Malcolm X’s family is suing the FBI, CIA and NYPD over his murder

The family of the murdered black civil rights activist Malcolm

The lawsuit says authorities were complicit in the conspiracy and failed to stop the murder.

“We believe they all conspired to assassinate Malcolm X, one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century,” Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing the family, said at a news conference.

Malcolm X was killed in 1965 when three gunmen shot him 21 times as he prepared to give a speech in New York.

The lawsuit alleges that a “corrupt, unlawful and unconstitutional” relationship between law enforcement and the “ruthless murderers” made the killing possible.

The lawsuit says a connection between authorities and the killers “left unchecked for many years and was actively concealed, tolerated, protected and facilitated by government officials.”

It is said that the NYPD, in coordination with authorities, also removed members of Malcolm’s security team days before the shooting

Federal agents, including undercover officers, were in the ballroom during the attack and took no steps to intervene, the lawsuit says.

The family announced their intention to sue last year.

The NYPD said it would “decline comment on pending litigation” and the CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FBI told the Associated Press that it is its “standard practice” not to comment on litigation.

Malcolm He was 39 years old when he was killed.

One man, a member of the Nation of Islam, confessed to killing him.

In 2021, two other men convicted of his murder had their convictions overturned after a New York state judge said there had been a miscarriage of justice.

The two men were later fully exonerated after New York’s attorney general found that prosecutors had withheld evidence that would likely have cleared them of the murder.

The wrongfully convicted men’s family sued and won $26 million from New York City and $10 million from New York State.

More on this story