Malcolm X's daughter to sue CIA, FBI, New York police over assassination
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[February 22, 2023]
By Jonathan Allen and Brendan O'Brien
(Reuters) - A daughter of Malcolm X, the civil rights activist
assassinated 58 years ago to the day on Tuesday, has filed notices that
she intends to sue the FBI, the CIA, New York City police and others for
his death.
Ilyasah Shabazz accused various federal and New York government agencies
of fraudulently concealing evidence that they "conspired to and executed
their plan to assassinate Malcolm X."
"For years, our family has fought for the truth to come to light
concerning his murder," Shabazz said at a news conference at the site of
her father's assassination, now a memorial to Malcolm X.
The New York Police Department said it would not comment on pending
litigation. The FBI and the CIA did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
Malcolm X rose to prominence as the national spokesman of the Nation of
Islam, an African-American Muslim group that espoused Black separatism.
He spent over a decade with the group before becoming disillusioned,
publicly breaking with it in 1964 and moderating some of his earlier
views on racial separation, angering some Nation of Islam members and
drawing death threats.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Feb/22/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
He was 39 years old when three men with guns shot him onstage as
prepared to speak at New York's Audubon Ballroom on Feb. 21, 1965.
Shabazz, who was then 2 years old, was present with her mother and
sisters. Soon after, some associates of Malcolm X said they believed
various government agencies were aware of the assassination plan and
allowed to it happen.
Talmadge Hayer, then a member of the Nation of Islam, confessed in court
to being one of the assassins.
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![](../images/022223PIX/news_a33.jpg)
Attorney Ben Crump speaks alongside
Qubilah and IIyasah Shabazz, two of the daughters of the late slain
civil rights leader Malcolm X, at a news conference announcing a
lawsuit against government agencies and the New York City Police
Department (NYPD) for the alleged assassination and concealment of
evidence surrounding Malcolm X’s murder, in New York City, New York,
U.S. February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/May/02/images/ads/current/guzzardo_lda022609.png)
In 2021, a New York state judge threw out the convictions of two
other men who wrongly spent decades in prison for the murder of
Malcolm X, saying there had been a miscarriage of justice. Hayer had
long said the two men were innocent and that his accomplices were
other Nation of Islam members.
The two men were exonerated at the request of the Manhattan district
attorney's office, which said an investigation had found that
prosecutors and law enforcement agencies withheld evidence that, had
it been turned over, would likely have led to the pair's acquittal.
In Shabazz's notices of claims, which New York law requires be
served on certain government agencies before a lawsuit can be filed,
Shabazz said she seeks $100 million in damages.
The notices were served with the agencies she intends to sue on
Tuesday based on new information that only recently came to light,
according to Ben Crump, her attorney, who said he intended to take
depositions of government officials.
"It's not just about the trigger men, it's about those who conspired
with the trigger men to do this dastardly deed," Crump said at the
news conference.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York and Brendan O'Brien in
Chicago; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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