JFK Lancer Material: The Pistol Whipping of Jack Martin
Please note that this is a living document that I will update with links as I find more in my research. This post will be used during my speech at the JFK Lancer Conference.
Much conspiratorial hay is made from the pistol-whipping of Jack Martin, and like many, I had made several assumptions about the story. For many, it’s the first detail they come across when hearing Guy Banister’s name tied to the JFK Assassination. Many versions of the story exist, but the most dramatic culminates with Martin shouting at Guy, “What are you going to do – kill me like you all did Kennedy?”
It’s likely you assumed, as I did, that Martin’s dramatic declaration was part of the story from the moment it was first reported. I had assumed the accusation was in the police report, or Martin’s other reports, but it was not. Tracking how Martin’s and Delphine Roberts’ stories changed reveals a pattern that sheds new light on Guy Banister’s story.
Witness and Investigation Facts
The Evolution of Pistol-Whipping Claims
Jack Martin’s Claims-Police Report on the Day of the Assassination
The pistol-whipping occurred the day of the assassination, and when it was reported to the NOPD, the police report did not contain any mention of the accusation regarding Kennedy’s assassination. Fred Litwin has already done an enormous amount of digging on the pistol whipping of Jack Martin, the event that allegedly led to Jack Martin accusing Guy Banister of killing JFK. His blog post can be found here.
The police report included the following:
Martin claimed in the police report that after Guy and he finished drinking at the Katz and Jammer corner bar, they went to the office. Delphine Roberts was present in the office when they arrived.
Guy grew angry and accused Martin of making long-distance phone calls and running up his bill, which Martin denied that he did to the police.
The argument grew heated, especially when Guy became enraged at Martin calling him a liar.
Guy drew his pistol and hit him 5-6 times with the barrel.
Guy told him to clean up, and Martin left and was treated at the hospital.
Upon returning to his home, he called the police and made a report, but declined filing charges, stating Guy was like, “A father to him.”
To the best of my knowledge, the earliest description of the pistol-whipping incident that contained the claim regarding, “What are you going to do - kill me like you all did Kennedy? That’s the earliest place Fred Litwin has found, and I haven’t found anything earlier.
Litwin also notes that the story appears to start changing in 1968.
Martin claimed that Guy wished the assassination had included Bobby Kennedy, as well.
He claimed he was going to the office to demand truths from Guy.
He claimed that Guy was angry because Martin had double-crossed George Lincoln Rockwell. whom if you recall, was brought to the office by Martin. Martin claimed this was for Guy’s protection, as Rockwell was being criminally prosecuted at the time.
He placed Guy, Ferrie and Oswald together.
He characterizes the pistol-whipping as as surprise attack, and continually states “we” were attacked, possibly referring to him and David Lewis, who was nowhere in the original report.
By the time the story is reported by Jim Garrison in his book, it is much changed.
An excerpt from Garrison’s book regarding Martin’s story can be found here.
Jack Martin’s Other Claims Regarding the Assassination
Martin contacted the New Orleans D.A.’s office shortly after the assassination with claims about Oswald being trained by Ferrie.
He later told the Secret Service and FBI that he concocted the reports.
Note: I’m still seeking agency original report to see exactly what was said. The FBI references the letter itself here.
Martin wrote the FAA and FBI with accusations about an accusations against a telephone operator, as well asking favors in regards to his wife on November 25th.
Original letters found here.
The authorities did not find him credible.
Carlos Quiroga reported that Martin threatened to kill him, which his wife backed up. FIND CITE
Martin called the FBI in 1967 and claimed to not be an admirer of Garrison, and further made claims about the methods of Garrison’s investigators.
Vernon Gerdes noted that virtually everyone that got wrapped up in the Garrison prosecution against Clay Shaw was brought in by Jack Martin.
Martin appeared at and FBI office and accused the Teamsters of killing both JFK and RFK.
Martin provided a history of his claims during an investigation for criminal libel charges against David Lewis, as well as a criminal fraud probe against Jim Garrison in Louisiana, with no mention of the pistol-whipping.
The FBI received a copy of the libel charges out of concern that Martin had FBI documents, but they declined to investigate.
Delphine Roberts’ Claims Regarding the Pistol-Whipping
Delphine Roberts’ claims about the pistol whipping start here, and includes her HSCA testimony.
In this interview, which I cannot find the date for, she claimed that Martin hit Guy first after Guy caught him behind the rail in his files.
She claims in this interview that she and Guy checked to see if Martin grabbed the “file” on Oswald. Other interviews make no mention of any file on Oswald.
Delphine Roberts’ Claims Regarding the Assassination
Fred Litwin wrote an excellent summary.
There was no mention of Oswald in her first interview.
She claimed Oswald was both present and not within the span of a month to HSCA investigators.
Her claims to Anthony Summers can be found here.
Gerald Posner documented her changing stories, as well as an incident involving Anthony Summers, Roberts, her attorney, and a gun.
Mary Helen Brengel noted Roberts’ claims had a lot of contradictions.
Brengel said Roberts started claiming to her that Oswald was in the office frequently shortly after the assassination.
Brengel’s account to the ARRB can be found here.
I cannot find any claim from Roberts regarding Oswald that predates the assassination.
She also notes that Roberts’ story of how she heard about the assassination does not add up, because Brengel herself was with Roberts when she heard. (This link has some references to other stories about how they heard about the assassination.
Roberts herself may have taken some of Guy’s infamous files.
Vernon Gerdes notes this in the previously linked Litwin blog post.
She claims this is regarding their eviction from the Newman building.
She also claims Aunt Mary padlocked the door and burned files, which is likely true, in my opinion.
Red Flags
Red Flag: Martin’s Criminal History
JFK Online documents an Martin’s incredibly checkered past, if he is indeed Edward Suggs.
To my knowledge, his name was indeed originally Edward Suggs, but I understand from conversations with other researchers that this may not be certain. The FBI added Suggs as an alias for Martin, however.
A report from the Garrison Commission notes that Martin’s former teacher claimed that Martin’s grandfather was in Bonnie and Clyde’s gang and turned state’s evidence. This could be a clue that the family was deeply troubled, which is a factor in developing a sociopathic personality. However, given that Martin’s birthname appears to be Suggs, this particular witness report may be suspect. If Martin’s birthname was Suggs, a name he used until he was in the military in WWII, he would not have been known as a child in school as Jack Martin. It’s a timeline issue.
More on his criminal history here.
It’s also alleged that Martin and Ferrie drunkenly confessed to plotting to kill JFK in 1961, but I’ve been so far unable to find the documentation on that claim.
A complaint was lodged claiming that Martin represented himself as an investigator for the government in 1961.
A witness in the FBI report about the 11/25 letters believed that Martin dominated his wife, which could indicate domestic violence.
It should be noted that Secretary Louise Decker stated that Guy had warned her to stay away from Martin, telling her he was a dangerous man that should be avoided.
This is a far cry from the father-son relationship Martin claimed to the police.
Red Flag: Martin’s Erratic Claims and Behavior
Martin may have been the one tell Aunt Mary Banister about Guy’s affair with Delphine Roberts.
Vernon Gerdes stated that 90% of what Jack Martin said was lies, and that it was Martin that introduced Guy to George Lincoln Rockwell.
Bill Simpich, through the Mary Ferrell Foundation, created a list of documents regarding Martin in the order of their creation as opposed to their order of release, which is enormously helpful in seeing how the story unfolded in real time.
Martin also tried report events that he deemed as important as the Watergate scandal.
Red Flag: Robert's Erratic Claims and Behavior
The Mary Ferrell Foundation has a summary of their documents regarding Delphine Roberts.
Robert’s HSCA interview is alarming.
Roberts previously claimed that she had seen Che Guevarra and Fidel Castro demonstrating on Canal Street.
Roberts claimed to have seen a photo of Clay Shaw in drag.
She had a long history of extreme politics, including a 6 page ad for city councilwoman, an election she lost.
Her interview with investigators began with her extensive list of Southern bonafides, racist politics, and florid and off-topic stories of how she met Guy.
Red Flag: Mental Health History
Guy Banister had suffered brain damage from a serious of mini-strokes, a surgery, or both.
Ray Banister reported this to me, as he remembered it from letters at the time.
It’s recorded by Anthony Summers in his book, “Conspiracy.”
Guy had a long history of outbursts.
Fighting with the bartender was what started his ultimate firing from the NOPD.
He pulled a gun on teenage boys on a bus.
Delphine Roberts was seen as “a nut,” by Vernon Gerdes.
Roberts’ campaign ad was a 6 page diatribe, and she pushed her southern bonafides and white supremicist ideologies as a preface to a 1977 interview. (Link above under her claims.)
Jack Martin had been hospitalized previously in the 1950’s.
Cite above in the declination of investigation by the FBI.
Another report on Martin describes him as a psychopathic personality.
This list, numbers 15-the end, details the many reports that Martin made to the FBI from 1968 to his death, including rambling letters to Richard Nixon and leaders at the FBI. It should be noted that Martin had recordings the FBI was concerned about.
Red Flag: Mirroring Behaviors in Interviews in Both Martin and Roberts
This source extensively documents the erratic behavior and credibility problems reported regarding Jack Martin. From the JFK Online source:
“Jim Garrison's onetime chief investigator, Pershing Gervais, describes Martin as "absolutely crazy."(18) According to Gervais, Martin "had a way of breathing up stories and being very positive about things. He would concoct things about someone and then he would talk to that someone" and construct a story "that would kind of jibe" with whatever new information he received. When asked about Martin's reliability, Gervais laughs and said, "He couldn't be reliable if he intended to be."(19)”
This is a behavior that signals to me that Martin is doing what can be called mirroring, meaning he changes his responses to align to the expectations of whomever is speaking. The same link extensively documents how little even Jim Garrison’s investigators believed Jack Martin, as well as others around him.
Martin’s refusal to press charges, claiming Guy was like a father to him, while others like Louise Decker note that Guy warned her to stay away from him makes me wonder if he wanted to make trouble for Guy by establishing a narrative, but didn’t want it investigated because the narrative would fall apart.
Delphine Roberts’ story changed according to who she was talking to.
Roberts began claiming to Brengel the day after the assassination that Oswald had been in the agency many times, despite Brengel never having seen him.
As documented above, her stories to investigators shifted frequently, and the HSCA deemed her not credible.
Red Flag: Wide Gap in How Relationship is Defined
Witness descriptions of Guy/Jack’s relationship don’t match what Martin described as a fatherly relationship. (Guy was fairly tight-lipped about these issues.)
Mrs. Decker, one of Guy’s secretaries reported that Guy had told her to be afraid of Jack Martin, which starkly contrasts Martin’s claim in the police report that Guy was like a father to him in the police report.
Follow up with Fred’s findings about Martin telling tales to Mary about Delphine, may not have been welcome at the agency.
Delphine Roberts told Mary Helen Brengel that Roberts bragged about how Guy was going to leave Mary and marry her. This assertion appears from no other witness that I can find. FIND CITES
Red Flag: Claims Shifted After Garrison Prosecution of Clay Shaw Began
A large number of the witnesses in the Clay Shaw trial were brought in by Martin. FIND CITE
Story evolved even more in Garrison’s books.
Garrison portrayed Guy as an unwitting accomplice in his Playboy interview, but in his book quote (link above), he features Jack Martin claiming Guy is the center of the conspiracy.
Red Flag: Cognitive Distortions
While hypermentalization describes a subject’s exaggerated response to social cues.
Propinquity, a concept coined by Jim Garrison, is simply hypermentalization with more steps.
Mary Helen Brengel said that Delphine Roberts told her that Guy was going to leave Mary Wortham Banister and marry her. We have this, to my knowledge, only Delphine’s word for this, but their relationship was an open secret.
Histrionics
Roberts made her politics her entire personality. (See above regarding her ad from when she ran for office, and the Mary Ferrell Foundation link that describes her activism before the assassination). Nearly every interview involves her describing her politics, which were quite extreme and held a large number of conspiracy theories.
Everything involving Roberts was quite extreme and highly dramatic, including the meeting she had with Anthony Summers in which her attorney pulled a gun, and she demanded pay for her story.
Roberts may have been trying to gaslight Brengel into believing Oswald had been inside the office, possibly to inflate her importance in a story.
