MLK FBI Files Released in What Many Call a Political Distraction From Scandals Engulfing Trump

The Trump administration has released over 240,000 pages of FBI records related to Martin Luther King Jr., unsealing files that had been court-sealed since 1977. This move, made despite objections from King's family and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, has reopened longstanding wounds and questions about King's life, death, and the FBI's surveillance. The documents include FBI leads following King's 1968 assassination and CIA concerns over King's growing international activism against war and poverty. According to the family, King was "relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by J. Edgar Hoover," with the intent "to discredit, dismantle and destroy Dr. King's reputation."

King's children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, acknowledged the public interest but stressed the personal pain. "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," they said, adding, "We support transparency and historical accountability" while opposing efforts "to weaponize [his legacy] to spread falsehoods." The family still maintains that James Earl Ray, who was convicted for King's murder, was not solely responsible. They cited a 1999 civil trial where a Memphis jury found King was the victim of a conspiracy.

President Trump previously promised to declassify documents tied to the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK. His administration's release of the MLK files was praised by King's niece Alveda King but viewed by others, including Rev. Al Sharpton, as a political distraction. "It's a desperate attempt to distract people from the firestorm engulfing Trump over the Epstein files," Sharpton said. Bernice King echoed this sentiment by posting a photo of her father with the caption, "Now, do the Epstein files."

The King Center criticized the release as "ill-timed," calling for focus on MLK's legacy of justice and peace. Meanwhile, scholars and journalists are now combing through the trove for possible new revelations, though the family remains cautious: "We will assess whether they offer additional insights beyond the findings our family has already accepted."

Link: APNews