6/9: Secret Surveillance Logs Reveal MLK Was Being Watched By Army Intelligence On Day Of Assassination
Internal military surveillance records and withdrawn photographic file IDs now confirm that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was being tracked by elements of Army Intelligence in the hours leading up to his assassination on April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel--despite public denials by federal agencies for more than five decades.
A series of documents from the 902nd Military Intelligence Group, previously redacted in FOIA releases, references a mobile field unit assigned to Memphis for real-time observation of civil rights activity.
One entry from April 3 states: D-2 element will relocate per LORRAINE signal--prepare concealed lens array and rotating log detail, marked TOP SECRET -- EYES ONLY.
Separate files list withdrawn Army photographic logs under ID numbers 4M-12 and 4M-17, with no corresponding prints included in investigative files reviewed by the House Select Committee on Assassinations.
A handwritten margin note states: Reels pulled per CINCPAC request -- not entered into DOJ exhibit.
The 902nd MI Group was tasked during this period with counter-subversion under the auspices of COINTELPRO. One related memo from March 1968 describes King as “escalating liability for urban containment protocols” and notes: real-time capture advised if logistics align.
There is no indication this memo was shared with the King family or legal investigators.
Photographic logs reviewed from FBI Memphis field office archives also refer to a rooftop lens placement near the firehouse adjacent to the Lorraine Motel. The entry reads: overlay coordinates set for Delta 3B team, Lorraine sector.
While FBI officials later testified that surveillance of King had ceased after 1967, these entries suggest that Army personnel maintained visual monitoring.
A technical note from a Bell Telephone engineer separately details abnormal telephone activity at the rooming house across from the motel--where James Earl Ray was allegedly positioned.
The technician flagged unusual multipoint call routing on April 4 and recorded that tap relay and cassette duplication sent to Army post--indicating parallel military telecom access.
In conjunction with this, a military operations memo dated April 10, 1968 discusses a post-op debrief with FBI, Army Intel, and DOJ personnel at undisclosed location.
It references after-action assessment of civilian node takedown and regional stabilization, language consistent with military operations rather than domestic law enforcement.
Despite these surveillance activities, no photographic or audio evidence from Army sources has been entered into any public inquiry, grand jury, or Congressional record.
Nor were Army Intelligence personnel subpoenaed in the 1976–78 House Committee investigations.
When asked about this omission in later years, one investigator interviewed by internal DOJ reviewers stated: some logs were off-books or protected under national security restrictions--we weren’t allowed to probe military actions.
These new findings reshape the public understanding of April 4. They indicate that King was under active surveillance not just from the FBI, but also by uniformed and plainclothes military units.
The silence around these operations and the absence of their materials from official archives point to a significant and ongoing cover-up in the case of Dr. King's assassination.