Trump Releases 240,000 FBI Pages on Martin Luther King \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ The Trump administration has released over 240,000 FBI files on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from his children and civil rights groups. The release includes decades-old surveillance documents long sealed under court order. MLK’s family urges empathy and historical context in handling the records.
Quick Looks
- Trump administration released 240,000+ FBI files on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- The documents had been sealed since 1977 under a court order.
- MLK’s children, Martin III and Bernice King, opposed the early release.
- FBI records reveal long-standing illegal surveillance and disinformation efforts against King.
- Civil rights groups, including SCLC, also objected to the unsealing.
- The King family maintains James Earl Ray was not solely responsible for the assassination.
- DNI Tulsi Gabbard called the release “unprecedented,” digitizing records for public access.
- Scholars are now combing through the records for new revelations.
- Trump linked the release to broader declassification promises including JFK, RFK records.
- The FBI’s COINTELPRO campaign aimed to discredit and dismantle King’s legacy.
Deep Look
In a decision sparking renewed debate over government transparency, historical accountability, and racial justice, the Trump administration has released more than 240,000 pages of FBI surveillance files related to civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The records, long sealed under court order, were made public despite the opposition of King’s surviving children and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the organization he co-founded in 1957.
The files, gathered during a controversial and invasive FBI campaign spearheaded by then-Director J. Edgar Hoover, chronicle years of surveillance aimed at discrediting King and the Civil Rights Movement he helped lead. From wiretaps to hidden microphones and informants, the documents reflect the full scale of the government’s COINTELPRO operation — a program designed to “discredit, dismantle, and destroy” the movement’s key figures.
Previously under seal since 1977, the records were held by the National Archives and Records Administration and not scheduled for public release until 2027. However, the Justice Department successfully petitioned a federal judge to lift the sealing order early. The decision was met with dismay by King’s children — Martin Luther King III and Bernice King — who were given advance notice of the release and had their legal teams review the material prior to publication.
In a detailed statement released Monday, the King family emphasized the gravity of the moment and the personal weight the disclosure carries. “As the children of Dr. King and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, his tragic death has been an intensely personal grief,” they wrote. They asked the public and media to engage with the documents “with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family’s continuing grief.”
They also reiterated their long-standing position: that James Earl Ray, the man convicted of assassinating King in Memphis on April 4, 1968, may not have acted alone — or at all. The family has, for decades, called for further investigation, pointing to a 1999 civil jury decision that found King’s death resulted from a broader conspiracy. Bernice King was just five years old at the time of the assassination; Martin III was ten.
Though the newly unsealed files have not yet revealed any major new findings, journalists, scholars, and historians are already analyzing them in hopes of uncovering further insights into King’s life, leadership, and death. What is clear is that the government systematically surveilled, harassed, and tried to tarnish King’s image, particularly after he began criticizing the Vietnam War and advocating for economic justice.
King’s pivot from civil rights to issues of wealth inequality and militarism deeply unsettled political elites, including Hoover, who viewed him as a potential communist threat. The files show the FBI bugged hotel rooms, intercepted calls, and used informants to collect damaging material. These operations often had little to do with law enforcement and everything to do with smearing a nonviolent civil rights leader.
In their statement, the King siblings warned against using the documents as ammunition against their father’s legacy. “These actions were not only invasions of privacy but intentional assaults on the truth,” they said. “We support transparency and historical accountability,” they continued, “but object to any attacks on our father’s legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods.”
The release also ties into President Donald Trump’s broader campaign promises. As a candidate, Trump pledged to release files related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Once in office, he signed an executive order mandating the declassification of those records, along with those related to Dr. King’s death. Earlier this year, JFK files were unsealed in March, followed by RFK-related records in April.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard described the King release as “unprecedented,” noting that many of the files were digitized for public accessibility for the first time. However, critics argue that the move also conveniently provides political cover for the Trump administration, particularly as it faces criticism over handling other sensitive records, including those tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Still, for many in the civil rights community, the issue goes far beyond politics. The SCLC joined King’s family in protesting the release, calling it an affront to those whose lives were torn apart by illegal government surveillance. They insist the files not only highlight past abuses but should serve as a warning against similar overreach in the future.
As the public, media, and scholars begin dissecting the contents of the released records, the King family made one final request: context. “We ask those who engage with the release of these files to do so with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family’s continuing grief,” they said. They will continue reviewing the documents to see if they add to the evidence they already believe supports their father’s murder being part of a larger conspiracy.
Whether the newly publicized files will fundamentally alter public understanding of Dr. King’s life and death remains uncertain. What is clear is that his family and the civil rights groups that carry his legacy remain deeply protective of both the man and the movement he helped build.
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