(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Last month, the U.S. government filed a motion to unseal FBI surveillance records of Martin Luther King Jr.—part of what the Trump administration touted as its commitment to government transparency.
However, earlier this month, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference—the organization founded by MLK Jr.—filed a response in opposition to the Justice Department’s to unseal. The SCLC says it is worried that revelations about King’s personal affairs could be used to damage his reputation.
The SCLC may have reason to be concerned. FBI records have been released in the past that accuse King of sexual misconduct.
But according to the SCLC, some of the FBI’s recordings “may be fake.” In its April 2 reply to the DOJ’s motion to unseal, the SCLC attached a sworn declaration from MLK Jr.’s eldest son, Martin Luther King III, raising concerns about potentially doctored recordings.
🚨UPDATE: MLK Jr's eldest son has filed a sworn declaration that the FBI's secret recordings of his father "may be fake."
MLK III's declaration was made in the family's opposition to unsealing the recordings. Trump's DOJ recently moved to unseal, but the family is worried King's… https://t.co/q7FZarxRJg pic.twitter.com/TY8ujMjPvL— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) April 10, 2025
“We understand that the purpose of these recordings was to discredit our father and harm the civil rights cause that he championed. Some, perhaps many, of the recordings may be fake,” King III said in his sworn declaration.
“The FBI’s purpose in creating the documents the government seeks to unseal was to misinform the public and irreparably damage our father’s reputation and most importantly destroy the civil rights movement. Such an effort against a private citizen is unprecedented,” he said.
“In fact, such surveillance has not been perpetrated even against military or elected officials, even those residing in government property. Notably, my father did not hold elected office.”
SCLC and King’s family seek a hearing to argue over whether the FBI recordings should be unsealed. The DOJ has yet to reply to their response.
The DOJ’s motion to unseal the FBI recordings was made in a lawsuit filed by King associate Bernard Lee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference all the way back in June 1976.
The lawsuit stems from allegations that the FBI unconstitutionally monitored the conversations of King and other Conference members. In 1977, U.S. judge dismissed the lawsuit, but ordered the FBI to provide surveillance tapes and related documents to the National Archives as a “compromise.”
Those recordings and documents were sealed by court order in 1977 for 50 years, and were set to remain classified until January 31, 2027.
In its motion, the U.S. government referenced a January executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The order called for a review and release of documents connected to the assassinations of prominent figures, including MLK.
The government said it believes there is strong public interest in understanding MLK’s assassination and sufficient time has passed since the records’ creation for the government to come clean about the FBI’s role in spying on the civil rights leader.
“The Court should unseal the tapes and documents about the FBI’s surveillance and wiretapping of the Reverend King and the Conference so that the Attorney General may review them, identify any records about the assassination of the Reverend King, and release those records in compliance with the President’s executive order,” DOJ lawyers said.
Read King III’s full declaration here.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
