DOJ Releases MLK Assassination Files

M.A. Dworkin

Washington, D.C. - Attorney General Pam Bondi hosted Dr. Alveda King at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to commemorate the release of files regarding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The release contains more than 6,000 files and 230,000 pages of documents and comes in accordance with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14176. The National Archives said more files would be released as they are reviewed.

The documents detail the FBI’s investigation into King’s assassination, including internal agency memos, news clippings, leads pursued by investigators with individuals who knew the convicted assassin James Earl Ray.

The files also provide insight into the CIA’s focus on King’s growing involvement in global anti-war and anti-poverty efforts in the years before his death. 

The disclosure is the product of months of collaboration between the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and National Archives and Records Administration (NRAA). DOJ Attorneys spent hundreds of hours preparing and digitizing the documents for release.

“The American people deserve answers decades after the horrific assassination of one of our nation’s great leaders,” said AG Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice is proud to partner with Director Tulsi Gabbard and the ODNI at President Trump’s direction for this latest disclosure.”

“I am grateful to President Trump and Attorney General Bondi for delivering on their pledge of transparency in the release of these documents on the assassination of Martin Luther King,” said Dr. Alveda King. “My uncle lived boldly in pursuit of truth and justice, and his legacy of faith continues to inspire Americans to this day. While we continue to mourn his death, the declassification and release of these documents are a historic step towards the truth that the American people deserve.”

During their meeting, AG Bondi and Dr. King discussed the remarkable life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the need for transparency pertaining to the assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis Tennessee.

Several historians claim the files do not disclose new information about the assassination, and that the release did not include tapes or transcripts of the FBI’s wiretapping and surveillance of the civil rights leader. Those files are set to remain under seal until 2027.

The FBI conducted extensive surveillance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as part of a campaign to undermine his leadership and discredit the civil rights movement of the time. Former FBI Director James Comey has since described the investigation as an example of “abuse and overreach” in the agency’s history.

Dr. King’s two living children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, have asked those examining the newly released documents to view them “within their full historical context” and to engage with the files “with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family’s continuing grief.”

King’s family has long expressed doubts about whether James Earl Ray, a segregationist, acted alone or was even involved in the killing.

His children repeated their assertion in their new statement: “As we review these newly released files, we will assess whether they offer additional insights beyond the findings our family has already accepted.”

Critics have questioned the timing of the release as the government published the files amid an ongoing controversy engulfing the Trump Administration, whereby supporters of the President are calling for him to release files related to the crimes of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton said: Trump releasing the MLK assassination files is not about transparency or justice. It’s a desperate attempt to distract people from the firestorm engulfing Trump over the Epstein files and the public unraveling of his credibility among the MAGA base.”