US: Daughter of Malcolm X to take legal action against agencies for father's assassination

The daughter of prominent civil rights figure Malcolm X announced plans to take legal action against several government agencies for their role in her father’s assassination. This comes as Malcolm X’s murder has been rife with speculation.

One of Malcolm X’s daughters, Ilyasah Shabazz, with civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, announced on Tuesday plans to file a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit against the New York Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Central Intelligence Agency for allegedly concealing their involvement in her father’s assassination. Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965, as he was set to give a speech in a room in New York City. Shabazz announced plans to sue in the same room.

“For years, our family has fought for the truth to come to light concerning his murder, and we’d like our father to receive the justice that he deserves,” said Shabazz. “It is our hope that litigation of this case will finally provide some unanswered questions: We want justice served for our father.”

Malcolm X’s murder has long been subject to speculation and has highlighted the long-running skepticism towards government agencies like the FBI, which carried out efforts to infiltrate and dismantle Black rights groups during the time of J. Edgar Hoover. Crump said that such speculation was validated in October 2022, when New York awarded $36 million to two men who were wrongfully convicted of Malcolm X’s murder.

The New York State Supreme Court previously called their case “a failure of justice”, and Crump said on Tuesday that the government concealed “exculpatory evidence” that could have exonerated the two men. Crump also announced plans to take depositions of government officials for their case.

Meanwhile, Supreme Court Justices on Wednesday have expressed skepticism about a lawsuit against social media platform Twitter as they consider whether to hold internet firms accountable for the content of its users. This comes as the US relatives of Nawras Alassaf accused the platform of aiding and abetting the Islamic State militant group attack on January 1, 2017, in Jordan that killed Alassaf and 38 others during a New Year’s celebration.

The lawsuit by Alassaf’s relatives alleged that Twitter failed to flag ISIL accounts and posts on its platform.