Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
A listener note, this episode contains descriptions of violence and references to suicide and may not be suitable for a younger audience. It's September 15th, 1978 in Washington, D.C. Congressman Leo Ryan is sitting down with a group of officials from the U.S. State Department for a meeting Ryan is hoping will provide some intelligence about Jim Jones and the People's Temple.
Ryan represents California's 11th district, which includes parts of the San Francisco Bay Area. And over the years, he's earned a reputation as a political maverick who's compassionate and independent. Ryan has also shown that he's willing to take dramatic measures to serve his constituents. In 1970, he spent 10 days living in California's Folsom State Prison, trying to gather information about living conditions in the penitentiary.
Another time, Ryan went undercover and worked as a substitute teacher in order to better understand the problems in public schools. Still, Ryan's upcoming fact-finding mission might be the most important one yet.
Recently, the congressman has been hearing a lot of upsetting stories about Jim Jones and the People's Temple. Ryan has been involved in California politics for years and used to be the mayor of South San Francisco. So he's more than familiar with Jones and his politically progressive church, which has gained considerable influence across the state, especially among Ryan's own political party, the Democrats. Many see Jones as a visionary, a utopian who's made real gains fighting for racial and economic justice.
But some of Jones' former followers have made disturbing accusations, saying Jones and his church are abusive and committing crimes. Many of the allegations surfaced in a recent exposé published by New West magazine. After the story was published, Jones and about a thousand of his followers made a sudden exodus to Guyana, where Jones had set up a remote outpost of his church in a settlement called Jonestown.
The expose and the group's sudden departure from the United States were cause for alarm. But Congressman Ryan grew even more concerned when he read a sworn affidavit from another Temple defector, a woman named Deborah Layton, who said that in Guyana, Jim Jones has been running a terrifying exercise he calls White Night.
During these events, Jones declares a state of emergency in the settlement, telling his followers that their situation has become hopeless and that their only option is to commit mass suicide by drinking poison. According to Layton, the settlers in Jonestown follow Jones's orders, though the drink never turns out to be actual poison.
Leighton's description of these events would have been enough in and of itself, but taken together with all the other mounting evidence about the People's Temple, Congressman Ryan knew it was time to launch a more formal investigation.
So he began planning a trip to Jonestown to see what life was really like there. But before getting on a plane, Ryan requested a meeting with officials at the State Department to see if they could share any of the on-the-ground intelligence they've collected about Jones and his remote outpost in the Guyanese jungle.
Ryan fishes out a notepad and pen and begins the meeting. Thank you everyone for helping me get ready for this trip. I know it's not a simple task to cull a bunch of information from the American embassy in Guyana, but I want to make sure I'm as prepared as possible when I arrive at Jonestown.
One of the State Department officials nods. Yes, we understand, sir, but unfortunately, Congressman, I'm not sure we're going to be able to provide all the information you were hoping to receive. Beyond the logistical challenge of assembling so many diplomatic cables, we're also facing some significant legal constraints. Well, I don't understand that. None of it should be classified. No, that's not the issue. The problem is the Federal Privacy Act. It limits the information we're allowed to share from our embassies.
Well, I can appreciate your wanting to stay on the right side of the law, but don't you think you're being a bit too cautious here? As you may know, I'm spearheading a congressional investigation. Jim Jones faces serious accusations, and some reports suggest American citizens are being held against their will, and that Jones has even been threatening some sort of mass suicide. Well, with all due respect, Congressman, we believe those reports are nothing but nonsense. Well, I'm going to have to disagree with you.
I'm in contact with defectors from Jones's Church, a group that's calling itself the Concerned Relatives. Now, as far as I can tell, their accusations appear very credible. They're even willing to come down with me to Guyana to help me understand Jonestown. I suggest we take their claims much more seriously. Well, thank you, Congressman Ryan, but if I can make my own suggestion, I would not travel to Guyana with that group. That's not going to help anything.
Ryan pauses, trying to understand why the State Department officials are being so uncooperative. Well, look, I'm not trying to be argumentative, but what's going on here? I was hoping to receive a briefing, and instead it sounds like you guys are trying to get me to cancel the trip. Well, Congressman Ryan, you have to remember, you're talking about investigating a church, an American church at that. And if we start feeding you intelligence about the People's Temple...
That could be seen as infringing on their right to religious freedom. But that consideration has to be weighed against the fact that people's lives might be in danger, right? I mean, for goodness sake, remember, some of these people are my constituents. Well, sir, it does sound like you've made up your mind, so I'd only offer a final note of caution. Our embassy cannot force Jim Jones to let you into his settlement. And while normally we prefer to send one of the department's attorneys with you, we don't have anyone who's available.
So when you do get to Guyana, you're largely going to have to navigate this situation by yourself. Ryan thanks the officials for their time and steps out of the meeting feeling frustrated by all their stonewalling. The congressman knows that cooperation is never a given when it comes to the separate branches of the federal government. Still, he expected more from the State Department, an agency that should be concerned about the well-being of Americans abroad.
At the same time, Ryan is also used to striking it out on his own. So despite the warnings, he's going to get on a plane and head to Guyana. And if things in Jim Jones' settlement are as bad as they sound, Ryan won't hesitate to bring the issue before his fellow members of Congress. T-Mobile has home internet on America's largest 5G network. It's how I stream the game. It's how I knock out the shopping list. It's how I level up.
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From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American Scam.
The 1960s and 70s were a time of political and cultural upheaval in America. From the Civil Rights Movement to second wave feminism, many Americans sought to radically transform both the country and their own private lives.
It was in this cultural maelstrom that Jim Jones emerged as a powerful and influential leader. His church, the People's Temple, offered its members the chance to put their ideals into practice. The temple spearheaded integration campaigns and gave away food to the poor. Members of the church began living communally, sharing their resources, and working together to build what they saw as a socialist utopia.
The People's Temple grew into a large congregation with thousands of members and branches all across California. And by mobilizing to help politicians win elected office, the People's Temple also became a powerful political force throughout the state.
But by the late 1970s, Jim Jones and the People's Temple faced an escalating series of threats. Defectors came forward, claiming the church congregants were regular victims of physical abuse, emotional manipulation, and theft. The district attorney's office in San Francisco began looking into whether Jones had committed crimes. Federal agents with U.S. Customs launched their own inquiry, trying to figure out whether members of the People's Temple were using forged passports.
And even in Guyana, a judge issued a warrant for Jones' arrest, stemming from a custody battle with one of Jones' former followers. Jim Jones always managed to avoid facing any real consequences for his actions. But in 1978, when Jones learned that a congressman would be flying down to Jonestown, he began to sense that his luck was running out, and that the time had come for him and his followers to make one last stand. This is Episode 5, The Final Sermon.
It's Friday, November 17th, 1978, in Georgetown, Guyana, about 140 miles from Jonestown. In the lobby of the Pegasus Hotel, Congressman Leo Ryan is sitting across from two of Jim Jones' lawyers, trying to see if he can make some headway in what's becoming an endless negotiation.
Several days ago, the congressman arrived in Georgetown, Guyana's capital city. He was joined by a delegation of over two dozen people, including his staff from Washington, members of the press, and People's Temple defectors from the group known as the Concerned Relatives.
The goal of the trip was to see Jonestown in person and speak directly to the people living there, so that the Congressman could decide for himself whether there were any merits to the damning accusations being made against the church. But so far, Ryan and his delegation have faced one obstacle after another. First, they were told there'd been a mix-up with the hotel booking and most of the group would have nowhere to stay. Once that was sorted out, Jones' lawyers announced that no one from Ryan's delegation would be admitted to Jonestown.
Now, they're saying that Jim Jones is simply too sick to host any visitors. Coming into this trip, Congressman Ryan assumed he was going to face some difficulties, especially if Jim Jones does have something to hide. But he didn't fly thousands of miles just to turn around and go home empty-handed. So Ryan decides to play hardball.
Sitting in the hotel lobby, the congressman tells the lawyers that Jim Jones is well within his rights to deny him entry into Jonestown. But that would not be a wise move. The fact is, Ryan is here with the press, including a reporter from NBC. And these journalists are going to produce a story with or without Jones' participation. But if Jones lets Ryan's delegation into the settlement, he'll at least have a chance to get involved and help shape the narrative.
The two lawyers seem to grasp that Ryan is making an underhanded threat. But they remain unmoved, reiterating that Jones is given a categorical order. Ryan and his entourage are not allowed in Jonestown. But Ryan was prepared for this. He knew he might have to ratchet up the pressure and issue an overt threat.
So he tells Jones' lawyers that he had an interesting experience the other day. When Ryan was at the church's administrative headquarters in Georgetown, he didn't see any religious pictures on the walls. No one was saying any prayers. In fact, he can't recall a single person mentioning God. So Ryan wonders what that means about the People's Temple. Could it be that they're not really a religious group? Jones' lawyers trade a skeptical glance, trying to figure out what he's getting at.
Ryan obliges by telling them if the People's Temple isn't in fact a religious organization, maybe it should not be granted a tax exemption in the United States. And that's something Ryan will need to look at once he's back in D.C.,
Ryan lets the conversation pause there. He knows that for years, Jim Jones and the People's Temple have taken advantage of this financial benefit. In the United States, religious groups generally don't have to pay federal or state taxes, or even property taxes. So stripping away the People's Temple tax-exempt status could deal a significant blow to the church's finances.
And at first, the attorneys balk, saying they're prepared to challenge any move that would unfairly penalize the People's Temple. But then they announce they have to step out for a moment to have a private discussion. They'll have more to say soon. After threatening Jim Jones and the finances of the People's Temple, Congressman Leo Ryan gets his wish, and Jones invites Ryan and his delegation to come visit Jonestown.
That same afternoon, the group makes plans to travel from the country's capital in Georgetown to the settlement's nearest airstrip at Port Kytuma, which is only a few miles away from Jonestown. But the twin-engine plane making the trip can only accommodate 20 passengers, so some members of the delegation are forced to stay behind. Among those who don't make the trip are Tim Stone, Jones' former right-hand man, and Stone's ex-wife, Grace, who's been locked in a custody battle with Jones over her son, John Victor.
The group believes that given their acrimonious relationship with Jones, the Stones don't stand a real chance of being let in. It would be better to offer the limited seats on the airplane to those who won't be turned away. So after deciding on a final passenger list, the group boards the plane and takes off over the jungles of northwest Guyana. Some of the journalists aboard had signed up for the assignment expecting danger, and they were prepared for it, having spent careers reporting in war zones.
But when the delegation finally arrives at Jonestown, the site is far different from what they expected. The visitors are greeted warmly and given a tour around the settlement. They are shown that Jonestown has cottages for families, long dormitories for seniors, and a school for the hundreds of children who live there, as well as a medical clinic. The settlement is even lined with plantain trees and cassava plants.
Ryan and one of his aides then begin interviewing members of the People's Temple. Their families back home are worried about them, but everyone says they're happy in Jonestown and well cared for. At dinnertime, Jim Jones finally emerges from his cabin to join the delegation for a meal of pork, gravy, and biscuits. As the dinner comes to an end, a band begins to play, and then settlers start dancing.
All the while, Jones takes questions from reporters, and though he does appear to be struggling with some sort of illness, he remains friendly and approachable. For Ryan and his delegation, it's hard to make sense of this experience. There's a large gap between the reports they've received about daily life in Jonestown and what they're seeing right in front of them with their own eyes.
Of course, Ryan and the others know it could all be a staged performance. And sure enough, just before the reporters leave for the night, a crack begins to form in the facade when one of the delegation members is covertly contacted by a temple member named Vernon Gosney. Gosney had joined the people's temple in a moment of personal anguish. When he was only 19, he married a woman who was a member of the Black Panther Party, a radical political organization fighting for racial justice.
But Gosney is white, and his wife was black. And after they got married, both of them were disowned by their families. Feeling lost and adrift, Gosney began looking for something that could offer a new sense of community and family, a sense of belonging that he soon found in the people's temple. For years, the couple lived happily in the temple community. But in 1973, their lives took a tragic turn.
While giving birth to their son, Gosney's wife was given an overdose of anesthesia that left her brain dead. Gosney sought a new start and moved to Jonestown, where he hoped to give his young son a better life. But when he arrived, Gosney found that Jonestown was far from a utopia. Daily life in the settlement could be brutal. After Jim Jones carried out practice runs of a mass suicide, Gosney made the decision to flee as soon as possible.
He would get his opportunity in November of 1978, when Leo Ryan and his delegation took a tour of Jonestown. The Friday night they arrived, Gosney and another of Jones' followers prepares to make a covert move with the hope that they'll be able to escape with the congressman and his entourage. As the night grows late, Gosney steals away from all the evening's festivities, and stepping into the shadows, he takes out a piece of paper and pen, scribbling down a note.
Gosney shows the note to his fellow defector, 18-year-old Monica Bagby. She takes a quick look and nods. The message is short and concise, but says everything they need it to. Now they just need to get it into the hands of someone from the congressman's entourage, without being seen by Jones or any one of his allies. Gosney knows if they get caught, Jones will find a way to keep them trapped in Guyana, and they'll likely face violent retribution.
So Gosney wanders back toward the live music where the temple members are dancing. He scans the area, trying to figure out who to approach. Finally, his eyes land on a man in his 40s with rumpled hair and a light blue shirt. Gosney knows he can't talk to the man without raising suspicions, so he's going to have to pass the notes secretly.
Ghazni takes a deep breath and puts on an unassuming smile. Then he walks toward the man with a note tucked in his hand, bobbing his head to the music as if it's just another pleasant night in paradise. And then, as he walks by, Ghazni tries tucking the note into the man's elbow, but the note doesn't stick and falls to the ground. Ghazni's heart starts racing. He's not sure if anyone saw what just happened, and then almost immediately he gets an answer.
A little boy standing nearby starts chanting, "He passed a note. He passed a note." Gosney is terrified. He knows that children in Jonestown are taught to snitch on their elders, but there's no turning back now. So he picks up the note, and when he hands it to the man, he says, "I think you dropped this." The man looks confused until he opens up the folded piece of paper. Gosney watches the words land one by one as the man reads the two lines.
The man looks up at Gosney, and then, seemingly understanding the risk of what's happening, he wraps his fingers tightly around the paper, burying the note in his fist, before turning back to the rest of the delegation as they prepare to leave Jonestown. That night, when Congressman Ryan's delegation returns to the hotel, the conversation quickly turns to Vernon Gosney's secret attempt to flee Jonestown.
The man Gosney passed the note to is an NBC correspondent named Don Harris, who believes the covert communication must be a sign of deeper trouble brewing at Jonestown, that the settlers are just too afraid to speak openly, and that despite all the pageantry, this evening's events were likely nothing more than a ruse. And the next morning, when the group returns to Jonestown, they find a far different mood has taken hold of the settlement.
They learn that, late the previous night, 11 members of the church fled. And now, in broad daylight, some settlers are openly admitting they'd like to leave too. For many of Jones' followers, this is a moment to make a life-altering decision. Their passports and money have all been taken away. And in the waning hours of Congressman Ryan's visit, they realize this might be their last opportunity to flee Jonestown and get back to the United States.
But defecting from the church and turning their back on their community is a complicated decision, fraught with ambivalence. One of Jones' followers, Edith Bogue, knows she and her family have to get out of Jonestown. They had been dedicated to the cause for years, and Edith's husband had even been one of the original settlers at Jonestown, building the mission with his own hands.
But the Bogues have lost faith. Their daughter has become increasingly distraught by Jones' exercises simulating suicide, and toiling in the fields under the hot sun has exhausted everyone. Bogues still feels an emotional obligation to Father Jones, though. He's given so much to his followers, and she doesn't want to hurt him by defecting. But she can't imagine a good life for herself or her family if they're to stay in Guyana.
So on this Saturday afternoon, Bogue approaches Jones in the open-air pavilion as a jungle storm pummels the camp. The hair on Bogue's forehead is damp with a combination of sweat, rainwater, and fear. As she steps in front of Jones, he stares at her with a look of hurt and despair, like a wounded child. He seems to know what's coming.
Edith can barely look at. Father, I think it might be time for my family to keep on with this work outside of Jonestown. What does that mean? Tell me what that means. Beau glances up at the news cameraman who's been trailing Jones all day. It means... Oh, goodness, Father. Do we need to do this with all the cameras here? I can't get them away, and you know that. They're hounding me. They're hounding all of us. But now tell me, what is it you're trying to say? Is it that you want to leave?
Lowe remained silent. She can't bring herself to say it out loud. "'Is that it? You want to leave me, and us, and everything we've built here?' "'Yes, Father.' "'And all the work we've done together. You want to abandon us?' "'Father, you know it's not like that.' "'But you're abandoning Jonestown.' "'It's not that I don't think what you're doing here is extraordinary.' "'Then why leave, Edith?' "'I have the rest of my family back in the United States.' "'You don't feel you have family here with us?'
I just have to go back, Father. I'm sorry. Edith, there are so many liars waiting for you back in America. They lie about me. They lie about you. And yet you think they're your family. Father, it's not like that. You know this is your true home and your true family. And now you're going to desert us. I'm sorry, Father. We need to go back.
Bogue turns and walks away from Jones, leaving the pavilion and marching across the muddy grounds of the settlement. This was the hardest choice she's ever made, and she couldn't bear the look on Jones' face. He seemed so hurt, so betrayed by her decision. But Bogue knows that this might be her last chance to get out of Guyana. Jones is clearly not doing well, and Bogue doesn't want her family to be in Jonestown if the situation grows any worse.
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On Saturday, November 18th, 1978, a crisis is brewing in Jonestown. With Congressman Leo Ryan and his entourage scheduled to return to the U.S., 26 of Jim Jones' followers make the decision to leave with them. At the time, there are some 900 people living in the settlement. And while 26 defectors represent only a small fraction of the total population, Jim Jones is focused more on the symbolic meaning of it all.
Jones has always believed that he's been persecuted for his beliefs. And now that representatives of the American government and the media have come to Guyana, Jones fears that they won't end their campaign until they've destroyed the People's Temple and abducted his followers. Some members of the People's Temple share Jones' deep fears. And as the delegation is preparing to leave the settlement, one of Jones' followers makes a rash decision.
In the open-air pavilion of Jonestown, as Congressman Ryan is wrapping up a discussion with People's Temple lawyers, church member Don Sly creeps up on Ryan with a knife in his hand and then pounces. He gets the congressman in a hold and grips the knife against his neck. Temple members are able to move quickly and pull Sly away from the congressman, but the attack leaves everyone rattled, and Ryan decides to leave Jonestown as soon as possible.
Soon, the Congressman and his delegation pile into a truck and depart for the nearby Port Kytuma airstrip. Riding with the Congressman is People's Temple defector Jim Cobb. Cobb left the church five years ago, along with seven other young members of the congregation. The group, which came to be known as the Gang of Eight, had grown disillusioned with church politics and what they saw as hypocrisy among the organization's leaders.
But the group's defection turned into an intense controversy inside the church, in no small part because many of their family members played prominent roles in the people's temple. So walking away was a torturous decision for these eight, who risked losing their ties to family members who chose to remain part of the church. And Cobb experienced that loss firsthand. His mother and sisters remained loyal and joined their fellow congregants in the move to Guyana.
Cobb hasn't seen his family in over two years, not until he boarded a flight with Congressman Leo Ryan and traveled to Jonestown. It was an emotional few days. When Cobb finally reunited with his family, he tried to convince them to flee and come back to America, but he couldn't convince them. And leaving the settlement right now, he's got the feeling he might never see his family members again. And now, climbing out of the truck at the Port Kytuma airstrip, where he's going to take a short flight back to Georgetown.
The airfield is crude, surrounded by tall grass and long stretches of dense jungle. And on the tarmac are two planes, the 19-passenger Otter they flew in on and a five-seat Cessna, which has been added to today's fleet to handle additional defectors leaving with them. The delegation slowly begins boarding the planes, but suddenly a semi-trailer truck pulls up to the airstrip. Nearly a dozen men from the People's Temple step out, looking grim and determined.
One of Congressman Ryan's aides calls out, shouting, "Get on the plane!" But as the group begins hurrying across the tarmac, someone else shouts out to get down, to hit the dirt. Cobb doesn't hesitate. He drops down as gunshots begin peeling through the air. Cobb's heart is pounding, and when he looks up, he sees members of the Congressman's delegation crawling through the dirt while others get up and try to sprint away from the airstrip.
but the gunfire continues to erupt in chaotic volleys as Jones' men fire rifles and shotguns. In that moment, Cobb sees one of the reporters get hit in his arm. Cobb tries to think fast. He's not going to survive if he stays lying here on the ground, so he decides to make a break for it, sprinting as fast as he can into the dense jungle on the edge of the airstrip.
And as he runs, Cobb looks over his shoulder, seeing that the gunmen are walking over to the people who remained on the ground and shooting them point-blank in the head. That's when Cobb's vision grows narrow. He starts feeling like he's going to lose consciousness, but he keeps running with a single purpose: to get away and disappear into the jungle. He vaults over dense thickets of overgrown brush, and when he thinks he's fully out of sight, he spots a tree with low branches and begins to climb.
It's only when he's all but invisible to anyone on the ground that Cobb grabs hold of the thick branch and waits as the sun slowly dips down below the treeline. Back at Jonestown, a calm and simple announcement is made over the loudspeakers. A meeting is about to be held in the pavilion. The settlers in Jonestown haven't been told about the brutal murders taking place just a few miles down the road, but as they gather in the open-air pavilion, something seems off.
Jim Jones is taking longer than usual getting on stage, and armed guards are now circling the pavilion, surrounding the residents. A nervous energy begins to spread throughout the pavilion as the settlers try to make sense of what's happening, and off to the side of the stage, a private plan is set in motion. Maria Katsaris, one of Jones' lovers and closest confidants, approaches Jones and whispers into his ear, sharing some sensitive information.
Hearing the news, Jones looks upset. "'I don't understand. How bitter is it?' "'It's noticeable, Father. Enough that people are going to spit it out. They just tried it in the cabin and said it was deeply unpleasant that it burned. Well, we have to make it taste better. I know, Father. We've tried a lot of different blends. Getting it to be palatable has been a challenge. But we can't get this wrong. Not now. Adjust the mix one more time. Do anything. We can do that, but it might take more than just a few minutes. That's okay.'
Jones turns from Katsaris and begins making his way to the stage. Oh, and send word when you're done, bearing in mind that we have to get this right. We've come too far.
We cannot make any mistakes. Don't worry, Father. We won't let you down. The two part ways, and Katsaris hurries back to one of the cabins, past dozens of members of the people's temple. There are children, husbands and wives, a community of friends and believers who came to Jonestown to pursue a dream and a radical experiment in communal living. And now Jim Jones is going to ask this community to take its most radical step, joining together for one final act of resistance.
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Stop wasting money on things you don't use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to rocketmoney.com slash wondery. That's rocketmoney.com slash wondery. rocketmoney.com slash wondery. By November of 1978, Jim Jones had already discussed mass suicide a number of times with his followers.
Jones had learned the term revolutionary suicide a few years earlier in the writings of Huey P. Newton, the co-founder of the Black Panther Party. But Newton didn't use the term suicide literally. It was intended as a metaphor about giving one's life to the struggle against oppression.
But when Jones shared the phrase with his followers, he had a different interpretation. He discussed suicide not as a metaphor, but as a literal act to be carried out as a final, bold statement of resistance in the face of oppression. In Jones' sermons, he would invoke the story of Mount Masada, where 2,000 years ago, more than 900 Jewish men, women, and children chose to take their own lives rather than suffer the enslavement of the Roman army.
When the People's Temple moved to Guyana, Jones had his followers reenact a version of the historic event, carrying out exercises about twice a month that Jones called White Nights. Alerts would blare over the loudspeaker in Jonestown, summoning Jones' followers to the open-air pavilion.
And at first, these white knights were meant to simulate the experience of coming under attack from an outside force. Jones wanted his followers to get used to the idea that they may have to sacrifice their lives defending the people's temple.
But by the spring of 1978, the white knights began to shift. Jones stopped focusing on self-defense and increasingly emphasized the idea of self-destruction. He even handed out fruit juice, claiming the drink was poisoned and saying this was the time for his followers to take their own lives. Jones had first run a version of this exercise three years earlier, offering cups of wine to members of his inner circle and telling them the drink was poisoned.
They went along with the test, believing it was just a hoax. But years later, Jones' follower Terry Buford said, Yes, we proved that we were willing to die. But what that night really proved was that Jim already had the intention, or at least was considering the possibility, that at some point he would kill us all.
Jones's plans took more concrete shape by November of 1978. A small group of Jones's confidants had spent months working on a blend of tranquilizers and potassium cyanide, a highly toxic substance that dissolves in water. They mixed this blend with a British fruit drink, Flavor-Aid, which was cheaper and more readily available in Guyana than the American drink, Kool-Aid.
And so by the evening of November 18th, 1978, after members of Congressman Leo Ryan's delegation are gunned down and Jim Jones realizes he won't be able to outrun the consequences, Jones sets in motion his final plan. In the Jonestown Pavilion, he takes the stage and one of Jones' followers begins recording audio as Jones delivers a sermon to hundreds of Temple members.
He tells them of the bloodshed that just unfolded at Port Kaituma, and he informs the crowd that it's only a matter of time before more people show up and try to destroy their lives. Jones says there is no way for them to survive and live life on their own terms anymore. Death is their best recourse.
Some in the crowd ask about other options, suggesting that they might be able to find sanctuary in Russia. Others say they aren't ready to die and that the babies at Jonestown deserve to live.
But Jones says it won't be long before oppressors parachute into Jonestown, taking over the settlement and killing everyone anyways. And he says that's not the way for people who are socialists or communists to die. Jones and his followers have to die with some dignity, and that means ending their life on their own terms.
In the middle of this sermon, Jones confirms that Congressman Leo Ryan is dead. And he tells his followers that with this development, their fate is sealed. The only option is to take a drink that has been laced with poison. The settlers at Jonestown have been through this kind of exercise before. And so far, none of the drinks they've been served contained actual poison.
Still, some of Jones' followers look hesitant. So Jones pleads with the group, saying they need to relieve themselves of the miseries of life, to take an action practiced by everyone from Inuits to the indigenous people of the Amazon. And soon, the members of the People's Temple begin to follow Jones' command. Parents line up with their infants and allow nurses to squirt liquid into children's mouths using syringes.
Nearby are metal and plastic vats filled with a purple liquid. Jones' followers pour the liquid into paper cups, which the adults then grab and begin drinking from. And one by one, they collapse. The People's Temple began as an act of idealism, a church where one could put progressive politics into action. But Jim Jones' radical experiment came to an end on November 18, 1978, with the deaths of over 900 people in Jonestown.
In his final sermon, which was recorded in its entirety, Jim Jones said that he and his congregation were committing an act of revolutionary suicide, protesting the conditions of an inhumane world. But while many of Jones' followers willingly poisoned themselves, others remained reluctant. And those who refused Jones' command were held down and forcibly injected with cyanide.
People experiencing cyanide poisoning can first experience dizziness, shortness of breath, and vomiting. But as the poison fully takes hold, those symptoms become increasingly pronounced and painful. People have seizures and heart attacks. They foam at the mouth before ultimately expiring.
Marceline Jones was among those who died by cyanide poisoning, as did six-year-old John Victor Stone, Grace Stone's son, and the subject of the custody battle between Grace, Tim Stone, and Jim Jones. Jones himself didn't drink the poison. Instead, he died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The tragedy in Guyana also took the lives of those outside the People's Temple. The attack at the Port Kaituma airstrip left five dead, including Congressman Leo Ryan and NBC reporter Don Harris. Yet despite the magnitude of the tragedy in Jonestown, some of the remaining members of the People's Temple wanted to preserve the church and carry on Jim Jones' message of egalitarianism and racial justice. At the time, there were still thousands of members of the congregation back in the United States.
But the church faced an intense backlash from the public, and by December of 1978, the People's Temple filed formal paperwork to dissolve.
The tragedy at Jonestown generated a blitz of media coverage, and as the public grappled with the tragedy, some questioned whether the federal government bore any responsibility. Commentators noted that Jones had remained close with prominent politicians and that these relationships helped insulate the People's Temple from significant public scrutiny. But the State Department distanced itself from the tragedy, arguing in part that it had no authority to interfere with an American religious establishment.
And the FBI claimed that while it investigated an allegation that people were being held prisoner at Jonestown, the Bureau ultimately concluded that they were adults who allegedly went to Guyana on their own. Jones' sons, Stephen, Jim Jr., and Tim, all survived because they were at a basketball game in Georgetown on the night of the mass suicide. They have since maintained that their father was a narcissist and delusional,
But speaking in November 2018 at a 40th anniversary memorial service, Stephen Jones spoke about the community of the People's Temple, saying, We meant well. Nearly all of us would rather have helped than done harm to have made this world a better place. Still, Stephen admitted that in carrying out the vision of the People's Temple, many bore responsibility for supporting and enabling Jim Jones, and ultimately, the death of hundreds.
From Wondery, this is Episode 5 of Jonestown for American Scam. In our next episode, I speak with Rachel Bernstein, a therapist who specializes in working with former members of cults. We'll talk about why so many people are susceptible to joining cults and how cult leaders are able to amass power over their followers.
If you'd like to learn more about Jonestown, we recommend the book The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Gwynn, Raven by Tim Reiterman, and the San Diego State University Special Collection Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and People's Temple, available online. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details. And while in most cases we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research.
American Scandal is hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship. Audio editing by Christian Paraga. Sound design by Molly Bach. Music editing by Katrina Zemrack. Music by Lindsey Graham. This episode is written by A.J. Marischel. Edited by Emma Cortland. Our senior producer is Gabe Ribbon. Executive producers are Stephanie Jens, Jenny Lauer Beckman, and Marshall Louis for Wondery.
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