◆ SpookStack

OrnOWAL FoR HO. 10 Bat 162 EDITION Gia Gin, AEG. NO. 27 s0r0-106 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT Che ‘son Deeg ¥ Mohr Casper Memorandum JUNE ge To MR. TOLSON pate: April 23, 1864 ob gree Pp Z Tavel , FROM J. H. carts a ; 3s — > suaject BOMBING OF THE I6th STREET BAPTIST CHURCH aa fc BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, 9/15/63 Oe ~ BACKGROUND: By letter dated April 8, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson bor conceming the status of the Birmingham bombings. He was appropriately advised 7! ie Er on April 10, 1664, and Mr. Rosen recommended, and it was approved, that I proceed t to the scene to determine whether there are any additional pressure points that : can be brought to bear and to assure that all possible steps to solve these cases are . being taken. Mr. Tolson instructed that all 6 bombings we are investigating in - GE air Birmingham be looked into. a) i] x ie 1A RESULTS OF INQUIRY: A thorough review was made into all aspects of the 6 unsolved bombings and it was the Inspector's conclusion that all of these cases have been given a most vigorous and intensive investigation. Thousands of persons have been interviewed, | oy a great many ingenious techniques were used to solve these cases without success” } to date. All of the im estigation conducted to date indicates strongly that all 6 fn pork bombings were probably perpetrated by members of the Eastview Klavern of theA>- Ku Klux Kian (KKK) with possible assistance of several individuals from the Bessemer, Alabama, Klavern. Approximately 16 men from these two groups form a select hard core "action" group who are undoubtedly responsible for personal violence and bombings against Negroes in this area for a long period of time. Inspector feels that there is a good possibility that we would have already solved some of these bombings had it not been for the interference of the Alabama Highway Patrol, the Birmingham City Police, and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. They not only arrested several of the key suspects at a most inopportune time, but they were extremely crude in placing tecunical coverage on the various suspects. In fact, they were so crude that they were caught climbing telephone poles to put on wire taps; one installation hat they put under the seat in a suspect's car promptly rolled out by. the suspect's féet iin pation, . REC 45 H company employees spaniel to the Kian,’ i agequested that we remove our installations in November, 1563. We had some \ technical coygrage apd very limited microphone coverage at that time. b Enclosure JHG:wmj Wey » rr r - \ Rasey , } it Moh 1- Mr DeLoach “ \ en Neatiahan Pe Mr. Conrad Mie - ee oe