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Toronto Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Trump administration releases FBI records on MLK Jr. despite family's opposition
Published Jul 21, 2025 • 6 minute read U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. waves to supporters Aug. 28, 1963 from the Lincoln Memorial on the Mall in Washington D.C. during the "March on Washington." Photo by file photo / AFP/Getty Images The Trump administration on Monday released records of the FBI's surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from the slain Nobel laureate's family and the civil rights group that he led until his 1968 assassination. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. 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Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The digital document dump includes more than 240,000 pages of records that had been under a court-imposed seal since 1977, when the FBI first gathered the records and turned them over to the National Archives and Records Administration. In a lengthy statement released Monday, King's two living children, Martin III, 67, and Bernice, 62, said their father's killing has been a 'captivating public curiosity for decades.' But the pair emphasized the personal nature of the matter and urged that the files 'be viewed within their full historical context.' The Kings got advance access to the records and had their own teams reviewing them. Those efforts continued even as the government granted public access. Among the documents are leads the FBI received after King's assassination and details of the CIA's fixation on King's pivot to international anti-war and anti-poverty movements in the years before he was killed. It was not immediately clear whether the documents shed new light on King's life, the Civil Rights Movement or his murder. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. '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.' They also repeated the family's long-held contention that James Earl Ray, the man convicted of assassinating King, was not solely responsible, if at all. Bernice King was 5 years old when her father was killed at the age of 39. Martin III was 10. A statement from the office of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called the disclosure 'unprecedented' and said many of the records had been digitized for the first time. She praised President Donald Trump for pushing the issue. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More 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 MLK's 1968 assassinations. The government unsealed the JFK records in March and disclosed some RFK files in April. The announcement from Gabbard's office included a statement from Alveda King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece, who is an outspoken conservative and has broken from King's children on various topics — including the FBI files. Alveda King said she was 'grateful to President Trump' for his 'transparency.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Separately, Attorney General Pam Bondi's social media account featured a picture of the attorney general with Alveda King. Besides fulfilling Trump's order, the latest release means another alternative headline for the president as he tries to mollify supporters angry over his administration's handling of records concerning the sex-trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself behind bars while awaiting trial in 2019, during Trump's first presidency. Trump last Friday ordered the Justice Department to release grand jury testimony but stopped short of unsealing the entire case file. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III did not mention Trump in their statement Monday. Some civil rights activists were not so sparing. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Trump releasing the MLK assassination files is not about transparency or justice,' said the Rev. Al Sharpton. 'It's a desperate attempt to distract people from the firestorm engulfing Trump over the Epstein files and the public unraveling of his credibility among the MAGA base.' The King Center, founded by King's widow and now led by Bernice King, reacted separately from what Bernice said jointly with her brother. The King Center statement framed the release as a distraction — but from more than short-term political controversy. 'It is unfortunate and ill-timed, given the myriad of pressing issues and injustices affecting the United States and the global society,' the King Center, linking those challenges to MLK's efforts. 'This righteous work should be our collective response to renewed attention on the assassination of a great purveyor of true peace.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The King records were initially intended to be sealed until 2027, until Justice Department attorneys asked a federal judge to lift the sealing order early. Scholars, history buffs and journalists have been preparing to study the documents for new information about his assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King co-founded in 1957 as the Civil Rights Movement blossomed, opposed the release. The group, along with King's family, argued that the FBI illegally surveilled King and other civil rights figures, hoping to discredit them and their movement. It has long been established that then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was intensely interested if not obsessed with King and others he considered radicals. FBI records released previously show how Hoover's bureau wiretapped King's telephone lines, bugged his hotel rooms and used informants to gather information, including evidence of King's extramarital affairs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'He was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by J. Edgar Hoover through the Federal Bureau of Investigation,' the King children said in their statement. 'The intent … was not only to monitor, but to discredit, dismantle and destroy Dr. King's reputation and the broader American Civil Rights Movement. These actions were not only invasions of privacy, but intentional assaults on the truth — undermining the dignity and freedoms of private citizens who fought for justice, designed to neutralize those who dared to challenge the status quo.' The Kings said they 'support transparency and historical accountability' but 'object to any attacks on our father's legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Opposition to King intensified even after the Civil Rights Movement compelled Congress and President Lyndon B. Johnson to enact the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. After those victories, King turned his attention to economic justice and international peace. He criticized rapacious capitalism and the Vietnam War. King asserted that political rights alone were not enough to ensure a just society. Many establishment figures like Hoover viewed King as a communist threat. King's children still don't accept original explanation of assassination King was assassinated as he was aiding striking sanitation workers in Memphis, part of his explicit turn toward economic justice. Ray pleaded guilty to King's murder. Ray later renounced that plea and maintained his innocence until his death in 1998. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. King family members and others have long questioned whether Ray acted alone, or if he was even involved. Coretta Scott King asked for the probe to be reopened, and in 1998, then-Attorney General Janet Reno ordered a new look. Reno's Justice Department said it 'found nothing to disturb the 1969 judicial determination that James Earl Ray murdered Dr. King.' In their latest statement, Bernice King and Martin Luther King III repeated their assertions that Ray was set up. They pointed to a 1999 civil case, brought by the King family, in which a Memphis jury concluded that Martin Luther King Jr. had been the target of a conspiracy. 'As we review these newly released files,' the Kings said, 'we will assess whether they offer additional insights beyond the findings our family has already accepted.' — Associated Press journalist Safiyah Riddle contributed from Montgomery, Ala. Canada Celebrity Columnists Canada Toronto & GTA
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump protesters have a dream for a better America
Last Thursday was the fifth anniversary of the death of civil rights hero John Lewis. He was with Martin Luther King Jr at the 1963 March on Washington (King's 'I have a dream' sermon from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial). Lewis was beaten by police on a civil rights march over the Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in 1965. Lewis served heroically in Congress and championed voting rights – the bedrock of democracy. John Lewis often spoke about Rosa Parks who, in 1955, refused to relinquish her seat on a public bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Parks sparked a bus boycott that lasted until the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was unconstitutional. 'Rosa Parks inspired us to get into trouble,' Lewis recalled. 'And I've been getting in trouble ever since. She inspired us to find a way, to get in the way, to get in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble.' After Lewis' death, a movement of motivated people was joined, Good Trouble Lives On, to advance his causes. Good Trouble came to the streets of Frisco, Colorado and around the US last Thursday evening. In a town of less than 3000, 150 came out after work to say that they were done with Trump, and that it was high time America was done with Trump. 'I assume this is the resistance,' a man said, approaching the crowd. 'He's stealing our future.' 'We are for free speech and free press.' 'Make good trouble – we must save our democracy.' 'I came here because we are not OK.' It was modest and peaceful. Hundreds of cars passing by honked in support. To be sure, Colorado is a strong Democratic state in presidential elections, Congress and the state legislature. But those gathered in Frisco knew there was no clear road forward to stopping Trump. 'The problem with Democrats,' a fellow said, 'is that Democrats are f---ing lazy.'
The Age
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
Trump protesters have a dream for a better America
Last Thursday was the fifth anniversary of the death of civil rights hero John Lewis. He was with Martin Luther King Jr at the 1963 March on Washington (King's 'I have a dream' sermon from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial). Lewis was beaten by police on a civil rights march over the Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in 1965. Lewis served heroically in Congress and championed voting rights – the bedrock of democracy. John Lewis often spoke about Rosa Parks who, in 1955, refused to relinquish her seat on a public bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Parks sparked a bus boycott that lasted until the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was unconstitutional. 'Rosa Parks inspired us to get into trouble,' Lewis recalled. 'And I've been getting in trouble ever since. She inspired us to find a way, to get in the way, to get in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble.' After Lewis' death, a movement of motivated people was joined, Good Trouble Lives On, to advance his causes. Good Trouble came to the streets of Frisco, Colorado and around the US last Thursday evening. In a town of less than 3000, 150 came out after work to say that they were done with Trump, and that it was high time America was done with Trump. 'I assume this is the resistance,' a man said, approaching the crowd. 'He's stealing our future.' 'We are for free speech and free press.' 'Make good trouble – we must save our democracy.' 'I came here because we are not OK.' It was modest and peaceful. Hundreds of cars passing by honked in support. To be sure, Colorado is a strong Democratic state in presidential elections, Congress and the state legislature. But those gathered in Frisco knew there was no clear road forward to stopping Trump. 'The problem with Democrats,' a fellow said, 'is that Democrats are f---ing lazy.'
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Good Trouble Lives On' protests in Stockton among over 100 California rallies July 17
Stockton will join more than 100 cities in California hosting events protesting the Trump administration on Thursday, July 17, as part of planned nationwide demonstrations under the name 'Good Trouble Lives On.' The mobilization was announced by a coalition of organizations behind the No Kings protests in June, USA TODAY reported. 'We are facing the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations,' said a graphic on the Good Trouble Lives On website. 'Whether you're outraged by attacks on voting rights, the gutting of essential services, disappearances of our neighbors, or the assault on free speech and our right to protest — this movement is for you.' What is Good Trouble Lives On July 17? Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of action in response to what organizers say are 'attacks' on civil and human rights by the Trump administration. Events are planned across the nation for July 17, the same day that Rep. John Lewis died five years ago in 2020. How is John Lewis connected to the July 17 protests? Good Trouble Lives On refers to a term popularized by the late Rep. John Lewis, who has described his significant involvement and leadership in the 1960s civil rights movement — he was an original Freedom Rider and an organizer of the March on Washington in 1963 — as 'good trouble' and 'necessary trouble.' Over the years, the Georgia lawmaker's use of the phrase good trouble has served as a reminder of the importance of activism. The Good Trouble Lives On website describes Lewis' good trouble as 'coming together to take peaceful, nonviolent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change.' 'The civil rights leaders of the past have shown us the power of collective action,' according to the website. 'That's why on July 17, five years since the passing of Congressman John Lewis, communities across the country will take to the streets, courthouses, and community spaces to carry forward his fight for justice, voting rights, and dignity for all.' More: Why 'Good Trouble' protesters chose Thursday, July 17 to rally against Trump July 17 protests near me: See list of protests in California A map on the Good Trouble Lives On websites shows all the events planned in California as part of this national day of action. At least one Good Trouble Lives On event in California doesn't take place on July 17, but instead on July 19. That's according to a description for an event planned for Seal Beach in Southern California. The Stockton protest is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at San Joaquin Delta College across from the In-N-Out on Pacific Avenue, according to a nationwide listing of planned protests. Another San Joaquin County protest is planned for 5-7 p.m. Thursday at Dr. Powers Park, 900 W. Lowell Ave. in Tracy. More than 2,500 turned out in June for a No Kings Day protest in Stockton. Here's all the places in California that will have Good Trouble Lives On event, according to the map as of Monday, July 14. Places are in alphabetical order. Albany Arroyo Grande Beaumont Benicia Big Bear Lake Brea Burbank Calistoga Cambria Cameron Park Carlsbad Cathedral City Chester Chico Claremont Cloverdale Clovis Colma Colusa Concord Contra Costa Centre Cotati Corte Madera Crescent City Crestline Culver City Danville Davis Downieville Dublin El Cajon Encinitas Escondido Eureka Fairfield Fontana Fremont Fresno Glendale Grover Beach Half Moon Bay Hanford Hayward Healdsburg Hemet Hercules Hollister Idyllwild-Pine Cove Irvine Jackson Kings Beach Laguna Hills La Habra Lakeport Larkspur Lakewood Livermore Lompoc Long Beach Los Angeles Mariposa Marysville Mendocino Menifee Mill Valley Milpitas Mission Viejo Modesto Monterey Moorpark Morgan Hill Mount Shasta Murphys Napa Nevada City Novato Oakland Pacifica Palo Alto Palmdale Palm Springs Pasadena Paso Robles Pinole Point Arena Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Palos Verdes Red Bluff Redding Richmond Rio Vista Riverside Sacramento Salinas San Bernardino San Diego San Francisco San Jose San Marcos San Mateo San Pablo San Rafael Santa Barbara Santa Clarita Santa Cruz Santa Maria Santa Rosa Seal Beach (for July 19) Sebastopol Sonoma Sonora Stockton Susanville Tehachapi Temecula Templeton Thousand Oaks Topanga Torrance Tracy Truckee Ukiah Union City Ventura Victorville Visalia Vista Watsonville Weaverville West Hollywood Whittier Willits Woodland Woodland Hills Yreka Yuba City Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@ This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Good Trouble protests July 17 in Stockton, across California: See list Solve the daily Crossword
Axios
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Nashville remembers civil rights icon John Lewis with annual march
Civil rights icon John Lewis died five years ago this week, but his example continues to inspire the kind of "good trouble" he championed as an activist and congressman. Zoom in: Nashville played an outsize role in Lewis' life, and in the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Activists here are planning to commemorate Lewis' memory by retracing his steps. A march this Saturday will move from Jefferson Street into the heart of downtown, where Lewis participated in historic protests that changed Nashville and brought national attention to the racist policies of the Jim Crow South. The route follows Fifth Avenue North, which has been renamed Rep. John Lewis Way. Flashback: Lewis arrived in Nashville as a college student in the late 1950s. He studied at the American Baptist Theological Seminary (now American Baptist College) and Fisk University. Along the way, he began to train for nonviolent protests against segregation. Lewis became a leader of the student-driven movement to desegregate Nashville's downtown lunch counters. During a 1960 sit-in at a Fifth Avenue lunch counter, employees sprayed Lewis with water and used a fumigation machine to try to drive him from his seat. He stayed, covering his mouth with a handkerchief as fumes filled the room. At a later sit-in down the street, Lewis wrote a sermon at the counter as police closed in to arrest him. Zoom out: Working in Nashville prepared Lewis to lead marchers across the bridge in Selma, to speak at the March on Washington, to participate in the Freedom Rides and to walk the halls of Congress. "It's here in this city ... where I really grew up," Lewis said of Nashville during a visit in 2016. "I owe it all to this city, and the academic community, and to the religious community here." Between the lines: Nashville has taken intentional steps to embrace and elevate its long-overlooked role in the Civil Rights Movement, including by renaming part of Fifth Avenue to honor Lewis. The plaza outside of the Historic Metro Courthouse has been renamed after Diane Nash, who protested alongside Lewis.
