Last night I watched CNN's two hour special on the Martin Luther King assassination and I was astonished to see CNN lying about who James Earl Ray was. In their attempt to paint Ray as a common thug and a habitual criminal, they painted a false portrait by leaving out key information; CNN's lies were lies of omission. For whatever reason, they neglected to tell you the full story of the man who killed Martin Luther King.
In a two hour celebration of the man who killed America's greatest Civil Right's leader, CNN failed to mention that James Earl Ray had joined the Army, a small detail that would have defined Ray's character just a bit. In the book, "The Making of an Assassin: The Life of James Earl Ray," George McMillan details Ray's background;
He came to love German politics. He carried a picture of Hitler, his idol. He would show it to people (page 100). Jimmy talked 'Hitler politics' (page 101). Jimmy had become an impassioned proponent of the Nazi philosophy. His pledge to Nazism was itself peculiarly satisfying (page 103).
According to McMillan, James Earl Ray was determined to go to Germany and give up his U.S. Citizenship, and he signed up to join the Army at age 17.
By then he was giving the Heil Hitler salute in public, did it when he visited home (page 104). His first army assignment was at Nuremberg, where he served as a jeep driver in an MP unit (page 106). As MP he would beat up black GI's who flirted with Germans (page 110). What appealled to Jimmy in the first place about Hitler was that he would make the U.S. an all-white country, no Jews or Negroes (page 106). Jimmy had really believed he could be in on reviving the Nazi Party page (112).
James Earl Ray came back to Amercia with a WW2 Victory Medal and an Army of Occupation Medal. I'm not sure why CNN left this information out. It seems quite pertinent in defining the assassin's character. Lies of ommission are sometimes the worst kind.
CNN tried to make Ray into a half-wit career criminal, but those who knew him thought differently. "Hell, he learns fast! He's awful intelligent," said a childhood friend (page 71). Another item CNN neglected to mention was Ray's deep political involvement;
Jimmy was about the only Republican in Ewing. He was very strong for Wilkie, but mostly he was against Roosevelt. He kept saying all that stuff Roosevelt was saying about Hitler wasn't true at all (pages 83-84). After watching the McCarthy hearings, he became a passionate supporter of McCarthy (page 142). Ray got angry that Kennedy was killed before he could do it (page 208).
Ray read a lot and was especially interested in Barry Goldwarter and Ayn Rand (page 205). McMillian makes the claim that Ray used the alias Galt because Galt was the hero in Rand's book "Atlas Shrugged".
Another conspicuous omission by the CNN news team, was Ray's deep entrenchment in Southern California politics;
He was preoccupied, if not obsessed with the presidential candidacy of George Wallace. By December 15, 1967, Ray was well known at Wallace headquarters in North Hollywood (page 278).
It should be remembered that Wallace's running mate was Newport Beach resident and right wing Air Force General, Curtis LeMay. LeMay was also a member of the notorious Orange County Lincoln Club which played a critical role in getting Nixon elected that year.
It was during his time in Southern California that Ray started planning his trip to white-run Rhodesia where he wanted to emigrate and join a mercenary army (page 283). According to Gerald Posner in his book, "Killing the Dream", Ray made a number of contacts with a group in Orange County, CA called the California Chapter of the Friends of Rhodesia (page 210). He was put in touch with this group by the Los Angeles area John Birch Society which also helped Ray in obtaining information on how to get to Rhodesia where he could work with Ian Smith who "was doing a good job" (page 207).
Ray spent the six months before King's assassination in Southern California and his movements there have yet to be fully vetted. It is interesting to note that Martin Luther King gave a speech at the Disneyland Hotel in Orange County two weeks before his assassination.
CNN seemed so intent on stirring up conspiracy theories that they failed to develop Ray's racist background;
By the time he got out of the army, Jimmy was a deeply confirmed bigot; his anger and frustrations were turned on black people (page 112 McMillan). Jimmy was a little outraged about Negroes. He didn't care for them at all. He said once they ought to be put out of the country. Once he said, "Well, we ought to kill them, kill them all." He was unreasonable in his hatred for niggers. He hated to see them breathe. If you pressed it, he'd get violent in a conversation about it. He hated them! (page 147 McMillan)
This information would certainly not have taken up much time and I'm surprised CNN chose not to include it in their special. Instead, they decided to air controversial conspiracy theories that claim that James Earl Ray may not have even carried out the assassination- this despite Ray's confession to the murder! CNN decided to re-air Ray's fabrications about an alleged accomplice name Raoul which has been completely debunked by most reputable journalists. They decided to let Ray and his racist brother help write a fictional history without challenge. The CNN special seemed intent on confusing the American public more than anything else.
I don't know why CNN left out critical information about James Earl Ray, but it does not reflect well upon them. They need to immediately update their special and stop spreading ridiculous conspiracy theories.