Source: Frédéric Soltan / Getty
It has been more than six decades since legendary civil rights activist and revolutionary Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City’s Washington Heights on Feb. 21, 1965. Now, X’s family is suing the NYPD and multiple federal government agencies over the icon’s death. According to CBS News, X’s family, who famed civil attorney Ben Crump is representing, claimed in their $100 million filing that the NYPD, FBI, CIA, Department of Justice, and U.S. government all played a role in his murder, an they “all conspired to assassinate Malcolm X.”
From CBS:
The allegations include:
- Failing to safeguard despite imminent threats
- Removing security the night of the assassination
- Actively encouraging and facilitating the assassination
- On-duty operatives failing to intervene
- A concealment effort, or cover-up, after the fact
The complaint reads in part, “Despite knowing the gravity of the threats, the FBI failed to protect Malcolm X, instead actively compromising his safety by arresting his security team days before his assassination.”
“We seek justice for the assassination of our father and that the truth will be recorded in history,” said Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X’s daughter.
Incidentally, just about a year ago, Muhammad Aziz, one of three men convicted of first degree murder in Malcolm’s killing, filed a $40 million lawsuit against the government, claiming the FBI hid evidence of his innocence. (Aziz, along with fellow convict Khalil Islam, who died in 2009, were officially exonerated of the murder in 2021.)
As for the family’s suit, it was announced Friday without any new evidence being introduced in the case. However, as CBS noted, “Crump introduced what he called a new witness to the assassination,” saying that “the witness, in a signed affidavit, recalled seeing the gunman be protected by law enforcement in the moments after it happened.” The New York City Law Department said it is “reviewing the case.”
Indeed, Black America has long believed that it was the U.S. government, not Muslim assassins connected to the Nation of Islam, that was responsible for the murder of Malcolm X. It always seemed too convenient an explanation coming from COINTELPRO America. Whether any related lawsuits filed against the government will be fruitful remains to be seen, but there’s more to X’s story than we have been told. Trust that!
See how social media is reacting to the lawsuit below.
