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→People's Temple
Willie Brown had visited the People's Temple a dozen times, some by invitation and some on his own.<ref>Nancy Dooley & Tim Reiterman, "Jim Jones: Power Broker", San Francisco Examiner, August 7, 1977</ref><ref>Layton, Deborah. ''Seductive Poison''. Anchor, 1999. ISBN|978-0-385-48984-3. p. 105.</ref> Preliminary consideration was given by Governor Brown's administration to a statewide post for Jim Jones before his flight to Guyana.<ref>Los Angeles Times, "S.F. Temple Active in Politics", November 21, 1978</ref> When investigations into the Temple's activities began, Brown said at a rally in support of Jones attended by [[Harvey Milk]] and others,<ref>Reiterman, Tim, and John Jacobs. ''[[Raven (book)|Raven: The Untold Story of Rev. Jim Jones and His People]]''. Dutton, 1982. {{ISBN|978-0-525-24136-2}}. page 327</ref> "[h]e is a rare human being" and "he cares about people...Rev. Jim Jones is that person who can be helpful when all appears to be lost and [[hope]] is just about gone."<ref>Richardson, James, [http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0m3nb07q/ ''Willie Brown A Biography''], University of California Press, 1996, p. 251 {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5vybaoie8?url=http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0m3nb07q/ |date=January 24, 2011 }}</ref>
Willie Brown had visited the People's Temple a dozen times, some by invitation and some on his own.<ref>Nancy Dooley & Tim Reiterman, "Jim Jones: Power Broker", San Francisco Examiner, August 7, 1977</ref><ref>Layton, Deborah. ''Seductive Poison''. Anchor, 1999. ISBN|978-0-385-48984-3. p. 105.</ref> Preliminary consideration was given by Governor Brown's administration to a statewide post for Jim Jones before his flight to Guyana.<ref>Los Angeles Times, "S.F. Temple Active in Politics", November 21, 1978</ref> When investigations into the Temple's activities began, Brown said at a rally in support of Jones attended by [[Harvey Milk]] and others,<ref>Reiterman, Tim, and John Jacobs. ''[[Raven (book)|Raven: The Untold Story of Rev. Jim Jones and His People]]''. Dutton, 1982. {{ISBN|978-0-525-24136-2}}. page 327</ref> "[h]e is a rare human being" and "he cares about people...Rev. Jim Jones is that person who can be helpful when all appears to be lost and [[hope]] is just about gone."<ref>Richardson, James, [http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0m3nb07q/ ''Willie Brown A Biography''], University of California Press, 1996, p. 251 {{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5vybaoie8?url=http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0m3nb07q/ |date=January 24, 2011 }}</ref>
Jones procured land in [[Guyana]] where nearly 1,000 of his followers settled in Jonestown, clearing the land, planting crops, and listening to him preach the gospel according to [[Karl Marx]]. “I call [[capitalism]] the [[devil]],” Jones said from the pulpit, “and [[socialism]] is [[God]].” One member said the Temple moved to Jonestown because "what we saw in the United States was creeping [[fascism]]. It was apparent that corporations, or the multinationals, were getting much larger, their influence was growing within the government, and the United States is a racist place."<ref>Tim Carter. [http://www.opb.org/radio/archives/2007/04/there_was_no_ch_1.php ''There was no choice in Jonestown that day...''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070426000000/http://www.opb.org/radio/archives/2007/04/there_was_no_ch_1.php |date=April 26, 2007 }} Oregon Public Broadcasting Radio interview. 9 April 2007. {{cite web |url=http://www.opb.org/radio/archives/2007/04/there_was_no_ch_1.php |title=Archived copy |accessdate=|deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5wTJ4uKgA?url=http://www.opb.org/radio/archives/2007/04/there_was_no_ch_1.php |archivedate=2019-01-30|df= }}</ref>
[[File:The Jimmy Carter Jonestown Massacre.jpg|right|350px|thumb|'''Socialist paradise in Guyana.''' Its leader, a community organizer named Jim Jones, was very active in Democratic party politics.]]
As reports seeped back of people who wanted to leave Guyana, [[Harvey Milk]] – the first openly gay elected official who was endorsed by the Temple for San Francisco city councilman – wrote a letter to President Jimmy Carter defending Jones "as a man of the highest character," and stating that Temple defectors were trying to "damage Rev. Jones' reputation" with "apparent bold-faced lies".<ref>Milk, Harvey [http://www.brasscheck.com/jonestown/milk.jpg ''Letter Addressed to President Jimmy Carter, Dated February 19, 1978''] {{Webarchive|url=https://www.webcitation.org/5vybbC0i4?url=http://www.brasscheck.com/jonestown/milk.jpg |date=January 24, 2011 }}</ref> The Temple claimed that "reactionary forces were trying to destroy his [Jones] image because he is the most persistent [[Social justice warrior|fighter for social justice]].<ref>Peoples Temple, [http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/3VictimConspirBrochure.pdf ''Victims of Conspiracy Brochure''], Jonestown Alternative Considerations, San Diego State University {{cite web |url=http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/JTResearch/opposition/3VictimConspirBrochure.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2019-01-31 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5vybVUjVl?url=http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/JTResearch/opposition/3VictimConspirBrochure.pdf |archivedate=January 24, 2011 |df= }}</ref>
Hearing allegations of abuse, Congressman [[Leo J. Ryan]] led a fact-finding mission to [[Jonestown]] which included in his group a staff member and future congresswoman, [[Jackie Speier]]. Ryan and four others were murdered when they attempted to leave. After the killings, Jones herded his followers into the camp's main pavilion and ordered them all to drink [[cyanide]]-laced Kool-Aid. 909 bodies mostly Black, including 304 children, were found by Guyana police in following days. Some of the bodies had gunshot wounds. Jonestown was the greatest loss of American civilian lives in a non-natural disaster until the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]].
After Congressman [[Leo Ryan]] announced that he would investigate [[Jonestown]] following the November 1978 elections, Willie Brown was still planning a fund raising dinner for the Temple that was to be held on December 2, 1978.<ref>{{cite book |last=Richardson |first=James |url=http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0m3nb07q |title=Willie Brown: A Biography |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |year=1997|isbn=978-0-585-24985-8}}</ref>
After Congressman [[Leo Ryan]] announced that he would investigate [[Jonestown]] following the November 1978 elections, Willie Brown was still planning a fund raising dinner for the Temple that was to be held on December 2, 1978.<ref>{{cite book |last=Richardson |first=James |url=http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0m3nb07q |title=Willie Brown: A Biography |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California Press |year=1997|isbn=978-0-585-24985-8}}</ref>