Featured Image Credit: Getty/Stephen F Somerstein
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics
Anish Vij
The Trump administration has released thousands of files on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr that have been sealed from public view since 1977.
King, a human rights activist and Baptist minister, was shot dead at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on 4 April 1968.
American fugitive James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to gunning down the 39-year-old, receiving a sentence of 99 years, but he later renounced his plea and maintained his innocence until his death in 1998.
In January, Donald Trump signed an executive order to declassify the files, which consist of around 230,000 pages of documentation.
Advert
The files have been posted on a government website 'in accordance with United States law', according to the National Archives.
"It is the responsibility of the National Archives to serve as the final repository of the records of the United States federal government, and make those records available to the American people." they added.
The documents contain details of the FBI's investigation into the assassination of King, including discussions of potential leads, internal memos outlining the case’s progress, and information from James Earl Ray’s former cellmate, who claimed Ray spoke about an alleged assassination plot—along with other related materials, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Advert
The release of the documents was a joint effort from the Department of Justice, the National Archives, the FBI and the CIA.
King Jr's two living children, Martin III and Bernice, were reportedly notified ahead of the release of the documents, with their own teams reviewing the documents prior to their public release, The Independent reports.
However, they cautioned in a joint statement on Monday (21 July) that people who read the pages must do so 'with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family's continuing grief'.
Advert
"The release of these files must be viewed within their full historical context," they said. "During our father's lifetime, 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 government's constant surveillance on King meant that he lacked the 'dignity and freedoms of private citizens', according to the pair.
They also cited a jury's verdict from a 1999 wrongful death civil lawsuit that the gunman did not act alone and was part of a conspiracy involving Loyd Jowers and unnamed co-conspirators, such as government agencies - although the Justice Department said allegations of conspiracy are 'unworthy of belief'.
It comes after the Trump administration shared thousands of records relating to the assassination of JFK in March.