In a stunning move, the Trump administration has declassified over 230,000 pages of documents related to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This release includes internal FBI memos and never-before-seen CIA records. The documents had been sealed under court order since 1977. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirmed that the files had been “collecting dust in federal facilities for decades.”
The release follows Trump’s earlier directive to declassify files related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, aiming to bring long-concealed historical material to light.
The decision has split the King family. Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, the civil rights leader’s only living children, voiced deep concern. In a statement, they warned that the release could be twisted to tarnish their father’s legacy. They emphasized that King was the victim of a “predatory, invasive” surveillance campaign orchestrated by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
The family urged the public to engage with the files with “empathy, restraint, and respect” for their ongoing grief. They also referenced a 1999 civil court ruling, which concluded that King was the target of a conspiracy, not just a lone assassin.
Not everyone in King’s family opposed the release. His niece, Alveda King, welcomed it as a step toward transparency. She praised both President Trump and DNI Gabbard for finally opening the files. But critics of Trump were quick to link the timing of the release to growing scrutiny over his administration’s secrecy surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case. Civil rights leader Al Sharpton called it “a desperate distraction.”
James Earl Ray, the man convicted of killing King, pleaded guilty in 1969 but later tried to withdraw his plea, claiming he was framed. Though courts rejected his claims, conspiracy theories persisted for decades. With these documents now public, the full story behind King’s assassination could face renewed investigation.
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