Judge weighs government's request to unseal records of FBI's surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is weighing a request from the Trump administration to unseal records of the FBI's surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr. — files that the civil rights leader's relatives want to keep under wraps in the national archives.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., said during a hearing on Wednesday that he wants to see an inventory of the records before deciding whether the government can review them for possible release to the public.
'This is delicate stuff,' Leon said. 'We're going to go slowly. Little steps.'
Justice Department attorneys have asked Leon to end a sealing order for the records nearly two years ahead of its expiration date. A department attorney said the administration is only interested in releasing files related to King's assassination.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King led, is opposed to unsealing any of the records for privacy reasons. The organization's lawyers said King's relatives also want to keep the files under seal.
In 1977, a court order directed the FBI to collect records about its surveillance and monitoring of King and turn them over to the National Archives and Records Administration. The order required the records to remain under seal for 50 years — until Jan. 31, 2027.
In January, President Donald Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to review and publicly release documents about King's assassination 'because the American people have an interest in full transparency about this key historic event,' government lawyers wrote.
'To maximize this transparency objective, the records sealed in this case should be part of the Attorney General's review,' they added.
SCLC attorneys said the FBI tried to discredit King and their organization by illegally wiretapping King's home, SCLC offices and hotel rooms where King met with other SCLC officials. Unsealing records of those recordings is contrary to the interests of SCLC, the King family and the public, the lawyers argued.
'Since its inception, this case has been about government overreach,' said SCLC attorney Sumayya Saleh.
Justice Department attorney Johnny Walker said the administration has no intention of releasing any personal communications or privileged records contained in the files.
'Thankfully, I am not here to defend the allegations in the underlying complaint,' Walker told the judge.
Nobody involved in the litigation knows what's in the archives and whether any of it relates to King's assassination.
'It could be easy. There could be nothing, and then we just all go away,' Walker said.
'It's not going to happen overnight,' the judge said. 'The court is going to move very carefully.'
King was shot and killed on April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
In 1976, the SCLC and Bernard Lee, who was King's executive assistant at the organization, filed a lawsuit to challenge the legality of the FBI's surveillance. The 1977 court order required the FBI to compile records of its telephone wiretapping operations, between 1963 and 1968, at King's home and at the SCLC offices in Atlanta and New York.
Bernice King, the civil rights leader's youngest daughter, said in a court filing that she hopes the files are permanently sealed or destroyed.
'It is unquestionable that my father was a private citizen, not an elected official, who enjoyed the right to privacy that should be afforded to all private citizens of this country,' she said. 'To not only be unjustifiably surveilled, but to have the purported surveillance files made public would be a travesty of justice.'
Trump's Jan. 23 executive order also called for declassifying records about the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Clerk who denied same-sex marriage licenses in 2015 is still fighting Supreme Court's ruling
The Kentucky county clerk who became known around the world for her opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage is still arguing in court that it should be overturned. Kim Davis became a cultural lightning rod 10 years ago, bringing national media and conservative religious leaders to eastern Kentucky as she continued for weeks to deny the licenses. She later met Pope Francis in Rome and was parodied on 'Saturday Night Live.' Kim Davis denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples Davis began denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. Videos of a same-sex couple arguing with Davis in the clerk's office over their denial of a license drew national attention to her office. She defied court orders to issue the licenses until a federal judge jailed her for contempt of court in September 2015. Davis was released after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. The Kentucky Legislature later enacted a law removing the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses. Davis cited her Christian faith Davis said her faith forbade her from what she saw as an endorsement of same-sex marriage. Faith leaders and conservative political leaders including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and then-Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin rallied to her cause. After her release from jail, Davis addressed the media, saying that issuing same-sex marriage licenses 'would be conflicting with God's definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. This would be an act of disobedience to my God.' Davis declined a request for an interview from The Associated Press for this story. A man who was denied a license ran for her office In 2018, one of the men who had confronted Davis over her defiance ran for her office. David Ermold said he believed people in Rowan County were sick of Davis and wanted to move on. When he went to file his papers for the Democratic primary, Davis, a Republican, was there in her capacity as clerk to sign him up. Sitting across a desk from each other, the cordial meeting contrasted the first time they met three years earlier. Both candidates lost; Ermold in the primary and Davis in the general election. She has not returned to politics. 10 years later, Davis wants the Supreme Court to reconsider same-sex marriage Davis' lawyers are attempting again to get her case before the Supreme Court, after the high court declined to hear an appeal from her in 2020. A federal judge has ordered Davis to pay a total of $360,000 in damages and attorney fees to Ermold and his partner. Davis lost a bid in March to have her appeal of that ruling heard by a federal appeals court, but she will appeal again to the Supreme Court. Her attorney, Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel, said the goal is affirm Davis' constitutional rights and 'overturn Obergefell.'
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Prayers Pouring In After 'Horrifying' Crash Kills 6 Sunday
Prayers Pouring In After 'Horrifying' Crash Kills 6 Sunday originally appeared on The Spun. Prayers are pouring in after a "horrifying" crash in Florida killed six people on Sunday. Six people in an SUV were killed during a fiery crash with a semitruck in Florida on Sunday afternoon. The SUV was reportedly traveling on the highway when it lost control and collided with a semitruck. Tragically, all six people on board the SUV were killed. The fiery crash took place on State Road 60 in Osceola County, Florida. From the report: Troopers say the accident occurred at 3:46 Saturday afternoon west of S Kenansville Road. Investigators say the driver of an SUV was trying to pass multiple vehicles when they lost control of the car and hit a semitruck. Both vehicles caught fire. Troopers say all six passengers in the SUV died at the scene. Prayers are pouring in for the friends and family members of the victims on Sunday. An investigation into the accident is underway. Our thoughts are with the friends and family members of the victims. Prayers Pouring In After 'Horrifying' Crash Kills 6 Sunday first appeared on The Spun on Jun 22, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jun 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
CBS News
15 minutes ago
- CBS News
What's next for Vance Boelter, suspect in Minnesota lawmaker shootings, as he heads to court
A look at what is next for Vance Boelter, suspect in Minnesota lawmaker shootings A look at what is next for Vance Boelter, suspect in Minnesota lawmaker shootings A look at what is next for Vance Boelter, suspect in Minnesota lawmaker shootings As grieving continues for Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the long recovery continues for Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, law enforcement and prosecutors are moving forward with prosecuting suspect Vance Boelter. It's a case filled with sensational and cruel details, also with heroism by police and the victims who tried to fight back. There is evidence a plenty: abandoned weapons registered in Boelter's name, shocking surveillance images of the masked suspect at the victims' door, a journal with a hit list and even a handwritten note addressed to the FBI signed with Boelter's signature, admitting to the crimes. Court documents say there is also video of the attack on John and Yvette Hoffman, who, along with their daughter, Hope, tried to fight off the attacker. Federal and state prosecutors have filed very similar charges in federal and state courts. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says she wants the state case to go first, but so far, the hearings have been in or scheduled for federal court. "Normally, these things are worked out and discussed ahead of time. However, now that he is in federal custody, he is not going back to state. I highly doubt they would allow him to make a court appearance," defense attorney Joe Tamburino, who is not affiliated with the case, said. Federal prosecutors say it's possible Boelter, who has not entered a plea yet, could face the death penalty. That decision will be made in Washington by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Already this year, she has decided in another sensational murder case with Minnesota ties that Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, will face a possible death sentence. Bondi decides whether or not to seek the death penalty in all federal prosecutions that would qualify for it, and murder qualifies for it. In the only court appearance so far, Boelter was given a taxpayer-paid public defender, the judge saying an evaluation of Boelter's finances will be needed. But Magistrate Judge John Docherty said the charges against Boelter are so serious that he probably will permanently end up with a public defender. Boelter comes to court with more assets than most. He owns a spacious home in Green Isle, Minnesota, an hour southwest of Minneapolis. According to Zillow, the home is worth $520,000 and has 3,800 square feet and 11 acres. It was purchased in 2023 for $520,000. In court, Boelter said it is paid for. Boelter also reported he owns seven cars and has $20,000 to $30,000 in cash, and has at least 50 guns. They are considerable assets, considering he had what he descibed as a par- time job making $540 a week. "I don't know of any practitioner in Minnesota that could actually handle that because we haven't had a death penalty since 1906," Tamburino said. "There are a number of federal public defenders in the country who are qualified to do this, so im sure that was part of the factor." Boelter's next federal court appearance is in St Paul this Friday. You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Adam Del Rosso every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
