230,000 pages of records: US releases FBI records on MLK Jr, his family did not want it

The Donald Trump administration Monday released records of FBI's surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr and his assassination in 1968. “Today, after nearly 60 years of questions surrounding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we are releasing 230,000 MLK assassination files,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard wrote on X. Gabbard said that the documents, released in partnership with the Justice Department, Central Intelligence Agency, National Archives and the FBI, detail the federal investigation into the shooting at Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., which resulted in 39-year-old King’s death.

“The American people have waited nearly sixty years to see the full scope of the federal government’s investigation into Dr. King’s assassination,” Gabbard said. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are ensuring that no stone is left unturned in our mission to deliver complete transparency on this pivotal and tragic event in our nation’s history.”

“I extend my deepest appreciation to the King family for their support.”

Today, after nearly 60 years of questions surrounding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we are releasing 230,000 MLK assassination files, available now at https://t.co/71P3p5jBgK. The documents include details about the FBI’s investigation into the assassination… pic.twitter.com/l96t9tgYmn

— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) July 21, 2025

King’s family, including his two living children, Martin III, 67, and Bernice, 62, were given advance notice of the release and had their own teams reviewing the records ahead of the public disclosure.

They issued a lengthy statement after the government's release and said their father's assassination captivated public curiosity for decades. But they said that these files are personal and must be viewed within their full historical context.

“As the children of Dr King and Mrs Coretta Scott King, his tragic death has been an intensely personal grief — a devastating loss for his wife, children, and the granddaughter he never met -- an absence our family has endured for over 57 years,” they wrote. “We ask those who engage with the release of these files to do so with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family’s continuing grief.”

President Donald Trump promised as a candidate to release files related to President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination. When Trump took office in January, he signed an executive order to declassify the JFK records, along with those associated with Robert F. Kennedy’s and King’s 1968 assassinations. The government unsealed the JFK records in March and disclosed some RFK files in April.