The Peoples Temple was formed by Jim Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1955. Although its roots and teachings shared more with Christian revival movements than with Marxism, it purported to practice what it called " See more

Initial investigation
Leo Ryan, who represented California's 11th congressional district, announced that he would visit … See more

In the early evening of 18 November, at the Temple's headquarters in Georgetown, Temple member Sharon Amos received a radio communication from Jonestown instructing the members at the headquarters to take revenge on the Temple's enemies … See more

Selection and establishment of Guyanese land
In the fall of 1973, after critical newspaper articles by Lester Kinsolving and the defection of eight … See more

White Night and the Six Day Siege
Jones made frequent addresses to Temple members regarding Jonestown's safety, including statements that the CIA and other … See more

Before leaving Jonestown for the airstrip, Ryan had told Garry that he would issue a report that would describe Jonestown "in basically good terms". Ryan stated that none of the 60 … See more

At the airstrip, Reiterman photographed the aftermath of the shootings. Dwyer assumed leadership at the scene and, at his recommendation, Larry Layton was arrested by Guyanese police. Dwyer was grazed by a bullet in his buttock during the shootings. It took … See more