A huge trove of documents relating to the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr has been released by the US government.
The disclosure, which was opposed by many of the civil rights hero’s family, includes more than 240,000 pages of records that had been under court seal since 1977.
Dr King’s two living children, Martin III, 67, and Bernice, 62, said their father’s killing has been a “captivating public curiosity for decades”.
But they emphasised the personal nature of their father’s death and urged that the files be “viewed within their full historical context”.
Gunshots ring out in Tennessee
Dr King was shot and killed on 4 April, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, while headed to dinner with friends.
The night before the assassination, Dr King delivered his famous “Mountaintop” speech on a stormy night.
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James Earl Ray was eventually apprehended after a long manhunt and pleaded guilty to the killing, but he later renounced his plea and maintained his innocence until his death in 1998.
Members of Dr King’s family and others have questioned if Ray acted alone or if he was even involved at all.
Keen interest in the files
Historians, journalists and the public have been waiting to study the now-unsealed documents to see what else can be learned about Dr King’s death.
It has long been established that then-FBI Director J Edgar Hoover was intensely interested in Dr King and others he considered radicals.
FBI records previously released show how his bureau wiretapped Dr King’s telephone lines, bugged his hotel rooms and used informants to gather information, including evidence of Dr King’s extramarital affairs.
“He was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by J Edgar Hoover through the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the King children said in their statement.
The Kings said they “support transparency and historical accountability” but “object to any attacks on our father’s legacy or attempts to weaponise it to spread falsehoods”.
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Is it a distraction?
The release of the documents comes at a time when President Trump is facing an increasing revolt from the MAGA faithful over what is seen as his reluctance to release files relating to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Following the release of documents relating to her father, Bernice King took to Instagram and posted a a black-and-white photo of Dr King, looking annoyed, with the caption: “Now, do the Epstein files.”
