(José Niño, Headline USA) In keeping with the Trump administration’s transparency promise, the U.S. government has filed a motion to unseal FBI surveillance records of Martin Luther King Jr. nearly two years ahead of schedule.
The document in question is titled, “MOTION BY THE UNITED STATES TO UNSEAL TAPES AND DOCUMENTS” and it was filed on Monday by the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. The motion 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,” Justice Department lawyers said.
However, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference currently opposes the motion to unseal. According to a New York Times report, the SCLC is worried that revelations about King’s personal affairs could be used to damage his reputation.
“For us, the assassination of our father is a deeply personal family loss that we have endured over the last 56 years,” MLK’s children declared in a statement in late January, following Trump’s announcement that he was pushing to quickly release the files. “We hope to be provided the opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release.”
Lawyers for the SCLC didn’t respond to an email inquiry.
FBI records have been released in the past that accuse King of sexual misconduct.
Well that’s something pic.twitter.com/UQm21Mukrt
— Bugman Hegel (@FedPoasting) January 24, 2025
Headline USA previously reported on the American public’s desire for answers about MLK’s death and the potential role the FBI could have played in it.
The FBI’s surveillance and harassment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to light in the 1970s through the congressional Church Committee’s investigation. According to records uncovered by the Committee, the FBI justified its actions by citing alleged ties between the civil rights movement and communism.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
