Maeve Bidonde, Staff Writer
On Friday, Nov. 15, civil rights leader Malcolm X’s daughters filed a lawsuit against the FBI, CIA, and NYPD in Manhattan Federal Court. The lawsuit alleges that the agencies knew of, were involved in, and never prevented the plot to assassinate Malcolm X in 1965. According to an NPR article, Attorney Ben Crump stood with family and expressed a hope that the officials would read it “and learn all the dastardly deeds that were done by their predecessors and try to right these historic wrongs.’’ The NYPD, CIA, and spokesperson Nicholas Blaise declined to comment to NPR on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says the NYPD in conjunction with federal law enforcement agencies allegedly arrested Malcolm X’s security detail a day before the assassination and removed its officers from inside the ballroom where Malcolm X was killed. The lawsuit further goes on to say that they don’t know who committed the murder, what the motive was, or the amount of involvement from the agencies being sued.
The lawsuit is seeking $100 million and justice for the family and the estate of Malcolm X. Back in 2021, two of the three men who were convicted relating to Malcolm X’s death were exonerated because investigators took a fresh look at the case and determined that some of the evidence wasn’t as concrete as it should have been.
The lawsuit was not filed sooner due to the defendants withholding the identities of undercover informants, agents, and provocateurs that may have been involved in the assassination. The family alleges in the lawsuit that the prosecution intentionally suppressed the government’s role in the assassination.
As of now the lawsuit has not gone to trial or been settled. It will take some time for the next steps in the lawsuit to happen. But the lawsuit itself could bring about new evidence that would reveal more explicit details about Malcolm X’s death and provide his family closure. Until then filing the lawsuit is the first step towards such a goal for the family of Malcolm X.
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