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Battle over unsealing King files ignites fears of tarnishing legacy

Federal judge considers Trump’s order to release sealed FBI records on civil rights leader’s assassination.
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Sam Pollard’s "MLK/FBI." (Courtesy of IFC Films)

Credit: TNS

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Sam Pollard’s "MLK/FBI." (Courtesy of IFC Films)
By
June 5, 2025

A federal judge in Washington indicated this week that he may unseal government records related to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 assassination — potentially years ahead of schedule — as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to release long-hidden files.

The Associated Press reported that U.S. District Judge Richard Leon was willing to personally review an inventory of the sealed materials to determine whether documents specifically linked to King’s death and the subsequent FBI investigation could be processed. The documents are scheduled to be released in 2027, following a 1977 court ruling that sealed them for 50 years.

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. displays pictures of three civil rights workers, who were slain in Mississippi the summer before, from left Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman, at a news conference on Dec. 4, 1964, in New York, where he commended the FBI for its arrests in Mississippi in connection with the slayings. (JL/AP)

Credit: AP

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. displays pictures of three civil rights workers, who were slain in Mississippi the summer before, from left Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman, at a news conference on Dec. 4, 1964, in New York, where he commended the FBI for its arrests in Mississippi in connection with the slayings. (JL/AP)

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ExploreWhat the declassified King assassination files could reveal
Former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover poses for his portrait in this undated photo. (AP)

Credit: AP

Former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover poses for his portrait in this undated photo. (AP)

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David J. Garrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer. (Handout)
David J. Garrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer. (Handout)

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ExploreMartin Luther King Jr. assassination files to be released
Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., speaks to a group gathered for the annual King Holiday press conference ahead of the federal holiday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the King Center in Atlanta. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

Credit: Daniel Varnado

Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., speaks to a group gathered for the annual King Holiday press conference ahead of the federal holiday, Jan. 7, 2024, at the King Center in Atlanta. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

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1963: President Kennedy poses at the White House with a group of leaders of the March on Washington. (From left) Whitney Young, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Rabbi Joachim Prinz, Dr. Eugene P. Donnelly, A. Philip Randolph, Kennedy; Walter Reuther, Vice-President Johnson (rear), and Roy Wilkins. (AP)

Credit: Associated Press

1963: President Kennedy poses at the White House with a group of leaders of the March on Washington. (From left) Whitney Young, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Rabbi Joachim Prinz, Dr. Eugene P. Donnelly, A. Philip Randolph, Kennedy; Walter Reuther, Vice-President Johnson (rear), and Roy Wilkins. (AP)

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About the Author

Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.