July 10, 1962 - New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller sent a telegram today to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy asking Federal protection for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were jailed today in Albany, Ga., after their conviction of violating a street ordinance during a demonstration last Dec. 16. The Republican Governor’s telegram read: “I consider it of utmost urgency that the Justice Department take immediate steps to assure the physical safety of Dr. King and his companions in view of reported threats of harassment or worse when they appear on the streets of Albany, Ga., as members of a prison work gang. The Justice Department should immediately investigate whether constitutional rights of peaceable assembly have been violated in this case.”
