Jim Jones Commits the Largest Mass Murder-Suicide in History
In this series, Newsweek reconstructs the events leading to the Jonestown Massacre as it happened in 1978, day by day.
Warning: this article contains material that people may find distressing.
November 18, 1978: On Saturday, Jones gave the residents a rare free day. He wanted the community to appear relaxed. Teens played basketball, a girls' drill team practiced their routines to music, grade-schoolers watched American cartoons in the pavilion.
Ryan and Speier, who'd stayed in a guest house, rose early to continue their interviews.
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