page_title: Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: SW-NE view of the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Lorraine Motel, site of the National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tn.
context_page_description: The conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent leader of the civil rights movement, relate to different accounts of his assassination that took place on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. King was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, the day after giving his final speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop". Claims soon arose over suspect aspects of King's assassination and the role of the alleged assassin, James Earl Ray. Although his guilty plea eliminated the possibility of a trial before a jury, within days, Ray had recanted and claimed his confession was forced. Suspicions were further raised by the confirmation of illegal surveillance of King by the FBI and the CIA.
  In 1979, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations released a report stating that there was a likelihood of conspiracy in the assassination of King. In 1999, a mixed-race jury at a civil suit reached a unanimous verdict that King was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy involving the U.S. government, a person named Raoul, among others.
context_section_description: Martin Luther King Jr. had arrived in Memphis, Tennessee to support a strike by black sanitation workers. On April 4, one day after delivering his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, King was assassinated on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel. At the time of the shooting, he was standing on the second floor balcony. King's last words were to musician Ben Branch, who was scheduled to perform that night at a planned event. King said: "Ben, make sure you play 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty."
  Soloman Jones was a volunteer who often drove King around town when he was in Memphis. After he heard the shots, he ran into the street. He related what he saw to the police that night, "I could see a person in the thicket on the west side of Mulberry with his back to me, looked like he had a hood over his head." The next day, Memphis public work employees removed the bushes, destroying the crime scene.
caption: The Lorraine Motel, a wreath marks where King was standing when he was killed
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