility also at the airstrip met privately with Lane and Garry and it was eventually decided that only they together with Mr. Ryan, Miss Speier, Mr. Dwyer, and Mr. Annibourne could proceed into Jonestown;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Mr. Ryan eventually obtained Mr. Jones\u2019 approval for the media group and Concerned Relatives to enter Jonestown and the People\u2019s Temple truck was sent back to Port Kaituma to trans\u00adport them. They arrived in Jonestown after dark. Only Mr. Gor\u00addon Lindsay, a former free-lance reporter for the National En\u00adquirer, and on this trip, working as a consultant to NBC, was denied entry. A previous unpublished story by Mr. Lindsay criti\u00adcal of People\u2019s Temple had incurred Jim Jones\u2019 wrath and ac\u00adcounted for the refusal to allow him into Jonestown. Mr. Lindsay thereupon immediately returned with the plane to Georgetown;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Dinner was served to the entire delegation and they viewed a musical presentation by People\u2019s Temple members. Throughout this period the reporters were casually interviewing Mr. Jones; Mr. Ryan and Miss Speier were contacting and talking to Peo\u00adple\u2019s Temple members whose names had been provided them by relatives in the United States. Although the evening was generally informal and casual, the emotional atmosphere was described as at a \u201cfever pitch.\u201d At one point, Mr. Ryan addressed the assembled People\u2019s Temple audience of approximately 900 and received an extended, standing ovation in response to his comment that \u201cfor some of you, for a lot of you that I talked to, Jonestown is the best thing that ever happened to you in your lives\u201d;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Sometime during the evening, a People\u2019s Temple member passed a note to NBC Reporter Don Harris indicating the individual\u2019s desire to leave Jonestown. Harris hid the note and later showed it to Mr. Ryan. That same evening another People\u2019s Temple member made a similar verbal request of DCM Dwyer to leave \u201cimmediately,\u201d which he passed on to Mr. Ryan;<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n \n \u2013\u00a0At approximately 11 p.m. the media group, and Concerned Rela\u00adtives were returned to Port Kaituma for makeshift accommoda\u00adtions after Jim Jones refused to allow them to spend the night in Jonestown. Only Ryan, Speier, Dwyer, Annibourne, Garry, and Lane stayed in Jonestown the night of Friday, November 17;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Following their arrival in Port Kaituma, three members of the media were approached by local Guyanese, including one re\u00adported to be a local police official. The Guyanese related stories of alleged beatings at Jonestown, complained that local Guyanese officials were denied entry to and had no authority in Jonestown, and described a \u201ctorture hole\u201d in the compound.<\/p>\n On Saturday, November 18, the following chronological order of events took place:<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Following breakfast, Ryan, Speier, and Dwyer continued their round of interviews with People\u2019s Temple members in the process of which they were approached by a People\u2019s Temple member who indicated to them secretly that she and her family wished to leave Jonestown;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0The media group and Concerned Relatives returned to Jones\u00adtown from Port Kaituma aboard the People\u2019s Temple truck at approximately 11 a.m., several hours later than the schedule promised by Mr. Jones on Friday night. The media began to seek access to various Jonestown facilities. They also continued their interviews of Jim Jones, and People\u2019s Temple individuals;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0At about 3 or 3:30 p.m. a total of some 15 People\u2019s Temple mem\u00adbers who had indicated their desire to leave boarded the truck for return to the Port Kaituma airstrip. (See Appendix I-B-l.) Only Mr. Ryan and People\u2019s Temple lawyers Lane and Garry planned to remain in Jonestown 1 more night. It was at this point that an unsuccessful knife attack was made on Mr. Ryan\u2019s life. The attacker, identified as Don Sly, was fended off by Mr. Lane and others but cut himself in the process and Mr. Ryan\u2019s clothes were spattered with blood. After receiving Mr. Jones\u2019 assurance that the incident would be reported to local police, Mr. Ryan as\u00adsured Jones that the attack would not substantially influence his overall impression of People\u2019s Temple. Despite the attack, Mr. Ryan reportedly planned to remain in Jonestown and eventually left only after virtually being ordered to do so by DCM Dwyer. In turn, Mr. Dwyer planned to return to Jonestown later in an effort to resolve a dispute between a family who was split on the question of leaving Jonestown;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Because of the unanticipated large number of defectors, an un\u00adexpected request was made to the Embassy in Georgetown at about noon Saturday for a second plane. A considerable effort was re\u00adquired by Embassy personnel to obtain the aircraft on such short notice;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0The entire group, including the defectors, arrived at the Port Kaituma airstrip between 4:30 and 4:45 p.m. The planes, which were scheduled to be there on the group\u2019s arrival, did not arrive until approximated 5:10 p.m. A six-passenger Cessna was loaded and had taxied to the far end of the airstrip when one of the passengers in that plane, Larry Layton, a self-declared \u201cdefector,\u201d opened fire on its passengers. At approximately the same time, a<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n \n People\u2019s Temple tractor and trailer which had arrived at the air\u00adstrip shortly before, was positioned near the twin-engine Otter aircraft onto which some had already boarded. The trailer occu\u00adpants waved off local Guyanese who had gathered about and opened fire on the Ryan party. Mr. Ryan, three members of the media, and one of the defectors were killed; Miss Speier and nine others were wounded \u2013 five seriously. (See Appendix I-B-2.) According to information received by the Staff Investigative Group, the shooting started at 5:20 p.m. (3:20 p.m. Washington time) and lasted about 4 to 5 minutes. (See Appendix I-B-3.) The larger aircraft was disabled but the smaller Cessna took off in the ensuing confusion. The attackers left the airstrip and the survi\u00advors sought various cover and protection through the night under the direction of DCM Dwyer;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0<\/span>The evidence the Staff Investigative Group has indicates that very shortly after the Ryan group left Jonestown, Jones was in a highly agitated state. In an apparent attempt to calm the situation his wife, Marceline, urged everyone to go to their cabins to rest. But shortly thereafter everyone was ordered back to the Pavilion. On the basis of the evidence we estimate that the mass suicide\/murder ritual began at about 5 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, Guyana time. It ultimately claimed 909 lives, including that of Jim Jones. Word of the Jonestown deaths reached Port Kaituma about 2 a.m. Sun\u00adday morning with the arrival of two survivors, Stanley Clayton and Odell Rhodes. At approximately 7:40 p.m., Saturday, Sher\u00adwin Harris, a member of the Concerned Relatives Group, was informed by Guyanese police officials that his ex-wife Sharon Amos and three of her children were found dead at the People\u2019s Temple headquarters in Georgetown;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0<\/span>Shortly after takeoff the Cessna aircraft radioed the Georgetown tower with news of the attack and Guyanese officials were in\u00adformed. At about 6 p.m. Saturday, Prime Minister Forbes Burn\u00adham telephoned Ambassador Burke to request that he come immediately to his residence where he received word of the shoot\u00ading. Ambassador Burke returned to the Embassy at 7:55 p.m., dictated a cable to the State Department which was sent at 8:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m., e.s.t. Washington time). The text of that cable was subsequently read over the phone to a State Department official in Washington at approximately 8:40 p.m.;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0The first contingent of Guyanese Army rescue forces arrived in Port Kaituma shortly after dawn (approximately 6 a.m.) on Sunday, November 19. The complete contingent of about 120 soldiers were on the scene 1 hour later. The first Guyanese rescue aircraft landed at Port Kaituma without medical supplies or per\u00adsonnel at about 10 a.m. All of the wounded and most of the sur\u00advivors were airlifted by Guyanese from Port Kaituma before the end of the day. On arrival in Georgetown. the wounded were transferred to waiting U.S. Air Force medical evacuation aircraft.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Earlier reports of the mass suicide\/murders at Jonestown were confirmed late Sunday morning when Guyanese Army contingents arrived there.<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n \n C. CHAIRMAN ZABLOCKI\u2019S MANDATE FOR AN INVESTIGATION<\/p>\n On Tuesday, November 21,1978, Chairman Zablocki wrote the De\u00adpartment of State posing 13 specific questions regarding Mr. Ryan\u2019s death and the resulting tragedy at Jonestown. Further, the chairman\u2019s letter noted that \u201cIn determining what steps might be taken in the wake of this matter, the committee intends to look into all of the cir\u00adcumstances which might have a bearing on this tragic incident. It is therefore essential that the Department of State cooperate fully with the committee in the conduct of this inquiry.\u201d Additional letters from the chairman specifying further detailed requests were sent to the State Department during the course of the investigation and eventually answered. (See Appendix I-G-l.)<\/p>\n As a complement to Chairman Zablocki\u2019s November 21 letter to the State Department he ordered a Staff Investigative Group \u201cto conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the international relations aspect of the activities of the People\u2019s Temple and the tragic events that led to the murder of Congressman Leo Ryan and other members of his party and the mass suicide\/murder of the followers of the People\u2019s Temple that occurred in Jonestown on November 18,1978.\u201d (See Appendix I-G-2.)<\/p>\n 8<\/p>\n \n II. THE INVESTIGATION<\/p>\n A. PREPARATION<\/p>\n Under the parameters set out in Chairman Zablocki\u2019s mandate for a comprehensive inquiry, the Staff Investigative Group began meeting with appropriate State Department officials on December 5, 1978, to layout the specific dimensions of the House Foreign Affairs Commit\u00adtee\u2019s interests and objectives. As a result of those meetings and in response to the chairman\u2019s request of November 21, the State De\u00adpartment subsequently provided the committee with 902 pertinent cables, correspondence, and related materials. The documents spanned the period of June 7, 1974, through November 29,1978, and dealt with various contacts which the Department had with People\u2019s Temple since its establishment in Guyana. Organized chronologically by log number, the 902 documents were read, analyzed, and summarized. Throughout the course of the investigation they provided a repeated base of reference and resource for information. (See Appendix II\u00adA-I for document summaries, in classified version only.)<\/p>\n On December 11, 1978, Chairman Zablocki wrote to 10 Federal de\u00adpartments and agencies requesting that the committee be supplied with \u201cany and all information and documents\u201d in their files relating to the People\u2019s Temple and the murder of Representative Ryan. The requests were directed to the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Customs Service, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Social Security Administration, and the National Security Agency. The responses provided by those departments and agencies ultimately generated countless phone calls, correspondence exchanges, and meetings between their representatives and the Staff Investigative Group. (See Appendix II-A-2.)<\/p>\n In cooperation with the American Law Division of the Library of Congress, Chairman Zablocki also wrote on December 21, 1978, and March 8, 1979, to 10 American constitutional experts, law scholars. and practicing attorneys. (See Appendix II-A-3.) Carefully selected for the varied and balanced perspectives they might hold on the issues involved, the legal community was invited to address two key ques\u00adtions articulated in the following pertinent paragraphs from Mr. Zablocki\u2019s letter:<\/p>\n Because of pertinent jurisdictional and other important considerations, the Committee will be only tangentially concerned with the beliefs and dogmas of the People\u2019s Temple. However, given the primacy of the First Amendment religion guarantees in our jurisprudence, we do feel the necessity of acquainting ourselves with the Constitutional principles limiting and shaping Congressional power to inquire into the workings of an organization that has been denominated a religious group. In addition, we are also interested in learning how you might distinguish between a bona fide religious group and what in the current context has been described as a cult.<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n \n I recognize that there is little blackletter law that can be cited on the issue. Rather, we are much more concerned with the best assessment you can give to guide us in making as complete an inquiry as possible without needlessly intruding into areas of religious principle marked off by our Constitution from government regulation.<\/p>\n \n B. WASHINGTON ACTIVITIES \u2013 I<\/p>\n Having assimilated the State Department\u2019s 902 documents and a variety of other preliminary background materials, the Staff Investi\u00adgative Group began to conduct on-the-record interviews classified \u201cConfidential\u201d with individuals related to the incident. Between De\u00adcember 4, 1978, and January 2, 1979, the Group interviewed:<\/p>\n Galen W. Holsinger, administrative assistant to Representative Ryan.<\/p>\n Mr. James Schollaert, staff consultant, Foreign Affairs Committee, who assisted Mr. Ryan before the trip and who accompanied him to Guyana.<\/p>\n Miss Jacqueline Speier, Mr. Ryan\u2019s legislative assistant, who also staffed prior trip arrangements, performed much of the research, and accompanied Mr. Ryan to Jonestown where she was seriously wounded.<\/p>\n Mr. Richard McCoy, State Department Foreign Service officer who served in Guyana, had extensive contacts with People\u2019s Temple as a Consular Officer during that time, and subsequently served as Guyanese Desk Officer in which capacity he contributed to briefings for Mr. Ryan and otherwise assisted in making arrangements for the Codel\u2019s trip to Guyana. Mr. McCoy was interviewed by the Staff Investigative Group on three different occasions between December 4, 1978, and January 2, 1979.<\/p>\n This initial series of interviews established basic background informa\u00adtion. (See Appendix II-B for transcript summaries, in classified ver\u00adsion only.) Simultaneous to this effort, the Staff Investigative Group maintained repeated contacts with State Department and other Federal agency officials, culled through a variety of other sources of informa\u00adtion including hundreds of newspaper articles, and listened to tapes of interviews conducted by Mr. Ryan\u2019s staff prior to the tragedy. In addition, the Group laid the groundwork for the second phase of its investigation in California.<\/p>\n \n C. CALIFORNIA ACTIVITIES<\/p>\n Between January 3-19, 1979, the Staff Investigative Group con\u00adducted interviews in three different locations in California. A total of 29 individuals in San Francisco, Ukiah, and Los Angeles, Calif. provided on-the-record accounts of their involvement with the matter. (See Appendix II-C for transcript summaries, in classified version only.)<\/p>\n Those interviewed in California were:<\/p>\n In San Francisco<\/p>\n Rosalie Wright, Editor for New West magazine.<\/p>\n Will Holsinger (son of G. W. Holsinger), attorney hired by Mr. Ryan to conduct interviews with former People\u2019s Temple members and Concerned Relatives.<\/p>\n Mr. Joseph Freitas, Jr., District Attorney for the County of San Francisco.<\/p>\n Mr. and Mrs. Howard Oliver, who had visited Guyana on two occasions, the final time with Mr. Ryan, in an unsuccessful attempt to urge their two sons to leave Jonestown. Mrs. Oliver also accompanied Mr. Ryan to Jonestown on November 17-18 and was wounded in the Port Kaituma shooting.<\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n \n Ms. Clare Bouquet, whose son, Brian, was at Jonestown and who accompanied Mr. Ryan to Guyana.<\/p>\n Mr. Jim Hubert, U.S. Customs Service, San Francisco office.<\/p>\n Mr. and Mrs. Sam Houston, whose son, Bob, was a former People\u2019s Temple mem\u00adber killed under questionable circumstances in a train accident and whose two granddaughters were at Jonestown. Mrs. Houston accompanied Mr. Ryan to Guyana.<\/p>\n Ms. Carol Boyd, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Houston, who accompanied Mr. Ryan on the trip to Jonestown.<\/p>\n Mr. Al Mills, former People\u2019s Temple member, a member of the Concerned Relatives, and head of the Human Freedom Center in San Francisco.<\/p>\n Mr. Tim Stoen, former People\u2019s Temple member and legal adviser to Jim Jones. He and his wife, Grace Stoen, took legal action to regain custody of their son, John Victor Stoen, from Jim Jones.<\/p>\n Mr. Dale Parks, a People\u2019s Temple defector, who, together with four members of his family, left Jonestown with Mr. Ryan. Mr. Parks\u2019 mother, Patricia, was subsequently killed in the shooting at Port Kaituma.<\/p>\n Mr. Marshall Kilduff, reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and writer for New West magazine who coauthored the magazine\u2019s article on Jones in Au\u00adgust 1977, the anticipated publication of which apparently caused Jim Jones to leave the United States for Guyana on July 16, 1977.<\/p>\n Ms. Debbie Layton Blakey, who defected from People\u2019s Temple in Guyana in May 1978 and subsequently filed an affidavit alleging among other things, the existence of guns in Jonestown, mass suicide rehearsals at Jonestown and staged scenarios for visits to Jonestown by U.S. Embassy officials and others. Ms. Blakey\u2019s husband, Philip, her mother Lisa Layton, and her brother, Larry Layton, remained in Jonestown as members of the People\u2019s Temple.<\/p>\n Mr. Ron Javers, reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle who accompanied Mr. Ryan to Jonestown and was wounded in the shooting at Port Kaituma.<\/p>\n Mr. Mark Lane, legal counsel for the People\u2019s Temple who accompanied Mr. Ryan to Jonestown.<\/p>\n Ms. Terri Buford, self-described People\u2019s Temple defector in October 1978, who was one of Jim Jones\u2019 most trusted aides, responsible principally for People\u2019s Temple financial matters.<\/p>\n Mr. Bob Flick, NBC producer who accompanied Mr. Ryan to Jonestown and was present at the Port Kaituma shooting.<\/p>\n Ms. Grace Stoen, former People\u2019s Temple member, mother of John Victor Stoen and wife of Mr. Tim Stoen.<\/p>\n Mr. Jeffrey Haas, and Ms. Margaret Ryan, legal counsel to Ms. Grace Stoen in her child custody suit. Mr. Haas went to Guyana in September 1977 relative to this legal action and visited Jonestown twice.<\/p>\n Mr. Charles Garry, legal counsel for the People\u2019s Temple, as well as several surviving People\u2019s Temple members based in San Francisco, who accompanied Mr. Ryan to Jonestown.<\/p>\n \n In Ukiah<\/p>\n Mr. Steven Katsaris, father of People\u2019s Temple member Maria Katsaris and of Anthony Katsaris, who accompanied Mr. Ryan to Jonestown and was wounded at Port Kaituma. Mr. Steven Katsaris, as a leader of the Concerned Relatives, visited Guyana in September-October 1977 prior to accompanying Mr. Ryan there in November 1978.<\/p>\n Ms. Kathy Hunter, former reporter for the Ukiah Daily Journal, who had pre\u00adviously written People\u2019s Temple stories while Jim Jones maintained his or\u00adganization there and went to Guyana in May 1978 in an unsuccessful attempt to interview Mr. Jones.<\/p>\n Ms. Jan Kespohl, Deputy Sheriff for the Mendocino County Sheriff\u2019s Department who had investigated several incidents starting in 1972 relating to People\u2019s Temple while the or\u00adganization was located in Ukiah.<\/p>\n Ms. Pat Small, a Guyanese citizen, former self-described quasi-official receptionist for visiting VIP\u2019s to Guyana, who, together with her six children and one grandchild, is currently in the United States seeking political asylum.<\/p>\n \n In Los Angeles<\/p>\n Mr. Steve Sung, NBC sound technician who accompanied Mr. Ryan to Jonestown and was wounded at the Port Kaituma shooting.<\/p>\n 11<\/p>\n \n Mr. Gordon Lindsay, former free-lance reporter for the National Enquirer who attempted unsuccessfully to visit and report on the People\u2019s Temple facility in Jonestown in June 1978. In November 1978 he accompanied Mr. Ryan to Guyana as a consultant to NBC but was denied entry to Jonestown by Jim Jones.<\/p>\n Mr. Phil Tracy, contributing editor for New West magazine who coauthored the magazine\u2019s article on Jones in August 1977.<\/p>\n In addition to these various on-the-record interviews four indi\u00adviduals declined to be interviewed and two failed to appear for sched\u00aduled interviews. The Group also solicited statements for the record from individuals related to the matter in lesser degrees.<\/p>\n Finally, while in California the Staff Investigative Group met for background purposes with 25 officials and individuals representing the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office, the San Francisco office of the FBI, the San Francisco Police Department, the Mayor\u2019s Office, and the Cali\u00adfornia State Attorney General\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n \n D. WASHINGTON ACTIVITIES \u2013 II<\/p>\n Following their return to Washington and between January 20 and March 17, 1979, the Staff Investigative Group\u2019s interviews concen\u00adtrated chiefly on State Department personnel but also included sessions with two journalists: Mr. Tim Reiterman, reporter for the San Fran\u00adcisco Examiner who accompanied Mr. Ryan to Jonestown, and Mr. Lester Kinsolving, a former religion journalist for the San Francisco Examiner who unsuccessfully attempted to expose Jim Jones and People\u2019s Temple in 1972. The Investigative Group also interviewed Miss Jackie Speier for the second time and Mr. Richard McCoy for the fourth time. (See Appendix II-D for transcript summaries, in classified version only.)<\/p>\n Other State Department officials interviewed were:<\/p>\n Mr. Frank Tumminia, Romanian Desk Officer, Department of State, former Guyanese Desk Officer from July 1976 to July 1978. Visited Jonestown in February 1978.<\/p>\n Mr. Dan Weber, State Department Foreign Service officer assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana as Vice Consul and Third Secretary from October 1976 through December 1978. Assisted U.S. Consul Richard McCoy in facilitating Ms. Debbie Blakey\u2019s defection from People\u2019s Temple in May 1978.<\/p>\n Ms. Barbara Watson, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs.<\/p>\n Mr. Robert Dalton, Assistant Legal Adviser, Bureau of Consular Affairs.<\/p>\n Mr. Alan Gise, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Consular Affairs and Director, Office of Special Consular Services.<\/p>\n Mr. Ashley Hewitt, Director, Office of Caribbean Countries, Bureau of Inter-\u00adAmerican Affairs<\/p>\n Mr. Stephen Dobrenchuk, Director of Emergency Services, Office of Special Con\u00adsular Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs.<\/p>\n Mr. Richard Belt, Chief of the Welfare and Whereabouts Division in the Office of Emergency Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs.<\/p>\n Ms. Eileen O\u2019Kane, Consular Affairs Officer in the Special Consular Services Office, Bureau of Consular Affairs.<\/p>\n Mr. John Blacken, Charg\u00e9, U.S. Embassy, Georgetown from June 1976 to March 1978. Visited Jonestown in February 1978.<\/p>\n Ms. Joyce Gunn, Consular Affairs Officer, Office of Special Consular Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs.<\/p>\n Mr. Jack Komitor, Consular Affairs Officer, Office of Special Consular services, Bureau of Consular Affairs.<\/p>\n 12<\/p>\n \n Mr. Rudolph Henderson, Deputy Assistant Legal Adviser, Bureau of Consular Affairs.<\/p>\n Mr. Rudolph Rivera, formerly assigned as Chief of Correspondence, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Special Consular Services.<\/p>\n Ms. Michele Bova, Foreign Service Officer currently assigned to the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs.<\/p>\n Mr. John Griffith, Alternate Director in the Office of Caribbean Affairs, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs.<\/p>\n Mr. Fred Henneke, Foreign Service Officer on leave from Department of State. Assigned in September 1977 to Welfare and Whereabouts Division of Office of Special Consular Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs.<\/p>\n \n E. GUYANA ACTIVITIES<\/p>\n Given the fact that the tragedy occurred in Guyana, the need for the Staff Investigative Group to visit there was almost inevitable from the start. That need was reinforced by a progressively mounting array of evidence collected by the Group which required interviews, con\u00adfirmation, and on-site inspection. In fact, shortly after the tragedy Guyanese Ambassador Laurence Mann met with Chairman Zablocki both to express his country\u2019s sympathy and also to pledge Guyana\u2019s full cooperation to what was seen as mutually desirable interests to investigate the matter fully. Thus, it was assumed that the Staff Investigative Group\u2019s visit to Guyana would be greatly facilitated.<\/p>\n Accordingly, on March 2, 1979, Chairman Zablocki cabled Guyanese Prime Minister Forbes Burnham recounting the process of the com\u00admittee\u2019s inquiry. In a pertinent passage from his letter of March 2, Chairman Zablocki said:<\/p>\n The Committee staff inquiry has now reached the point at which the Committee believes it is necessary to talk with various officials of the Guyanese Govern\u00adment. I am therefore respectfully requesting your cooperation in agreeing to allow our staff group to interview certain Guyanese Government officials during the week of March 11, 1979.<\/p>\n Upon receipt of your hopefully positive reply to this request it is my urgent desire that this investigation can be completed in the near future. If you agree, I will contact Ambassador Mann to inform him of the people we would like to see and to work out mutually satisfactory procedures for carrying out the interviews.<\/p>\n In their response of March 13, 1979. the Guyanese Government reiterated and confirmed Ambassador Mann\u2019s earlier pledge of \u201cfull cooperation\u201d to make a full investigation of the tragedy. It further noted the cooperation which the Guyanese Government had already extended to the FBI and other U.S. agencies. The reply also cited the fact that Guyanese law enforcement authorities had initiated court action seeking the application of Guyanese laws to several aspects of Jonestown, including the death of Representative Ryan. Finally, the Guyanese reply stated that the Government was undertaking its own judicial inquiry [The Guyanese Inquiry is expected to begin on or about May 15, 1979. Indications are that it may not be completed for several months.], before which some of the Guyanese officials which the Staff Investigative Group hoped to interview would be required to testify. As an alternative, an exchange of investigative reports was suggested.<\/p>\n A response to the Guyanese Government\u2019s letter was made by Chair\u00adman Zablocki on March 16, 1979, pertinent portions of which were as follows:<\/p>\n 13<\/p>\n \n I deeply appreciate government\u2019s reaffirmed pledge of full cooperation with the Committee on Foreign Affairs investigation into the death of Rep\u00adresentative Leo J. Ryan and the resulting events at Jonestown on November 18, 1978. Also to be commended is your government\u2019s decision to begin a judicial inquiry of this tragedy. As you know, however, our own investigation has been underway since November 21, 1978 and the investigative group\u2019s visit to Guyana is the last phase of that effort.<\/p>\n Given the enormity of the events of November 18, 1978, which you so aptly describe as \u201cthe greatest single tragedy which has ever occurred in the history of Guyana,\u201d it is urgent that the investigation be concluded in a timely and com\u00adplete fashion. Surely, the prospect of delay or incompleteness is one which the U.S. Congress and the American people would find difficult to understand.<\/p>\n The suggestion to exchange our respective investigative reports is certainly acceptable. At the same time, I am compelled to respectfully reiterate my firm belief that a thorough investigation still requires that our investigators talk with officials in Guyana who can help the Committee complete its investigation. While I understand the legal import of the fact that those officials may be required to testify before your own inquiry I am deeply concerned that the lack of informa\u00adtion that they should be able to provide to this Committee would leave a conspicuous void in the report of the Committee\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n Accordingly, I have directed the Staff Investigative Group of this Committee to visit Guyana the week of March 18 for the purpose of interviewing U.S. Embassy personnel and others. Your kind cooperation in making it possible for the group to come to Guyana is deeply appreciated.<\/p>\n Ultimately, in a response dated March 28, 1979, the Guyanese Gov\u00adernment cited protocol reasons for their inability to comply with Chairman Zablocki\u2019s request to allow the Staff Investigative Group to talk with Guyanese officials. (See Appendix II-E-l.)<\/p>\n The Staff Investigative Group arrived in Guyana at 11:30 p.m. on March 17, 1979. Prior to its departure on March 23, the Group interviewed the following officials of the U.S. Embassy (see Appendix lI-E-2 for transcript summaries, in classified version only):<\/p>\n Hon. John Burke, U.S. Ambassador to Guyana.<\/p>\n Mr. Richard Dwyer, Deputy Chief of Mission who first visited Jonestown on May 10, 1978 together with Richard McCoy. Mr. Dwyer also accompanied Mr. Ryan to Jonestown on November 17-18, 1978 and was wounded at the Port Kaituma shooting.<\/p>\n Mr. Douglas V. Ellice, Jr., Consular Officer who had visited Jonestown on November 7, 1978.<\/p>\n Mr. T. Dennis Reece. Third Secretary\/Vice Consul who had visited Jonestown on November 7, 1978.<\/p>\n Mr. Stepney C. Kibble, Public Affairs Officer.<\/p>\n Mr. Joseph W. Hartman, Vice Consul.<\/p>\n Ms. Nancy M. Mason. Vice Consul.<\/p>\n Mr. Leonard K. Barrett, Political Officer.<\/p>\n The Staff Investigative Group\u2019s desire to interview private Guya\u00adnese citizens was unfulfilled in view or [of] the fact that the permission of the Guyanese Government would have been required to do so. The Government of Guyana\u2019s position was that such interviews would be contrary to \u201cquestions of protocol\u201d and their \u201cown judicial inquiry of senior government officials.\u201d Consequently, Ambassador Burke\u2019s judg\u00adment was that it was highly unlikely the Guyanese Government would agree to such a request, and therefore permission was not sought.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, March 20, 1979, the Staff Investigative Group went to Port Kaituma and Jonestown on a visit that was facilitated by the Guyanese Government. They were accompanied by DCM Dwyer and a Mr. Simon, the Government-appointed Conservator of Jonestown. The visit included extensive and detailed explanations from Mr.<\/p>\n 14<\/p>\n \n Dwyer regarding the shooting at the Port Kaituma airstrip and a comprehensive tour of Jonestown in the company of Mr. Simon and Guyanese police and army representatives.<\/p>\n While the Staff Investigative Group\u2019s extensive interviews with Embassy personnel were productive, the Group\u2019s inability to talk with Guyanese officials and private citizens was regrettable. That fact has resulted in a conspicuous void in the committee investigation and, on that one count, precluded the Staff Group from fulfilling Chairman Zablocki\u2019s mandate for a \u201ccomprehensive inquiry.\u201d A memorandum to Chairman Zablocki from the Group dated March 28, 1978, details those and other related matters. (See Appendix II-E-3 in classified version only.)<\/p>\n \n WASHINGTON ACTIVITIES \u2013 III<\/p>\n Following its return from Guyana on March 23, the Staff Investi\u00adgative Group conducted two more on-the-record interviews. These interviews were with former People\u2019s Temple members Stanley Clay\u00adton and Odell Rhodes, both of whom escaped Jonestown on the night of the mass suicide\/murder ritual. In addition, the Staff Investiga\u00adtive Group began the process of reviewing and analyzing the evidence it had accumulated in preparation for the writing of this report. (See Appendix II-F-l in classified version only.)<\/p>\n \n G. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT<\/p>\n Over the course of the committee\u2019s investigation, the amount of documentation, transcripts, letters, and other pertinent material massed considerably. Literally thousands of names, dates, and places important to the inquiry had accumulated in the Group\u2019s files. In order to conduct a thorough and effective investigation it soon be\u00adcame apparent that this extensive and varied material had to be care\u00adfully managed if it was to remain a solid resource and ultimately be preserved meaningfully in the National Archives.<\/p>\n Accordingly, in early February 1979, all of the documents and other materials relating to the investigation were carefully cataloged and computerized. Work on that project continues.<\/p>\n \n H. MISCELLANEOUS ACTIVITIES<\/p>\n In the course of conducting this investigation the Staff Investiga\u00adtive Group came into possession of a variety of materials relating to the inquiry. Some of these items were sought out; other were volun\u00adtarily provided to the committee by interested and concerned in\u00addividuals. What follows is merely a representative sampling of the items involved:<\/p>\n \u2013 Taped radio and television interviews, the transcripts of which were typed by the committee\u2019s minority staff assistant;<\/p>\n \u2013 A detailed 200-page memo log of short wave radio conversations between the People\u2019s Temple facilities in Jonestown, Guyana and San Francisco monitored by a private citizen ham operator;<\/p>\n 15<\/p>\n \n \u2013\u00a0<\/span>Taped portions of similar conversations monitored by the Fed\u00aderal Communications Commission;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0<\/span>The tape and transcript of the mass suicide\/murder ritual at Jonestown;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0<\/span>Portions of the film footage shot by the NBC crew that visited Jonestown with Representative Ryan;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0<\/span>A variety of letters and statements from interested individuals and members of the Concerned Relatives group;<\/p>\n Under the rules of the Committee on Foreign Affairs all of these materials remain classified \u201cConfidential.\u201d They have been duly cata\u00adloged and remain in the files of the committee\u2019s investigation. In this connection, it should be noted that NBC, in response to a committee request for all of the footage relevant to Jonestown, furnished only the televised portion. NBC refused to provide the committee with the balance of the footage and advised that it had been turned over to the Justice Department through which it could be acquired. The com\u00admittee therefore, formally requested the untelevised footage which the Justice Department refused to supply on the grounds that \u201cthe secrecy provisions of Rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure limit the extent of information and evidence that may be disclosed at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n \n I. STATISTICAL SUMMARY OF INTERVIEWS<\/p>\n In an attempt to carry out Chairman Zablocki\u2019s mandate for a com\u00adprehensive inquiry, the Staff Investigative Group conducted a total of 165 hours of on-the-record interviews with a total of 62 persons resulting in a total of 5,038 pages of transcript.<\/p>\n Every attempt possible was made to interview individuals on all sides of the issue. In this regard, the Staff Investigative Group also drew on a number of newspaper and magazine articles, affidavits, and by documents which were relevant to various aspects of the Jones\u00adtown incident. (See Appendix II-F-2.)<\/p>\n 16<\/p>\n \n ID. FINDINGS<\/p>\n On the basis of the factual evidence obtained by the Staff Investiga\u00adtive Group, we render the following findings. In doing so we recognize that we are the beneficiaries of retrospect on the events which pre\u00adceded November 18, 1978. In this respect, we have striven to utilize these advantages without falling victim to the pitfalls accompanying them. We have sought to be objective and balanced but not frozen from judgment. In attempting to be fair and understanding, we have not been timid. (Appendix references confirm and\/or elaborate on the findings made and are to be found in the interview transcripts in the classified version only.)<\/p>\n \n A. Jim Jones and People\u2019s Temple<\/b><\/p>\n BACKGROUND<\/p>\n Whatever Jim Jones ultimately became and whatever can be said of him now, there is little clear insight into what motivated him to begin his ministry in Indianapolis in the mid 1950\u2019s. Some contend he was always a committed Socialist who used religion as a vehicle to further his political beliefs and objectives. Others hold that Jones began as a genuine believer in Christianity but eventually became a nonbeliever or an agnostic. His own often-expressed claim that he was the dual reincarnation of Christ and Marx reflects the dichotomy. Wherever the truth may lie on his religious beliefs, at the outset, he was seemingly genuine in his ardent support for such social causes as the welfare of older people, racial integration, and rehabilitation of al\u00adcoholics and drug addicts. His advocacy of such causes singled him out, and partially in response to the resistance he encountered in established churches where he had accepted pastorates, he began his own church, the People\u2019s Temple. By 1965 he had generated enough notoriety and displeasure in Indiana to cause him to decide to move his activities to California accompanied by a small band of Indiana followers. One reason he chose Ukiah, Calif. and its Redwood Valley area was because he had once read that its unique geographical assets made it one of three locations in the world thought to be safe from a possible nuclear holocaust.<\/p>\n By 1972 he decided to once again relocate People\u2019s Temple to the richer and more active political pastures of San Francisco and bought an old church building on the edge of the black ghetto area. A second People\u2019s Temple church was established in Los Angeles. In 1974 he<\/p>\n 17<\/p>\n \n began creating in the jungles of Guyana the agricultural community known as Jonestown. What finally drove him there together with the majority of his flock in mid-1977 was the publication of a New West magazine article which exposed many of his operations, a fact which he saw as part of the alleged mounting conspiracy against him.<\/p>\n \n TACTICS OF JIM JONES<\/p>\n The mental deviations and distortions and the psychological tactics which culminated and were most manifest in the holocaust of Jones\u00adtown on November 18 were rooted in Indiana and perfected in Cali\u00adfornia. Who and what was Jim Jones? We believe it is accurate to say he was charismatic in some respects; in fact, he was especially adroit in the area of human psychology.<\/p>\n As we have studied him and interviewed those who knew him well and had come under his influence, we have concluded that he was first and foremost a master of mind control. Among the tactics he practiced with engineered precision are the following recognized strategies of brainwashing (for further elaboration, See Appendix III-A-1 in classified version only):<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Isolation from all vestiges of former life, including and especially all sources of information, and substituting himself as the single source of all knowledge, wisdom, and information;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0An exacting daily regimen requiring absolute obedience and humility extracted by deception, intimidation, threats, and harassment;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Physical pressure, ranging from deprivation of food and sleep to the possibility and reality of severe beatings. As a complement to the physical pressures, he exerted mental pressures on his fol\u00adlowers which he subsequently relieved in an effort to demonstrate and establish his omnipotent \u201cpowers.\u201d For example, he incul\u00adcated fictional fears which he would eventually counterpoint and dispel and thereby establish himself as a \u201csavior.\u201d One of his favorite tactics was to generate and then exploit a sense of guilt for clinging to life\u2019s luxuries, for wanting special privileges, and for seeking recognition and reward;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0So-called \u201cstruggle meetings\u201d or catharsis sessions in which recal\u00adcitrant members were interrogated, required to confess their \u201cwrongdoing,\u201d and then punished with alternate harshness and leniency. Interrogation could be gentle and polite, but more often it involved harassment, humiliation, revilement, and degradation. Vital to this strategy were two of Jones\u2019 favorite techniques. The first involved an exhaustive and detailed record for each member kept on file cards and generated by his vast intelligence network. A member would suddenly be confronted by Jones with knowledge of some action he was unaware had been observed. Jones would stage his \u201cmystic\u201d awareness of that action and then direct the outcome to his desired end. The second technique was to estab\u00adlish in each of his followers a mistrust of everyone else. Conse\u00adquently, no one dared voice a negative view \u2013 even to the closest family member or friend \u2013 for fear of being turned in. Often, as not, trusted aides were directed to test individuals by expressing<\/p>\n 18<\/p>\n \n some comment critical of Jones or the lifestyle in Jonestown to see if that person would report the incident. The end result was that no one person could trust another. As a result everyone feared expressing even the slightest negative comment. The system was so effective that children turned in their own parents, brothers informed on sisters, and husbands and wives reported on spouses.<\/p>\n Inherent in these principles which Mr. Jones masterfully and regu\u00adlarly employed was his central strategy of \u201cdivide and conquer\u201d through which he consolidated his power over people. In addition to these tactics, however, Mr. Jones regularly used other devices and methods to achieve his ends:<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Requiring People\u2019s Temple members to contribute as much as 25 percent of their income and sign over to the People\u2019s Temple their properties and other assets;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0At times dictating marriage between unwilling partners and at other times not allowing cohabitation between married couples;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Undermining and breaking a child\u2019s ties with parents. In pro\u00adgressive degrees the child was led to mistrust the parents and become more and more secretive in his actions and evasive to his parent\u2019s questions;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0As a symbol of their trust in him, followers were required to sign statements admitting homosexuality, theft, and other self\u00ad-incriminating acts; often as not People\u2019s Temple members would also sign blank pages which could be filled in later. Depending on Jones\u2019 need or objective, such documents were frequently used in attempts to defame defectors;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Rumor spreading in an attempt to ruin reputations or generally implant disinformation, thereby making the true facts difficult if, not impossible to establish;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Infiltration of groups opposed to People\u2019s Temple and surveil\u00adance [surveill\u00adance] of suspected People\u2019s Temple enemies;<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Intense public relations efforts ranging from letter-writing cam\u00adpaigns to attempted control of news media in an effort to influence public opinion with a favorable image of People\u2019s Temple; like\u00adwise, an aggressive program of seeking out political leaders and other influential members of a community in order to cull their favor and establish identification with them.<\/p>\n In the process of manipulating the control board of this extraordi\u00adnary system Jones suffered extreme paranoia. One can speculate that while it may have been initially staged, his paranoia ultimately be\u00adcame a self-created Frankenstein that led not only to his fall but the tragic death of more than 900 others, including Representative Leo J. Ryan. His paranoia ranged from \u201cdark unnamed forces,\u201d to indi\u00adviduals such as Tim Stoen and other defectors from the People\u2019s Temple, to organizations such as the Concerned Relatives group, and ultimately to the U.S. Government in the form of the CIA and the FBI \u2013 all of which he ultimately believed were out to destroy him.<\/p>\n Further, in establishing this analysis of Jim Jones it is worth noting that he apparently had several bisexual perversions. Finally there is some irony in the fact that although he controlled considerable wealth (estimated at $12 million) he sought out special privileges but none<\/p>\n 19<\/p>\n \n of the usual trappings of wealth such as fancy cars or expensive houses. In short, Mr. Jones was more interested in ideas than in things. He was not driven by greed for money but for power and control over others. That control continues to be exerted even after his death on the minds of some of his followers. It is graphically illustrated by the suicide of Michael Prokes, one of Jones\u2019 closest associates, during a March 13, 1979, press conference in California in which he defended Jones and cited the achievements of People\u2019s Temple and Jonestown.<\/p>\n \n MOTIVATION OF PEOPLE\u2019S TEMPLE MEMBERS<\/p>\n The tactics and techniques of Jim Jones outlined above found fertile ground and were greatly facilitated because of the background and motivation of those who joined People\u2019s Temple (for further elabora\u00adtion, see Appendix III-A-2 in classified version only). Generalities, of course, are always difficult if not dangerous. However, on the basis of the information which has come to us in the course of this investiga\u00adtion one can draw the following general profile of many who became People\u2019s Temple members and followers of Jim Jones:<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Some of the young adults were college graduates out of upper\u00ad=middle-class backgrounds which provided privilege and even luxury. Their parents were often college-educated professionals or executives. Frequently, their families were active in demonstra\u00adtions against the Vietnam war, campaigns for racial equality, and other social causes. In some cases, the young People\u2019s Temple member had been alienated by the \u201cemptiness\u201d of his family\u2019s wealth.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0A larger number, especially young blacks, had their roots in the other end of the American social and economic spectrum. The products of poor ghetto neighborhoods and limited education, some had been drug addicts, prostitutes, and street hustlers.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0An even greater percentage were elderly, again predominately black, who had come out of the San Francisco ghetto. They found in Jim Jones an abiding and protective concern. Despite the harshness of life in Jonestown, they regarded it as preferable to the poor housing they had left behind. They also found a warm sense of family and acceptance within the People\u2019s Temple com\u00admunity that they did not have before joining.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0<\/span>A goodly number of middle-class blacks and whites, came out of strong fundamentalist religious family backgrounds and were at\u00adtracted by what they saw as the evangelical nature of People\u2019s Temple.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0<\/span>By contrast, many of the younger people had little if any religious motivation in joining People\u2019s Temple. Rather, they tended to be compelled by humanitarian interests. Altruistic and idealistic, they were impressed by Jones\u2019 involvement in social causes and what they saw as the \u201cpolitical sophistication\u201d of People\u2019s Temple. To the extent that a religious motivation was involved, it was seen chiefly in terms of Jones\u2019 seeming concrete application of Judeo-Christian principles. Over time, the dimension of their motivation was not only nonsectarian but eventually became embodied in the Socialist-Marxist-agnostic philosophy which Jones espoused.<\/p>\n 20<\/p>\n \n PEOPLE\u2019S TEMPLE AS A \u201cCHURCH\u201d<\/p>\n Out of the findings outlined above regarding Jim Jones and members of his People\u2019s Temple, emerges one additional finding. It relates to the question of whether or not People\u2019s Temple was a \u201cchurch\u201d in the gen\u00aderally accepted sense of that word. Again, on the basis of testimony and compelling evidence collected in the course of this investigation we offer the following conclusion on that question:<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Although People\u2019s Temple may have been a bona fide church in its Indiana and early California origins, it progressively lost that characterization in almost every respect. Rather, by 1972 and following in progressive degrees, it evolved into what could be described as a sociopolitical movement. Under the direction and inspiration of its founder and director and the Marxist-Leninist\u00ad-Communist philosophy he embraced, People\u2019s Temple was in the end a Socialist structure devoted to socialism. Despite that fact, People\u2019s Temple continued to enjoy the tax-exempt status it re\u00adceived in 1962 under Internal Revenue Service rules and regula\u00adtions. (See Appendix III-A-3.) The issue of People\u2019s Temple\u2019s status as a \u201cchurch\u201d is also significant in connection with First Amendment protections it sought and received. Obviously, the latter issue is a difficult and complex matter beyond the purview of this committee and its investigation.<\/p>\n Also outside the parameters of this committee\u2019s inquiry is whether in fact People\u2019s Temple was a \u201ccult.\u201d Once again, recognizing that the problem is complex and laced with emotions and strong connotative overtones, the committee\u2019s investigation went only to the extent of seeking the opinions of respected legal scholars. (See Appendix II-A-3.)<\/p>\n \n B. Conspiracy Against Jim Jones and People\u2019s Temple?<\/b><\/p>\n Was there a conspiracy against Jim Jones perpetrated by the U.S. Government or some other organization? That was one of the ques\u00adtions on which the Staff Investigative Group attempted to obtain evidence during the course of this inquiry (for further elaboration see Appendix III-B-1 in classified version only). On the basis of the information received, the following findings are offered:<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Jones\u2019 idea that there were elements opposed to his views and objectives dates back to his early days in Indiana. In fact, it was the adverse reaction he encountered relative to his racial integra\u00adtion and other policies that led him to establish his own church, the People\u2019s Temple.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0When the People\u2019s Temple relocated in Ukiah, Calif. in 1965 Jones\u2019 complaints of opposition increased. They ranged in pro\u00adgressive degree from alleged vandalism against People\u2019s Temple property, poisoning of his pets, and various threats against Jones, to a shooting attack on Jones\u2019 life (from which he \u201cmiraculously\u201d recovered by his own power). No substantiation was ever found on any of these complaints reported to and investigated by Ukiah police..<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0The mood of Jones\u2019 allegations of anti-People\u2019s Temple conspiracy grew darker when the group moved to San Francisco in 1972. At that time its chief target was the media as well as unspecified<\/p>\n 21<\/p>\n \n \u00a0\u201cforces.\u201d Reported attempts to dissuade Jones from the notion were apparently unsuccessful.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Jones\u2019 idea of a U.S. Government plot against him, embodied mainly in the CIA and FBI, took full bloom after he and the vast bulk of People\u2019s Temple members moved to Guyana in 1977. Op\u00adposition of the Concerned Relatives group was eventually attrib\u00aduted to CIA backing as were periodic \u201calerts\u201d he called to pro\u00adtect the People\u2019s Temple Jonestown community from mercenaries in the jungle around Jonestown.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Jones\u2019 two lawyers offer contradictory opinions on the question of a possible conspiracy against People\u2019s Temple and Jones. For example, Mark Lane told the committee\u2019s investigators: \u201c\u2026there is no doubt in my mind that various people sought to de\u00adstroy Jonestown and that people in various government agencies manipulated Jones. Jones, himself, saw the efforts to manipulate him into an overreaction but somehow he was unable to control his own responses.\u2026 I believe that a responsible investiga\u00adtion by the Congress would seek to determine why various ele\u00adments within the United States Government including those in the State Department withheld from Congressman Ryan and the rest of us who accompanied him to Jonestown the fact that they knew the place was an armed camp and that Jones was capable of killing the Congressman and many others.\u201d On the other hand, Charles Garry said: \u201c\u2026I want to unequivocally tell you in the year and a half since July 1977, with the years of experience I have had with governmental conspiracy and government wrong\u00addoing, particularly the FBI, I found no evidence to support any of the charges that were made by People\u2019s Temple. I found no evidence to support any of that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Granting the strong likelihood of Jones\u2019 paranoia, compounded by his manipulative abilities, Jones staged and exploited the idea of a conspiracy as a means of generating fear in his adherents and thereby gaining further control over them. The tactic also served to keep any opponents on the defensive and even had the apparent effect of sensitizing the U.S. Embassy in Guyana.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0No conclusive evidence is available to indicate that the CIA was acquiring information on Mr. Jones or People\u2019s Temple. In this same connection it should be noted that under Executive Orders 11905 of February 18, 1976 and 12036 of January 24, 1978 (see Appendix III-B-2), which prohibit intelligence gathering on U.S. citizens, the CIA was legally proscribed from engaging in any activities vis-\u00e0-vis People\u2019s Temple.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0The Department of Justice, on the other hand, has indicated to the Staff Investigative Group that the FBI did look into an alle\u00adgation from a constituent of Senator S. I. Hayakawa that \u201cJim Jones was coaxing individuals into traveling to Georgetown, Guy\u00adana, where they were being held against their will for unknown reasons.\u201d The FBI interviewed the constituent, but found that \u201crelatives of the constituent had traveled to Guyana voluntarily, and no evidence of forced confinement was developed.\u201d The Investigation was thereupon terminated \u201cbecause no violation of the Federal kidnaping [kidnapping] statute had occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n The Staff Investigative Group was also informed by the Criminal Division of the Justice Department that it received a \u201ccitizen com\u00ad-<\/p>\n 22<\/p>\n \n plaint\u201d in December 1977, claiming \u201cthat a relative was being held in bondage in Georgetown, Guyana by Pastor Jim Jones.\u201d The facts spelled out in the complaint indicated no criminal violations within the Justice Department\u2019s jurisdiction. Accordingly, Justice\u2019s infor\u00admation on the complaint was sent to the State Department. (See Appendix II-A-2.)<\/p>\n \n C. Opponents and Media Intimidated; Public Officials Used<\/b><\/p>\n As part of Jones\u2019 constant and pervasive effort to control people and events, the evidence obtained by the Staff Investigative Group established that he persistently intimidated and harassed those who left People\u2019s Temple and anyone else, especially the media, who he felt were opposed to his interests. This clear pattern of intimidation and harassment was reinforced and compounded into success by the widely held belief by People\u2019s Temple defectors and opponents, that government officials were friendly toward People\u2019s Temple or had in some way been compromised. Consequently, attempts at early efforts to alert the public to the nature of People\u2019s Temple\u2019s activities were largely ignored and\/or rejected. (See Appendix III-C in classified version only.) . \u00ad<\/p>\n Typical of some of Jones\u2019 tactics to intimidate and harass People\u2019s Temple defectors who were actively opposed to him were the following:<\/p>\n \u2013 Undermining of their credibility as witnesses by spreading false\u00adhoods and releasing the so-called \u201cconfessions\u201d they had signed while members of People\u2019s Temple.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Fear campaigns generated through break-ins, late night phone calls, and unsigned letters threatening beatings and even death. One such break-in carried out against a couple who had left People\u2019s Temple was done with the help of their daughter who remained in the organization.<\/p>\n As a result of such tactics People\u2019s Temple defectors were frequently frozen in fear and severely hampered in their efforts to counteract Jones. The problem is illustrated in the following example which points up the desperate lengths to which opponents of People\u2019s Temple were driven as well as the degree to which officials in San Francisco appear to have been involved: Afraid to contact any public officials for fear that they were tied-in or friendly to Jones, one individual went to the length of writing consumer advocate Ralph Nader be\u00adcause he could not think of anyone else he could trust. The letter to Nader outlined many of the allegations against People\u2019s Temple which were later proven true. It also indicated that the letter writer feared for his life. It closed as follows:<\/p>\n If you want to help us, please write in the personal column of the Chronicle to \u201cAngelo\u201d and sign it Ralph and then we will respond and talk to you.<\/p>\n Rather than do that, Nader sent the letter to the District Attorney\u2019s Office in San Francisco. By some means, the letter filtered back to Peo\u00adple\u2019s Temple and the writer soon thereafter received a threatening phone call that said \u201cWe know all about your letter to Angelo.\u201d<\/p>\n In another instance People\u2019s Temple defectors hired a private detec\u00adtive to surreptitiously observe their meeting with Jones\u2019 representa-\u00ad<\/p>\n 23<\/p>\n \n tives in a public subway station. Their objective was to have an eyewitness in the event of violence.<\/p>\n With respect to Jim Jones\u2019 and People\u2019s Temple efforts to stifle the San Francisco media some of the following methods were employed:<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0The threat of law suits. In almost all instances in which this tactic was used it was based on the People\u2019s Temple possession of copies of stories in draft form prior to publication obtained through break-ins or provided to People\u2019s Temple by infiltrators within the media\u2019s office.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Threatening phone calls to reporters and their families, accepted by one as serious enough to warrant relocating children, moving into hotels, and obtaining guns for self-protection.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Extensive letter-writing campaigns intended to dissuade publish\u00aders and editors from printing stories being prepared by aggressive reporters. The soft-sell nature of this tactic was aimed at creating diversionary arguments contending that the story in question would reflect badly on San Francisco or prevent People\u2019s Temple \u201cfrom continuing its good work with the \u2018disaffected and disaf\u00adfiliated\u2019 in society.\u201d One such campaign produced letters support\u00adive of People\u2019s Temple from San Francisco Mayor George Mos\u00adcone, Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally, the head of the San Francisco school system, and members of the California State Assembly. It would appear that such campaigns were particularly effective with the San Francisco Chronicle and the National Enquirer.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0Encouraging San Francisco merchants and businesses to remove their advertising from \u201coffending\u201d publications. The chief target of such an effort was the New West magazine immediately prior to its publication in August 1977, of an article critical of Jones. The editors of the magazine persisted and the article is generally credited with breaking Jones\u2019 stronghold on San Francisco and led him to go to Guyana immediately before it appeared.<\/p>\n \u2013\u00a0The picketing of newspaper offices which had run stories on Jones regarded as anti-People\u2019s Temple. One such effort, combined with the threat of a law suit, led to the cancellation in 1972 by the San Francisco Examiner of an eight-part series of articles, only half of which had already appeared. The end result was to make most editors and publishers highly sensitive and cautious regarding any critical stories involving Jones and the People\u2019s Temple.<\/p>\n Finally, as to the question of whether or not certain officials had in fact been compromised by Jones, the Staff Investigative Group be\u00adlieves the evidence is mixed. What is indisputably clear and solidly based on evidence is that many such officials were perceived of by Jones\u2019 opponents as extremely friendly to or enthusiastically support\u00adive of Jones, thereby precluding them or their offices from pursuing actions against Jones in an impartial manner. In this regard, it should be kept in mind that Jones had endowed himself with the cloak of official legitimacy through his appointment by Mayor Moscone as Director of the San Francisco Housing Authority. In addition, political figures in San Francisco appear to have been enticed by Jones\u2019 ability to turn out hundreds of his followers to attend rallys [rallies], conduct mailings, man phone-banks, and otherwise provide support to political election campaigns, including direct contributions.<\/p>\n 24<\/p>\n \n Similarly, the media were not immune from Jones\u2019 wiles and at\u00adtemped [at\u00adtempted] flatteries. For example, Jones made contributions of various sums totaling $4,400 to the San Francisco Examiner, the San Fran\u00adcisco Chronicle, and 10 other newspapers to be used as they saw fit in the \u201cdefense of a free press.\u201d Although the Examiner returned the money to the People\u2019s Temple, the management of the Chronicle sent the check to Sigma Delta Chi, the national journalism society, which in turn rejected suggestions that it be returned to People\u2019s Temple.<\/p>\n \n D. Awareness of Danger; Predicting the Degree of Violence<\/b><\/p>\n One area on which this inquiry concentrated under Chairman Zablocki\u2019s mandate dealt with the questions of whether (a) Represen\u00adtative Ryan had been adequately advised of the potential for danger, and (b) how accurately anyone could have predicted the degree of violence employed (for further elaboration, see Appendix III-D in classified version only). On the basis of evidence gathered we have reached conclusions on both counts:<\/p>\n \u2013 Representative Ryan was advised on more than one occasion of the possibility of violence inherent in his trip to Jonestown. However, he tended to discount such warnings with the thought that his office as a Congressman would protect him. Moreover, he was apparently willing to face whatever danger might be present, citing as a reason his own previous investigative experiences and his determination not to be influenced by fear.<\/p>\n \u2013 The warnings Mr. Ryan did receive regarding the prospect for violence came chiefly from his own staff and the Concerned Rela\u00adtives group. When the issue was raised in the State Department briefings prior to the trip, Mr. Ryan did not challenge State\u2019s assessment that potential danger was \u201cunlikely.\u201d In fact, State\u2019s briefings for the Ryan Codel dwelled almost exclusively on the legal problems relative to the trip as well as the logistical difficulties involved in reaching the remote and isolated jungle compound.<\/p>\n \u2013 No one interviewed by the Staff Investigative Group ever antici\u00adpated the degree of violence actually encountered. Many expected that there might be adversarial encounters, arguments, or shout\u00ading; the worst anticipated was that someone might \u201cget punched in the mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 From a variety of sources, Representative Ryan and some repre\u00adsentatives of the media were cautioned that they were regarded as adversaries of People\u2019s Temple and Jones. They were further informed that Jones was paranoid. It is appropriate to note here that Mr. Ryan apparently did not advise anyone in the State De\u00adpartment or the U.S. Embassy in Guyana that one of the purposes of his trip was to help possible defectors leave Jonestown with him on November 18.<\/p>\n \u2013 Some members of Mr. Ryan\u2019s staff as well as the media group had gut feelings on the possibility for violence. They ranged from advising Mr. Ryan that Jones had a \u201ccapacity\u201d for violence, to a general concern based on allegations of guns in Jonestown, and finally to the thought that a bomb might be placed on the plane on which the entire party flew to Guyana. At the most extreme end of such intuitive hunches and feelings was Miss Jackie Speier\u2019s premonition of fear that led her to write her own will.<\/p>\n
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