89-4286 Section 9 (272) pages 1-249 - The Vault - FBI
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page 36,
Religious Crimes, by Carl Rowan,
[snip]
How and when are we going to face up to the fact that "religion" is America's greatest machinery for people who engage in systematic theft, tax evasion, rape, torture and even murder?
[snip]
But government has been, with rare exceptions, powerless to deal with so-called "Religions," even though there was abundant evidence of kidnappings, brainwashings, physical abuse---and most of all of con games to strip new "converts" of their money.
[snip]
This gruesome tragedy in Guyana is an appalling example of governmental failure to act, primarily because government officials are timid about breaching sanctuaries of "religion." The State Department not only failed to act early against Jim Jones' "temple," but it fought to prevent FBI involvement.
But why was government handcuffed months ago when it ken that Jones and his cronies were forcing converts to sign over all their belongings, present and future, to "the temple"? Can it possibly surprise U.S. officials that one cult member was seized, after the killings, carrying $60,000 in cash and a $1 million bank draft on a bank in Panama? Or that more than $1 million worth of gold, jewelry and cash was found in Jones' commune in Guyana?
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The role of these two seamy characters in the terrible carnage of Jonestown is worthy of the closest examination. Hard questions have to be answered, especially by Garry, who as Jim Jones' lawyer since 1977 knew a great deal more about the Peoples Temple and its workings than Lane, who was retained just a month before the tragedy.
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