The family of Malcolm X, a prominent Black civil rights activist, has filed a $100 million (£79 million) lawsuit against the FBI, CIA, and New York Police Department (NYPD), accusing them of involvement in his assassination.
The lawsuit alleges these agencies were part of a conspiracy and failed to prevent Malcolm X’s killing.
“We believe they all conspired to assassinate Malcolm X, one of the greatest thought leaders of the 20th Century,” said Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing the family, during a news conference.
Malcolm X was fatally shot 21 times in 1965 by three armed men as he prepared to deliver a speech in New York City.
The lawsuit claims that a “corrupt, unlawful, and unconstitutional” collaboration between law enforcement and the attackers enabled the assassination.
According to the complaint, law enforcement agents were aware of the killers’ plans but did not act to prevent them.
It alleges that the NYPD detained Malcolm X’s security team days before the incident and deliberately withdrew officers from the ballroom where the assassination occurred.
Federal agents, including undercover operatives present at the scene, allegedly took no action to intervene.
The family first announced their intention to sue in 2022. The NYPD declined to comment on the litigation, while the FBI said it does not comment on ongoing lawsuits. The CIA did not respond to media inquiries.
Malcolm X, 39 at the time of his death, had been a leading voice for the Nation of Islam, advocating Black separatism, before parting ways with the group under tense circumstances.
One member of the Nation of Islam admitted to participating in the killing, but in 2021, two other men previously convicted for the murder were exonerated.
A judge declared their convictions a miscarriage of justice after evidence emerged showing prosecutors had withheld key information that could have cleared them.
Following their exoneration, the wrongly convicted men’s families successfully sued New York City and New York State, securing $26 million and $10 million in damages, respectively.
Source-BBC
