Trump administration releases FBI records on MLK Jr. despite his family’s opposition

The Trump administration has released over 240,000 pages of FBI surveillance records on Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from his family. These records, unsealed after being under a court-imposed seal since 1977, include details of the FBI's investigation into King and the CIA's focus on his anti-war and anti-poverty activism. King's children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, have reviewed the documents and emphasized the personal nature of the files, urging empathy and respect for their family's grief. They reiterated their long-held belief that James Earl Ray, convicted of the assassination, was not solely responsible. The release fulfills a promise made by candidate Donald Trump to declassify records related to assassinations, following similar releases for JFK and RFK. While some, like King's niece Alveda King, expressed gratitude for the transparency, others, such as Rev. Al Sharpton, viewed the release as a political distraction. The King Center also framed the release as a distraction from current injustices. Scholars and journalists anticipate the records will provide new research material on King's life, the Civil Rights Movement, and his assassination, a topic on which the King family continues to question the official explanation, citing a 1999 civil jury verdict that concluded a conspiracy was involved.