The daughters of civil rights leader Malcolm X have filed a $100 million lawsuit against the FBI, CIA, and New York Police Department (NYPD), accusing the agencies of playing a role in the assassination of their father in 1965.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday in Manhattan federal court, alleges that these agencies not only knew of the plot but also failed to intervene and prevent the killing, Fox News reported.
Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little, was assassinated on February 21, 1965, while speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in Upper Manhattan.
He was shot 21 times in front of his wife, Betty Shabazz, and their daughters, who were in the audience. While three men were initially convicted of the crime, two were exonerated in 2021 after new evidence surfaced, suggesting that key details had been overlooked or concealed by authorities.
Testimony from Mustafa Hassan, who was part of Malcolm X’s security detail at the time, further complicated the case. Mr Hassan claimed that he tried to stop one of the shooters, Thomas Hagan (also known as Talmadge X Hayer), from fleeing the scene. However, police officers allegedly intervened to protect Hayer, with some officers reportedly asking each other, “Is he with us?”
Now, Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the daughters and the Malcolm X estate, said that the lawsuit is an effort to expose the “corrupt, unlawful, and unconstitutional” actions taken by law enforcement and other government agencies leading up to Malcolm X’s death. The complaint accuses the government of enabling a network of “ruthless killers,” who operated with impunity, concealing their actions for years.
“The government’s fingerprints are all over the assassination of Malcolm X,” Mr Crump claimed at a press conference. “We believe we have the evidence to prove it.” He added that the Shabazz family has endured decades of uncertainty, without knowing who was truly responsible for the murder or the extent of the government’s involvement. “The damage caused to the Shabazz family is unimaginable, immense, and irreparable,” the lawsuit says.
Malcolm X’s daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, at a press conference held at the site of his death, spoke about her family’s fight for justice. “We fought primarily for our mother, who was here,” Ms Ilyasah said, as per ABC News. “My mother was pregnant when she came here to see her husband speak; someone who she just admired totally and to witness this horrific assassination of her husband.”
Malcolm X’s rise to prominence was marked by his role as a spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, where he advocated for Black empowerment and civil rights “by any means necessary.” His eventual split from the organisation led to death threats from former allies, many of whom considered him a traitor.
The case also references the assassination of other Black leaders, such as Fred Hampton, the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, who was killed in 1969 by Chicago police officers. It draws a connection between these killings and COINTELPRO, a covert FBI program designed to disrupt and discredit Black political groups.