Trump Releases Over 240,000 Pages of Secret FBI Records on Martin Luther King Jr.

• The Trump administration has released over 240,000 pages of FBI surveillance files on Martin Luther King Jr., despite objections from his family and civil rights leaders
• The documents offer a trove of previously sealed intelligence and detail the government’s disinformation campaign against King, while raising fresh scrutiny over his assassination
• King’s children urged the public to approach the files with empathy and historical awareness, while repeating long-standing doubts about the official account of his death

The Trump administration has authorised the public release of over 240,000 pages of FBI surveillance records involving Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from his family and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

These documents, collected decades ago and sealed by court order in 1977, were transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration and have now been digitised for the first time, according to a statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.

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Gabbard labelled the disclosure “unprecedented” and commended former President Donald Trump for advocating the release.

MLK’s family urges sensitivity

Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, the Nobel laureate’s surviving children, said their father’s assassination has long fascinated the public but remains a deeply personal trauma for their family.

In a joint statement, they implored the public to examine the files with “empathy, restraint, and respect for our family’s continuing grief.”

“As the children of Dr. King and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, his tragic death has been an intensely personal grief, a devastating loss for his wife, children, and the granddaughter he never met, an absence our family has endured for over 57 years,” the statement read.

FBI surveillance and alleged disinformation campaign

Among the released records were leads the FBI pursued following King’s assassination and documents revealing the CIA’s fixation on King’s activism concerning anti-war and anti-poverty causes.

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The family has long contended that the FBI’s COINTELPRO programme engaged in a “disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by J. Edgar Hoover” to undermine King and the Civil Rights Movement.

“These actions were not only invasions of privacy, but intentional assaults on the truth — undermining the dignity and freedoms of private citizens who fought for justice,” the King children wrote.

Civil rights community reacts to timing and motives

The King Center, which is directed by Bernice King, characterised the release as politically opportunistic, arguing that it detracted from pressing global and domestic issues.

Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton condemned the move outright, saying: “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.”

The Justice Department had originally planned to unseal the files in 2027 but recently requested the court to lift the seal early.

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Historians and journalists are now expected to pore over the newly released documents in hopes of uncovering fresh insights into King’s life, activism, and death.

Disputed narrative of MLK’s assassination revisited

James Earl Ray, convicted of King’s assassination in 1968, later recanted his plea. King’s family continued to dispute the official account, citing a 1999 civil case in Memphis in which a jury concluded that the civil rights leader had been the victim of a conspiracy.

“As we review these newly released files,” Bernice and Martin III stated, “we will assess whether they offer additional insights beyond the findings our family has already accepted.”

Chase agrees to settle with Epstein victims

Legit.ng earlier reported that JPMorgan Chase reached an agreement in principle to settle a class action lawsuit brought by victims of Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking scheme, the two sides said Monday.

"The parties believe this settlement is in the best interests of all parties, especially the survivors who were the victims of Epstein's terrible abuse," said a joint statement. It gave no financial details of the agreement, and said the settlement is "subject to court approval."

Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng