relating to the assassinations<\/a> of King, former President John F Kennedy and former Senator Robert F Kennedy.<\/p>\nKing\u2019s records had been under a court-imposed seal since 1977, when the FBI first gathered them and turned them over to the National Archives and Records Administration.<\/p>\n
The National Archives released records from John F Kennedy\u2019s November 1963 assassination in March and files related to the June 1968 murder of Robert F Kennedy in April.<\/p>\n
King was assassinated in April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray was convicted of the murder and died in prison in 1998, but King\u2019s children have expressed doubts that he was the assassin.<\/p>\n
His family, including his two living children, Martin III, 67, and Bernice, 62, were given advance notice of the release and had their own teams reviewing the records ahead of the public disclosure. Those efforts continued even as the government unveiled the digital trove.<\/p>\n
In a lengthy statement released on Monday, the King children called their father\u2019s assassination a \u201ccaptivating public curiosity for decades\u201d. But the pair emphasised the personal nature of the matter and urged that \u201cthese files must be viewed within their full historical context\u201d.<\/p>\n
During his lifetime, the civil rights leader had been the target of an \u201cinvasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign\u201d orchestrated by then-FBI director J Edgar Hoover, they said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n
The FBI campaign was intended to \u201cdiscredit, dismantle and destroy Dr. King\u2019s reputation and the broader American Civil Rights Movement,\u201d they said. \u201cThese actions were not only invasions of privacy, but intentional assaults on the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear on Monday whether the release would shed any new light on King\u2019s life, the civil rights movement or his murder.<\/p>\n
Timing of release raises eyebrows<\/p>\n
Besides fulfilling the intent of his January executive order, the latest release serves as another alternative headline for Trump as he tries to mollify supporters angry over his administration\u2019s handling of records concerning the sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself behind bars while awaiting trial in 2019, during Trump\u2019s first presidency. Trump last Friday ordered the Department of Justice to release the grand jury testimony but stopped short of unsealing the entire case file.<\/p>\n
On social media, users accused the administration of releasing King\u2019s files as an attempt to distract from criticisms over its handling of the Epstein files.<\/p>\n