Jonestown Conspiracy Theory - Richard Dwyer and The State Department's Involvement

Richard Dwyer and The State Department's Involvement

Despite the growing allegations of misconduct against the Peoples Temple in the U.S., the move to Jonestown was given the full support of the American Embassy in Guyana. Some claim their cooperation was facilitated by Larry Layton's brother-in-law, as well as people including Walter Mondale, Rosalynn Carter, and George Moscone. Others point out that the Georgetown CIA station was in office space within the U.S. Embassy building itself, and at least three diplomatic officials there were allegedly CIA assets.

Richard Dwyer, whose name was listed in Who's Who in the CIA, was Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy to Guyana at the time. There exists a strong likelihood that Ryan would not have been at the airstrip during the attack without direct intervention by Dwyer. Ryan had intended to remain at the Jonestown compound to continue interviewing families while those wishing to return to the United States were taken to the airstrip, but as the dump truck was leaving Ryan was attacked by Peoples Temple follower and alleged Red Brigade member Don Sly (also known as Ujara). Ujara wielded only a knife and the attack was quickly ended. Ryan was cut in the attack and decided to board the dump truck headed to the airstrip. Already on the dump truck was Larry Layton, who, despite warnings by the defectors that Layton was a strong supporter of Jim Jones, had been allowed to join the group at the last minute. Layton participated in the attacks on the Ryan delegation, ultimately serving nearly twenty years in prison after being disarmed and failing to kill his targets on the Cessna, becoming the only Peoples Temple follower to face criminal charges for these events.

On September 27, 1980, a column by investigative reporter Jack Anderson was published under the title "CIA Involved In Jonestown Massacre." According to Anderson, Dwyer and Jones had ties to the CIA, with Dwyer's ties dating to at least 1959; when quizzed directly about this alleged CIA involvement, Dwyer responded "no comment." At one point on the sound-recording made during the mass suicide, Jones' own voice commands, "Take Dwyer on down to the east house" and a short time later, Jones says "Get Dwyer out of here before something happens to him."

However, rather than being in Jonestown, numerous witnesses, including reporters for the Washington Post and San Franscisco Chronicle, saw Dwyer miles away at the Port Kaituma airstrip. Dwyer arrived there with some local constables just before the ambush by the Jonestown "Red Brigade" security squad. Dwyer was also shot in the buttocks during the Red Brigade's ambush at that location. Dwyer stayed at the airstrip with the survivors during the night. Although no one can be certain, Jones' slurred speech and the apparent confusion evidenced in his followers on the tape at his reference to Dwyer may indicate that Jones mistook someone else (perhaps Charles Garry) for Dwyer.