The family of murdered black civil rights activist Malcolm X is suing the FBI, the CIA and the New York police department (NYPD) for $100m (£79m), accusing them of a having role in his death.
Malcolm X was killed in 1965 when three armed men shot him 21 times as he was preparing to speak in New York.
The NYPD said it “will decline comment on pending litigation” and the CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Malcolm X was a lead spokesman for the Nation of Islam – which advocated separatism for black Americans – before his acrimonious split from the organisation.
Family of the wrongly convicted men sued and won $26m from New York City and $10m from New York state.
The family of murdered black civil rights activist Malcolm X is suing the New York Police Department (NYPD), the FBI, and the CIA for $100 million (£79 million), claiming they were involved in his demise.
According to the lawsuit, the agencies were complicit in the plot and did nothing to prevent the murder.
At a press conference, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who is defending the family, stated, “We think they all plotted to kill Malcolm X, one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th Century.”.
Three armed men shot Malcolm X 21 times in 1965 while he was getting ready to give a speech in New York.
A “corrupt, unlawful, and unconstitutional” relationship between law enforcement and the “ruthless killers,” according to the lawsuit, permitted the murder.
The lawsuit claims that there was a connection between the agencies and the murderers that “went unchecked for many years and was actively concealed, condoned, protected, and facilitated by government agents.”.
It claims that in coordination with the agencies, the NYPD purposefully kept its officers out of the ballroom where Malcolm X was shot and detained members of his security team days prior to the shooting.
Undercover agents and other federal agents were present in the ballroom when the assassination occurred, but the lawsuit claims that they did nothing to stop it.
Last year, the family declared that they would file a lawsuit.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the CIA, and the NYPD stated that it “will decline comment on pending litigation.”. It is “standard practice” for the FBI to refrain from commenting on lawsuits, the agency told the Associated Press.
Before his bitter break with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X was a prominent spokesperson for the group, which supported black Americans’ right to secede. He was killed at the age of 39.
A member of the Nation of Islam admitted to killing him.
When a New York state judge ruled in 2021 that there had been a miscarriage of justice, two other men who had been found guilty of his murder had their convictions overturned.
When New York’s attorney general discovered that prosecutors had concealed evidence that would have likely exonerated the two men of the murder, they were later completely exonerated.
The family of the men who were wrongfully convicted sued and won $10 million from New York State and $26 million from New York City.
