Malcolm X’s daughters sue FBI, CIA, NYPD for $100m

The daughters of Malcolm X have filed a $100 million lawsuit against the FBI, CIA, and New York Police Department, accusing the agencies of conspiring in the 1965 assassination of the iconic civil rights leader.

Filed Friday in Manhattan federal court, the suit alleges that government entities were not only aware of the plot but actively facilitated and concealed their roles in the killing. Attorney Ben Crump, representing Malcolm X’s family, said during a press conference, “The government’s fingerprints are all over the assassination of Malcolm X. We believe we have the evidence to prove it.”

The lawsuit describes an alleged “corrupt, unlawful, and unconstitutional” partnership between law enforcement and Malcolm X’s killers. It also highlights a history of federal targeting of Black leaders, citing parallels with the FBI’s covert COINTELPRO operations and the 1969 killing of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton by Chicago police.

The plaintiffs, including Malcolm X’s widow Betty Shabazz and their daughters, say they have endured decades of unanswered questions about the murder. *“The damage caused to the Shabazz family is unimaginable, immense, and irreparable,”* the lawsuit states.

Malcolm X was gunned down on February 21, 1965, while speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in Upper Manhattan. He was shot 21 times as his wife and daughters watched in horror. Three men were convicted for his murder, but two were exonerated in 2021 after a reinvestigation revealed suppressed evidence and flawed prosecutions.

One eyewitness, Mustafa Hassan, a former member of Malcolm X’s security detail, claims to have heard officers at the scene questioning whether the shooter, identified as Thomas Hagan, was working with law enforcement.

Known for his powerful advocacy of Black self-determination and his phrase “by any means necessary,” Malcolm X’s radical rhetoric often put him at odds with the Nation of Islam, from which he split shortly before his death.

The FBI and NYPD declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation. The CIA has not yet responded.