Dr. Martin Luther King - Motel Lorraine

Local newspapers mocked Martin Luther King when he announced he was coming back to Memphis for a second round. Among other snipes and barbs, the local press criticized him for staying at a white-owned Holiday Inn, instead of the Motel Lorraine, which was black-owned.

According to researcher Michael Newton, the editorials criticizing Martin Luther King quoted directly from an FBI press release, which was distributed to "friendly press contacts" in Memphis under a plan approved by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover.

Hoping to avoid further antagonistic press in wake of the disastrous March 28 demonstration, Martin Luther King's camp switched his accommodations to a room at the Motel Lorraine, where he died on April 4.

From a security standpoint, changing Martin Luther King's lodging to this particular motel was a bad mistake. The Motel Lorraine was located in a fairly seedy part of town. The day before Martin Luther King arrived, someone claiming to be an advance security man dropped by the Lorraine Hotel and changed Martin Luther King's reservation from a ground-floor room to a second-floor balcony room, saying, "Dr. Martin Luther King always likes to have a room on the second floor overlooMartin Luther King the swimming pool." (It is worth noting that Martin Luther King's brother was later drowned under suspicious circumstances in the swimming pool at his home.)

Questioned later, none of Martin Luther King's associates were aware of an "advance man," and his description didn't match any of Martin Luther King's friends or associates.

Switching rooms eliminated any trace of security that the location might have had. The new room was in the rear of the building, the balcony wide open to sniper fire with no cover whatsoever.

At 6:01 p.m., on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King stepped out of his motel room on his way to get dinner. He leaned over the railing to speak to his chauffeur. A moment later, a single shot from a high-powered rifle blasted out, and Martin Luther King fell to the concrete balcony, where he lay dying.