The family of Malcolm X has announced their plan to sue multiple U.S. government agencies and the New York Police Department for allegedly concealing evidence related to the 1965 assassination of the civil rights leader.
Two of Malcolm X’s daughters announced their intention to file a US$100-million wrongful death lawsuit against the CIA, FBI, NYPD and others, accusing them of playing a role in his death.
Ilyasah Shabazz and Qubilah Shabazz were joined by lawyer Ben Crump at a news conference Tuesday at the site of the former Audubon Ballroom in upper Manhattan, where Malcolm X was fatally shot as a crowd gathered to hear him speak on Feb. 21, 1965.
Ilyasah said the family is seeking “justice” for a man “who gave his life for human rights.”
“For years our family has fought for the truth to come to light concerning his murder, and we’d like our father to receive the justice that he deserves,” she said, according to ABC News.
“The truth about the circumstances leading to the death of our father is important — not only to his family, but to many followers, many admirers … and it is our hope that litigation of this case will finally provide some unanswered questions. We want justice served for our father.”
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For decades, questions have circulated about who was responsible for the death of Malcolm X.
Three men were convicted, but two were exonerated in 2021 after a renewed investigation into the cases against them showed the evidence used to gain convictions was shaky and that authorities had held back some information.
Crump noted the anniversary date and said that ever since then, “there has been speculation as to who was involved in the assassination of Malcolm X.”
He cited the 2021 exonerations and said that government agencies including the Manhattan district attorney, the NYPD and the FBI “had factual evidence, exculpatory evidence that they fraudulently concealed from the men who were wrongfully convicted for the assassination of Malcolm X.”
Asked if he believes government agencies conspired to assassinate Malcolm, Crump said, “That is what we are alleging, yes. They infiltrated many civil rights organizations.”
Malcolm X gained national prominence as the voice of the Nation of Islam, exhorting Black people to claim their civil rights “by any means necessary.” His autobiography, written with Alex Haley, remains a classic work of modern American literature.
Near the end of Malcolm X’s life, he split with the Black Muslim organization and, after a trip to Mecca, started speaking about the potential for racial unity. It earned him the ire of some in the Nation of Islam, who saw him as a traitor.
The two men who were wrongfully convicted — Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam — both spent 20 years in prison despite maintaining their innocence since the time of Malcolm X’s death. They were both paroled in the 1980s and Islam died in 2009.
Aziz and Islam, then known as Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson, and a third man were convicted of murder in March 1966. They were sentenced to life in prison.
Late last year, New York City agreed to pay $26 million in settling a lawsuit filed on behalf of Aziz and Islam. The state of New York also agreed to pay an additional $10 million.
The third man, Mujahid Abdul Halim — also known as Talmadge Hayer and Thomas Hagan — admitted to shooting Malcolm X but said neither Aziz nor Islam was involved. The two offered alibis, and no physical evidence linked them to the crime. The case hinged on eyewitnesses, although there were inconsistencies in their testimony.
Halim was paroled in 2010. He has identified some other men as accomplices, but no one else has ever been held accountable for the crime.
— With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
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