Decades after the 1968 assassination of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the U.S. federal government has released over 230,000 pages of previously undisclosed documents related to the case, a move initiated by President Donald Trump.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) announced the digital publication of the files on Monday, marking the first time they’ve been made available in one centralized online collection. While some documents were already accessible through Freedom of Information Act requests, this broader release offers a more comprehensive, minimally redacted view of the federal investigation.
According to ODNI, the newly digitized trove includes FBI memos tracking the case’s progress, records of investigative leads, and files involving James Earl Ray’s former cellmate, who claimed Ray discussed an assassination plot. Also included are CIA documents on the international search for Ray, who fled the U.S. after the killing but was eventually apprehended, pleaded guilty, and sentenced to 99 years in prison. Ray later recanted his confession and sought a retrial until his death in 1998.
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“The American people have waited nearly sixty years to see the full scope of the federal government’s investigation into Dr. King’s assassination,” said Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in a CBS report.
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In preparation for the release, ODNI stated that members of the King family were given early access to the files two weeks ago. Yet, not all family members were on board with the timeline or the manner of the disclosure.
“For us, the assassination of our father is a deeply personal family loss that we have endured over the last 56 years. We hope to be provided the opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release,” King’s relatives had said beforehand.
In a follow-up statement issued by the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, King’s children, Bernice King and Martin Luther King III, acknowledged public interest but called for compassion.
They wrote: “We understand the records have long been a subject of interest,” but urged people to engage with them “with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family’s continued grief.”
They also took aim at the historical surveillance of King by federal agencies, particularly the FBI’s intrusive operations in the 1960s, which a later Justice Department report labeled as “very probably” illegal.
“While we support transparency and historical accountability, we object to any attacks on our father’s legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods,” the family noted. “Those who promote the fruit of the FBI’s surveillance will unknowingly align themselves with an ongoing campaign to degrade our father and the Civil Rights Movement.”
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In contrast, King’s niece Alveda King voiced support for the disclosure, stating in the ODNI’s release: “It’s a historic step towards the truth that the American people deserve.”
The release follows Trump’s broader directive to declassify documents tied to three major political assassinations of the 1960s: President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, and Dr. King. JFK-related files were made public in March, while RFK records began rolling out in April.
Each of these high-profile killings has remained a source of widespread speculation and conspiracy theories, with persistent doubts about whether the individuals officially held responsible truly acted alone, or at all.
In 1999, a Tennessee civil court jury in a wrongful death lawsuit concluded that King’s assassination involved Loyd Jowers and unnamed co-conspirators, “including government agencies.” Meanwhile, prior government investigations have differed in conclusions: a 1977 and a 2000 Justice Department review both upheld Ray’s role as the lone gunman. In contrast, the House Select Committee on Assassinations in the 1970s asserted King’s murder likely resulted from a conspiracy, though it found no evidence of direct government involvement.
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