MLK’s family fear new batch of assassination files will have FBI ‘smears’

<p>Family of Martin Luther King Jr says Trump mandate could revive J Edgar Hoover’s efforts to discredit revered activist</p><p>The family of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/martin-luther-king">Martin Luther King Jr</a> has expressed concern over Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/23/trump-jfk-assassination-classified-files">executive order</a> to release records surrounding the civil rights leader’s assassination, saying the president’s mandate could revive efforts to discredit the revered activist with the public.</p><p>Speaking to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/02/15/martin-luther-king-jr-records-fbi-trump">Axios</a>, a friend of the King family said: “We know J Edgar Hoover tried to destroy Dr King’s legacy, and the family doesn’t want that effort to prevail,” referring to the late former FBI director and his agency’s years-long <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/dec/31/it-took-its-toll-the-terrible-legacy-of-martin-luther-kings-fight-with-the-fbi">surveillance</a> of King as well his associates.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/16/mlk-jr-trump-assassination-records-release">Continue reading...</a>