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Malcolm X’s family files lawsuit against US authorities for murder

Malcolm X’s family files lawsuit against US authorities for murder

The family of the deceased civil rights activist Malcolm X filed a $100 million federal lawsuit against the FBI, CIA and New York Police Department in connection with his death, 60 years after his murder.

At a press conference on Friday, November 15, Ilyasah Shabazz and her sister Qubilah Shabazz were joined by attorney Ben Crump and his legal team on behalf of the revolutionary Muslim minister (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz), who died on February 21, 1965, on age 39, was shot and killed.

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

“We believe they all conspired to assassinate Malcolm X, one of the greatest opinion leaders of the 20th century,” Crump said. Reuters.

Discussing the lawsuit, which was filed in Manhattan federal court, Crump expressed hope that federal and city officials would read it “and learn about all the dastardly acts done by their predecessors and seek to right these historic wrongs.” put,” the newspaper said. Associated press.

Malcolm

According to the AP, the lawsuit alleges a “corrupt, unlawful and unconstitutional” relationship between law enforcement officers and “ruthless killers who went unchecked for years and were actively hidden, tolerated, protected and facilitated by government agents.” in the run-up to the assassination of Malcolm X.

Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm

Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty


The FBI declined PEOPLE’s request for comment, and an NYPD spokesperson 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, was with Malcolm X at the time of his assassination at the Audubon Ballroom in New York, where he was for a speaking engagement.

His family claims none of the undercover officers protected him during the event.

Malcolm X.
Michael Ochs Archive/Getty

The murdered activist married Betty Sanders on January 14, 1958. The couple had done that too six daughters: Attallah, Qubilah, Ilyasah, Gamilah Lumumba, Malikah and Malaak.

“They did not know who killed Malcolm stopped the cover-up,” the lawsuit said. claims, according to the AP. “The damage to the Shabazz family is unimaginable, immense and irreparable.”

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In 2020, prosecutors vowed to do just that reopen the investigation into the assassination of Malcolm following the release of a six-part docuseries titled Who 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.