Malcolm X's Family Files Lawsuit Against FBI, CIA and the NYPD Over Assassination

Mar. 15, 2025

A daughter of Malcolm X, Ilyasah Shabazz speaks during the press conference at Malcolm X & Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center in New York City on November 15, 2024.Photo:Selcuk Acar /Anadolu via Getty

Selcuk Acar /Anadolu via Getty

The family of the late civil rights activistMalcolm Xfiled a $100 million federal lawsuit against the FBI, CIA and New York Police Department in connection with his death, 60 years after his assassination.

Malcolm X, New York, United States - 21 May 1964.AP/Shutterstock

Malcolm X’s family is claiming that law enforcement officials concealed crucial evidence involving a plot to kill the religious leader, but did intervene.

A daughter of Malcolm X, Ilyasah Shabazz speaks during the press conference at Malcolm X & Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center in New York City on November 15, 2024.Selcuk Acar /Anadolu via Getty

The FBI declined PEOPLE’s request for comment, and a spokesperson for the NYPD said the “NYPD will decline comment on pending litigation.”

The CIA did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Ilyasah, along with her siblings and mother, were with Malcolm X at the time of his assassination at New York’s Audubon Ballroom, where he was for a speaking engagement.

His family claims none of the undercover agents protected him at the event.

Malcolm X.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

The slain activist married Betty Sanders on Jan. 14, 1958. The couple hadsix daughters: Attallah, Qubilah, Ilyasah, Gamilah Lumumba, Malikah and Malaak.

“They did not know who murdered Malcolm X, why he was murdered, the level of NYPD, FBI and CIA orchestration, the identity of the governmental agents who conspired to ensure his demise, or who fraudulently covered-up their role,” the lawsuit alleges, per the AP. “The damage caused to the Shabazz family is unimaginable, immense, and irreparable.”

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In 2020, prosecutors promised toreopen the investigation into Malcolm X’s assassinationfollowing the release of a six-part docuseries titledWho Killed Malcolm X?

The docuseries stated that two of the three men convicted of the crime were innocent, and were not even present when Malcolm X was fatally shot.

source: people.com