MLK Files Released by Trump Administration Amid Political Firestorm

The U.S. government made headlines with the controversial release of over 240,000 pages of FBI records related to the surveillance and assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Trump administration authorized the release—decades earlier than the originally set 2027 date—despite strong opposition from King’s family and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the civil rights group Dr. King co-founded.

The documents reveal just how far the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover went in attempting to discredit Dr. King, including wiretaps, hotel room bugs, and attempts to publicize alleged extramarital affairs. Though these tactics have long been acknowledged, the full scope and coordination are now laid bare.

The declassified trove reveals extensive surveillance, CIA interest, and FBI disinformation campaigns targeting King during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. While historians and journalists now have unprecedented access to this material, King’s children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, have urged the public to approach these documents with empathy, historical awareness, and restraint.

“These actions were not only invasions of privacy, but intentional assaults on the truth… designed to neutralize those who dared to challenge the status quo,” the King children said in a joint statement.

The King family, who received early access to the records, continues to question the official narrative of the assassination. They have long asserted that James Earl Ray, the man convicted of King’s murder, did not act alone—if at all. A 1999 civil trial backed this theory, with a Memphis jury ruling that Dr. King was the victim of a broader conspiracy.

Not lost is the timing of the release, which has stirred skepticism. Critics, including Rev. Al Sharpton, see it as a political maneuver to divert attention from other controversies, such as Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case files.

“Trump releasing the MLK assassination files is not about transparency or justice… It’s a desperate attempt to distract,” Sharpton said.

Bernice King also echoed public sentiment by sharing a photo of her father on social media with the caption:

“Now, do the Epstein files.”

The King Center, led by Bernice King, framed the document dump as an ill-timed distraction from today’s urgent justice and equity challenges—issues her father gave his life to address.

“He was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing campaign,” the King family reiterated.

Yet despite the painful history, the King children said they support transparency and historical accountability—as long as it’s not used to distort Dr. King’s legacy or cause renewed harm.

Historians, activists, and civil rights scholars are already poring through the files for new insights—not only into King’s final days but also into the federal government’s role in surveilling and undermining Black leaders during a transformative period in U.S. history.

But the King family is clear: This is not just history, it is still a personal grief, still a fight for truth, and still a call for justice.