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The family of Malcolm X has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the US government, accusing federal and local agencies of being involved in his assassination.

Let’s bring you up to speed: Malcolm X was a prominent civil rights leader who was assassinated on February 21, 1965, while preparing to deliver a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. He was gunned down by three men, including Talmadge Hayer, a member of the “Nation of Islam,” who confessed to the killing. The other two men convicted for his murder, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam, consistently denied involvement and were later exonerated in 2021 after evidence revealed they had been wrongfully convicted. These developments have intensified questions about who the actual perpetrators were and whether broader conspiracies were involved in Malcolm X’s death.

What’s going on now: Today, Malcolm X’s family filed a $100 million lawsuit against the US government, accusing the FBI, CIA, NYPD, and other agencies of complicity in his 1965 assassination and a subsequent decades-long cover-up. The lawsuit alleges that these agencies were aware of credible threats to Malcolm X’s life, intentionally compromised his security, and failed to intervene in the attack. A key piece of evidence is a letter from former NYPD officer Raymond Wood, claiming officers were directed to pressure Malcolm X’s security team into criminal activity (in the hopes of ensuring their absence on the day of the assassination). The family also points to the presence of nine FBI informants in the ballroom during the shooting and points out that one of the gunmen, who had ties to the FBI, was given preferential treatment after the murder.

Digging Deeper: The FBI had been investigating Malcolm X before his death over concerns that he could be a threat to national security due to his involvement in the civil rights movement. This surveillance intensified after he broke from the Nation of Islam in 1964 and began promoting a more global vision of racial justice, including plans to bring the oppression of Black Americans before the United Nations. As part of its Counter Intelligence Program, the FBI targeted Malcolm X and other Black leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In a statement released by the family, they accused the FBI, CIA, and NYPD of viewing “Black activism as a threat to national security, resulting in the unchecked targeting of prominent leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Marcus Garvey.”

Ben Crump, a lawyer for the family, said, “We believe that they all conspired to assassinate Malcolm X, one of the greatest thought leaders of the 20th century.” He added, “This cover-up spanned decades, blocking the family’s access to the truth and their right to pursue justice. We are making history standing here to confront those wrongs.”

The NYPD, FBI, CIA, and DOJ have not commented on the lawsuit.