The Trump administration has made public thousands of pages of previously sealed government documents related to the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

The release includes FBI surveillance records and other files that had been blocked from the public since 1977 under a court order.

King, a Baptist minister and leading figure in the civil rights movement, was shot dead in Memphis on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39.

James Earl Ray, who pleaded guilty to the killing but later retracted his confession, was convicted and sentenced to 99 years in prison.

Despite this, many believe Ray was part of a larger conspiracy.

King’s two surviving children, Martin III and Bernice, who were informed in advance about the release, issued a statement urging the public to approach the documents with sensitivity and respect.

“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,” they said.

They added that during King’s life, he was the target of “an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by J Edgar Hoover through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

The family also cited a 1999 civil lawsuit ruling that found King’s death was the result of a vast conspiracy, not just the actions of a lone gunman.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) stated that the files had “sat collecting dust in facilities across the federal government for decades, until today.”

The released documents include “internal FBI memos” and “never-before-seen CIA records” connected to the investigation into King’s assassination. The release was coordinated with the FBI, Department of Justice, National Archives, and CIA.

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi commented, “The American people deserve answers decades after the horrific assassination of one of our nation’s great leaders.”

Not all members of King’s family opposed the release. Civil rights advocate Alveda King, who refers to the late leader as “my uncle,” expressed gratitude to the Trump administration.

She said, “While we continue to mourn his death, the declassification and release of these documents are a historic step towards the truth that the American people deserve.”

Critics of the Trump administration, however, questioned the timing of the release, suggesting it was a diversion from controversies surrounding the handling of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose 2019 jail death was ruled a suicide.

Civil rights leader Al Sharpton called the release “a desperate attempt to distract” from mounting issues facing the administration.

James Earl Ray fled to Canada, Portugal, and the UK before his arrest. After extradition to Memphis, he pleaded guilty in 1969. He later claimed to have been framed but courts consistently upheld his conviction. Ray died in prison in 1998 at the age of 70.