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Donald Trump publishes thousands of pages on the assassination of Martin Luther King, arousing the concern of his family
United States – Revelations almost 60 years after the facts. The government of Donald Trump made public on Monday July 21 “Over 230,000 pages” Archives classified on the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968, despite the concerns expressed by the family of the leader in civil rights, some members of which have even opposed their publication.
The 230,000 pages published on Monday relate in particular to the FBI investigation, the federal police, the international hunt for the alleged assassin of Martin Luther King, or even on the testimony of one of his fellow prisoners, according to a press release from the US national intelligence director Tuls Gabbard, at the origin of the announcement. The United States “Ensure complete transparency on this tragic and decisive event in the history of the country”she said.
This declassification has been planned for several months. The American president was ordained on January 23 by decree, at the same time as that of government archives on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, as well as on those of his brother Robert F. Kennedy, says Bobby. The publication of new documents on the assassination of JFK in March had given rise to many theories and speculation.
“These files must be placed in their historical context”
It is precisely this fears the family of Martin Luther King. In a press release quoted by AFP and BBC, these children are concerned about a possible embezzlement of the publication of classified documents in order to “To attack his posterity or the achievements of the movement” Civil rights. They invite people who will be interested in files to “Do it with empathy, restraint and respect for the persistent pain of [leur] family “.
“These files must be placed in their historical context”insist the children of Martin Luther King, stressing that during his lifetime, their father was targeted by a “Disinformation and surveillance campaign” orchestrated by the director of the FBI of the time, the powerful J. Edgar Hoover, intended for “Discrediting its reputation and more generally that of the Movement for Civil Rights”.
They also reaffirm not to believe in the guilt of James Earl Ray, a white segregationist who died in prison in 1998 and sentenced for this assassination, perpetrated on April 4, 1968 on the balcony of a Motel in Memphis in the south of the United States, where Martin Luther King had come to support scabs on strike.
