The daughters of Malcolm X have filed a $100 million lawsuit against the CIA, FBI, NYPD, and other government agencies, alleging their involvement in the assassination of the renowned civil rights leader. The lawsuit, submitted in Manhattan federal court, accuses these entities of participating in and failing to prevent the 1965 killing of Malcolm X, despite being aware of the plot.
During a press conference, attorney Ben Crump, representing the family and the Malcolm X estate, called on federal and city authorities to acknowledge past injustices. “We hope they learn from this and seek to right these historic wrongs,” Crump stated, flanked by Malcolm X’s family members.
Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little and later known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was fatally shot on February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan at just 39 years old. Though three men were initially convicted of his murder, a 2021 investigation overturned the convictions of two individuals, uncovering evidence of prosecutorial misconduct and raising questions about government complicity in his death.
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The lawsuit contends that government agencies and prosecutors deliberately concealed their roles in the assassination, leaving the Shabazz family in decades-long anguish. The filing states, “They did not know who murdered Malcolm X, why he was murdered, the extent of the NYPD, FBI, and CIA’s involvement, the identities of those who conspired against him, or who covered it up.”
The family had announced their intention to pursue legal action last year, citing the immense and irreparable harm caused by the lack of transparency and justice surrounding Malcolm X’s assassination. As of now, the agencies named in the lawsuit have not issued public responses.
The case reignites long-standing demands for accountability in one of the most controversial assassinations of the civil rights era, with Malcolm X’s family seeking closure and justice decades after his tragic death.
