WI after MLK’s murder...

What if, during or following the extradition of James Earl Ray for the assassination of Dr King, the following exchange was reported second hand (the questioner can be an FBI official, a London official, or some random person, whatever works best):

Q: Why did you kill Dr King?
JER: Money, same as everything.

If this claimed exchange was reported in the world and US media, how would that change the aftermath of King’s assassination and the legacy thereof? What are the knockoff effects from there?

 
If Ray was going to collect a bounty, he would need to do it fast and disappear with cash. The KKK was actually a collection of local and regional groups, the largest being the United Klans of America. The FBI would be pouring over leads; had Ray not been captured, their search may have uncovered a plot. Ray did make mention of a mentor name Raul, who was never identified. There was no shortage of people who hated King enough to establish a bounty, and any investigation would create countless loose ends. Fifty years after the fact, potential players are already gone.
 
. . . The FBI would be pouring over leads; . . .
The FBI was a very mixed bag.

J. Edgar continued to believe MLK and the entire SCLC were communist led, basically because he didn’t believe black people were smart enough to do it on their own that whole line of reasoning.
 

SsgtC

Banned
Not really germaine to the thread per se, but the prison where JER was held after his conviction for killing MLK it's now open for Paranormal tours. It's being redeveloped as an area attraction and will eventually also include prison tours. I was actually there today for work delivering distilling equipment.
 
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