The Trump administration on Monday released more than 6,000 newly digitized documents of federal intelligence records related to the 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., despite previous objections from King’s family.
“The American people have waited nearly 60 years to see the full scope of the federal government’s investigation into Dr. King’s assassination,” said Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who announced the release of the near-quarter-million pages of records. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are ensuring that no stone is left unturned in our mission to deliver complete transparency on this pivotal and tragic event in our nation’s history. I extend my deepest appreciation to the King family for their support.”
The family was allowed to review the new files two weeks before the release to the public. The documents detail the FBI’s investigation into the assassination of MLK, including potential leads, internal memos detailing the progress of the case, and documents related to James Earl Ray’s former cellmate who said he discussed an assassination plot with Ray, the convicted assassin. The files also include an audio file, which contains a law enforcement interview with Jerry Ray, one of James Earl Ray’s siblings.
The release of the documents comes as a response to an executive order signed by the president shortly after he took office in January that directed Gabbard to release all records the U.S. government still holds on King’s assassination as well as the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The timing of the release coincides with growing pressure on the president to disclose other classified files related to the federal investigation and so-called client list of sex-predator Jeffrey Epstein.
The King children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice A. King, issued a statement asking those who engage with the records on their father to do so with empathy and respect for the family’s grief. They asked the public to view any new information within the full historical context of the moment, saying the FBI records may contain decades-old smears from the intelligence agency and its former director.
“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 (FBI),” the children said in a statement. It was Hoover’s goal to discredit King, they said.
FBI records previously disclosed in 2019 in an article by David J. Garrow revealed evidence of alleged sexual misconduct by the civil rights leader, captured by FBI surveillance.
“While we support transparency and historical accountability, we object to any attacks on our father’s legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods,” the King children’s statement continued. “We strongly condemn any attempts to misuse these documents in ways intended to undermine our father’s legacy and the significant achievements of the movement.”
James Earl Ray, an escaped convict and segregationist, was convicted of assassinating King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. King died on the spot from a single shot to the head. Ray was captured and extradited from London after fleeing the country. He initially pleaded guilty to the charges but later tried and failed to change his plea, saying he was set up by a man named “Raoul.” Ray died in prison in 1998 while serving a 100-year sentence.
The King children said they have long believed that the U.S. government was involved in the assassination, and someone other than Ray was the real shooter. The family filed a civil suit in 1999 alleging a government conspiracy that involved Loyd Jowers, the man who owned the bar on the first floor of the house where Ray stayed. A jury found Jowers liable in the killing, but a subsequent federal investigation led by then–Assistant Attorney General Barry Kowalski found no credible evidence that King was killed by conspirators.
The civil rights leader’s niece commented favorably on the release, thanking the administration for delivering transparency about the assassination.
“My uncle lived boldly in pursuit of truth and justice, and his enduring legacy of faith continues to inspire Americans to this day,” Alveda King said in a statement. “While we continue to mourn his death, the declassification and release of these documents are a historic step toward the truth that the American people deserve.”