Declassified Documents on Martin Luther King Jr.'s Assassination Released in the U.S.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has released declassified documents related to the investigation of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The documents particularly include information about surveillance conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on King.

“The American people have been waiting for nearly 60 years for access to the full information regarding Dr. King’s assassination from the federal government,” said Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. According to her, “our mission is to ensure transparency about all the details of this important and tragic event, and nothing should remain in the dark.”

Gabbard noted that more than 230,000 pages of documents have been released with minimal redactions. These documents are available on the official website of the U.S. National Archives.

It is worth mentioning that after taking office, Donald Trump signed a series of decisions regarding the declassification of documents related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s.

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. A previously convicted felon, James Earl Ray, was arrested for the murder. Although he confessed to the crime, he later claimed that the confession was obtained under duress. Ray died in prison in 1998.

Members of King's family have repeatedly expressed doubts about Ray's guilt, suggesting that he may not have been the only, and perhaps not the actual perpetrator. This belief is also shared by many of King’s supporters, who do not trust the official version of events.