Files On Martin Luther King Jr. Declassified By President Trump
Written by djfrosty on January 27, 2025
Source: Bettmann / Getty
Government files on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be declassified for the public, due to an executive order by President Donald Trump.
On Thursday (Jan. 23), President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to declassify and release their files surrounding the life and assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The executive order “requires the review within 15 days of ‘records related to’ the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and within 45 days related to the assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
The King family released a statement as the news broke: “The assassination of our father is a deeply personal loss we have endured for 56 years. We hope to review the files as a family before they are made public.” Trump gave no reason as to why Dr. King’s files were being released. The King family has long believed that the known assassin, James Earl Ray, was aided by other forces as part of a larger plot.
The FBI told reporters that it was “complying” with the executive order, which “also requires designated agencies to submit a plan to the White House for ‘the full and complete release of these records.’ The FBI is identifying records responsive to the EO and will work with the Department of Justice and ODNI (Office of the Director of National Intelligence) respectively.” Concerning the files on Dr. King, it is expected that the FBI will declassify and release their records on their surveillance of him, as well as those documents concerning his assassination and records from their covert COINTELPRO operation investigating him.
During Trump’s first presidential term, he had publicly vowed to release the documents fully. He chose not to go forward at the behest of intelligence agencies, instead opting to place redactions to protect sensitive information. Trump has long floated conspiracy theories about the assassinations of President Kennedy, saying before signing: “That’s a big one, huh? A lot of people are waiting for this for a long — for years, for decades.” His adviser and nominee for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, has also declared the CIA was responsible for his father’s death. Trump instructed his aide to give Kennedy the pen he had signed the executive order with after signing.