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As noted, the committee concluded that James Earl Ray was the assassin of Dr. King. Other aspects of the assassination remained to be examined. What was Ray's motive? Was he assisted in any way? Was there a conspiracy involved in Dr. King's death?Several facts conditioned the thinking of law enforcement officials and the American public since the day of the assassination: Dr. King was an important leader of the civil rights movement; he was shot down in a southern city by a single shot from a high-powered rifle in the midst of a series of turbulent civil rights demonstrations; only one assailant was seen fleeing the scene. To most, there would seem to be reason to believe, therefore, that a lone assassin, acting out of racial animosity, committed the assassination.