Malcolm X’s family will sue the FBI, CIA, and New York City Police for $100m (PS82.6m), in damages following the assassination on Tuesday of the US civil right activist.
Ilyasah Shabazz, his daughter, has accused several federal and New York governments of fraudulently concealing evidence. She claimed that they “conspired and executed their plan for assassinating Malcolm X”.
“For years our family has fought for truth concerning his murder,” Ms Shabazz stated at a news conference held at the spot of her father’s assassination. It is now a memorial to Malcolm X.
Malcolm X was the Nation of Islam’s national spokesperson, an African-American Muslim organization that espoused black separatism.
In 1964, he broke from the group and moderated his views on racial seperation. This angered Nation of Islam members who were threatened with death.
On 21 February 1965, he was 39 years old when three gunmen shot him on the stage as he prepared for his speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan.
Ms Shabazz was just two years old when she was there with her mother, and her sisters.
Malcolm X Associates stated that after the shooting, they believed that several government agencies knew of the assassination plot and allowed it to take place.
Talmadge Hayer, a Nation of Islam member, admitted in court that he was one of the assassins.
A judge in New York tossed the conviction against two other men who had wrongly spent decades in jail for Malcolm X’s death.
At the request of Manhattan’s district attorney, the men were exonerated. The investigation revealed that prosecutors and law enforcement agencies had withheld evidence that would have likely led to the pair being acquitted.
New York law requires that a notice of claim be sent to certain government agencies before a lawsuit can be filed.
The NYPD stated that it would not comment about pending litigation. Both the FBI and CIA didn’t immediately respond to inquiries for comment.
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