Releasing over 230,000 files is related to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by the Trump administration marks a significant moment in the ongoing quest for transparency regarding this pivotal event in American history. This extensive collection, made available following an executive order signed by Trump, encompasses details from the FBI's investigation, potential leads, and internal memos concerning James Earl Ray . The sheer volume of documents presents an opportunity for scholars and historians to delve deeper into the complexities surrounding King's murder.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who declear the move, said the files include “discussion of potential leads, internal FBI memos detailing the progress of the case, information about James Earl Ray’s former cellmate who stated he discussed with Ray an alleged assassination plot, and more.” She said the files released Monday had not previously been digitized and were shared with minimal redactions.
The files are a collection of FBI documents and news clippings collected over decades, including reports written for reinvestigations of the case in 1976 by the FBI and 1979 by the House Select Committee on Assassinations. An early review of the documents on Monday did not disclose any new information about the FBI’s surveillance of King or whether the bureau had any involvement with the convicted assassin James Earl Ray, as some researchers — and the King family — have claimed
King, a Baptist minister, was shot in Memphis on 4 April 1968, at age 39. James Earl Ray, a career criminal, pleaded guilty to the killing, but later renounced his plea.
King Jr's two living children, Martin III and Bernice, who were notified ahead of time about the release, said in a statement on Monday: "We ask those who engage with the release of these files to do so with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family's continuing grief.
"The release of these files must be viewed within their full historical context.
"During our father's lifetime, he was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by J Edgar Hoover through the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
King family members and others have long questioned whether Ray acted alone, or if he was even involved. Coretta Scott King asked for the probe to be reopened, and in 1998, then-Attorney General Janet Reno ordered a new look. Reno’s Justice Department said it “found nothing to disturb the 1969 judicial determination that James Earl Ray murdered Dr. King.”
In their latest statement, Bernice King and Martin Luther King III repeated their assertions that Ray was set up. They pointed to a 1999 civil case, brought by the King family, in which a Memphis jury concluded that Martin Luther King Jr. had been the target of a conspiracy.
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