Summary
The White House made public over 230,000 pages of previously classified documents about Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. These files mainly confirm earlier conclusions that James Earl Ray acted alone and detail the FBI's efforts to monitor and discredit King. The release does not provide new evidence about the assassination but gives more detail on the FBI's activities.
Key Facts
- The files cover documents related to Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and FBI surveillance of him.
- Donald Trump signed an order as president to declassify these documents.
- The files confirm that James Earl Ray was seen as the lone assassin, with no new evidence of a wider conspiracy.
- The documents detail the FBI's efforts, led by J. Edgar Hoover, to discredit King due to his civil rights work.
- These efforts included wiretapping and infiltration of King's circle and even attempts to defame him.
- The FBI wrongfully labeled King as a communist to justify its surveillance.
- The documents were under seal since 1977 before being released.
- Historian Ryan Jones noted the files confirm known accounts and add more internal FBI records.
