Lane was present in Jonestown during the evening of November 18 , 1978 , and witnessed or heard part of the events claiming at least 408 lives ( out of a total recount of 915 carried out five days later ) ; these events involved , up to some extent , murder-suicide by cyanide poisoning and were compounded by the murder of Congressman Leo Ryan and four others at a nearby airstrip . For months before that tragedy , Jones frequently created fear among members by stating that the CIA and other intelligence agencies were conspiring with " capitalist pigs " to destroy Jonestown and harm its members . This included mentions of CIA involvement in the address Jones gave the day before the arrival of Congressman Ryan
events
Jonestown
Mark Lane (author)