Malcolm X’s family announces $100 million lawsuit alleging NYPD and other agencies covered up evidence of his murder.

Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump and family members of Malcolm X – the legendary activist who was murdered in February 1965 at the age of 39 – announced on Tuesday their plans to file a lawsuit against the New York City Police Department and various government agencies. claiming they deliberately withheld evidence related to the murder after it happened.

Crump appeared at a press conference in Manhattan along with Malcolm X’s two daughters, Kubila Shabazz and Ilyasa Shabazz, to provide what he called “legal notice” of a legal complaint to the City of New York, NY, NYPD. . the district attorney’s office and various federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and CIA.

The lawyer said Malcolm X’s family intends to file a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that the individuals named “have factual evidence and exculpatory evidence that they fraudulently withheld from the people who were wrongfully convicted of the murder of Malcolm X.”

In 2021, a state Supreme Court judge officially exonerated two of the three men who were previously convicted and jailed in connection with the murder of Malcolm X. This followed a two-year investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office that resulted in wrongful convictions of Muhammad A. Aziz, then aged 83, and the late Khalil Islam. A third person, Mujahid Abdul Halim, confessed to the shooting but said that neither Aziz nor Islam was involved.

“I regret that this court cannot correct a serious miscarriage of justice,” Judge Ellen Beeben said at a court hearing in November 2021. “There can be no doubt that this case requires fundamental justice.”

On Tuesday, Crump said: “The rhetorical question is this: if the government paid tens of millions of dollars in compensation to two gentlemen wrongfully convicted of the murder of Malcolm X, then how much compensation should be paid to the daughters who suffered the most from the murder of Malcolm X?” referring to an agreement reached by the City and State of New York with Aziz and the Islam family last year.

“We intend to have a vigorous trial in this case to be able to get testimony from people who are still alive, 58 years later, to make sure that some measure of justice can be given to Malcolm X’s daughters,” Crump continued, later adding, ” The truth about what happened and who was involved has always been crucial.”

The lawsuit was announced at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. The building, which opened as a memorial to Malcolm X and Shabazz, his late wife, previously housed the Audubon Ballroom where Malcolm X was mortally wounded on February 21, 1965.

Tuesday marks the 58th anniversary of his death.

“The connection between his death and federal and New York government agencies, including the NYPD, the FBI and the CIA, has long been disputed,” Crump said ahead of a press conference on Tuesday. “Government agencies had factual and exculpatory evidence that they fraudulently withheld from Malcolm X’s family and people wrongly convicted of crimes related to the Malcolm X murder.”

Malcolm X, a minister and human rights activist who became a prominent leader of the American civil rights movement, was shot 21 times as he prepared to give a speech on stage during an event at the Audubon Ballroom. He was scheduled to speak to hundreds of spectators, including his wife and daughters, at a meeting of the African American Unity Organization, which he founded a year earlier.

Two years ago, Malcolm X’s three daughters spoke to Crump at a press conference where they accused the NYPD and the FBI of plotting to kill their father, citing a suicide letter written by former cop Raymond Wood on January 25, 2011. In the letter, Wood, on duty on the day of Malcolm X’s death, wrote that he “engaged in activities which, in retrospect, were deplorable and detrimental to the advancement of my own black people.”

Deathbed letter from former officer claims NYPD and FBI links to Malcolm X murder 07:49

“Under the guidance of my handlers, I was told to encourage leaders and members of civil rights groups to commit criminal acts,” Wood said in a letter.

On Tuesday, Crump repeated the family’s allegations that law enforcement and powerful government leaders conspired to kill Malcolm X, in particular referring to former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover several times in his speeches.

Last July, lawyers representing Aziz filed a lawsuit against the city of New York seeking $40 million for the two decades he spent in prison on charges of the infamous murder. At that time, an additional complaint was filed on behalf of Islam.

In October, the city agreed to pay $26 million to settle both lawsuits, and New York State agreed to pay an additional $10 million.

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