Trump declassifies 230,000 pages on the assassination of Luther King Jr.

BarcelonaThe United States has announced the declassification of more than 230,000 pages of documents related to the April 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. The decision, approved via executive order by President Donald Trump, comes amid pressure on the president to release the documents. documents related to the Epstein case and has been rejected by King's family.

The announcement was made tonight, unexpectedly and in a statement, by the US Attorney General, Pam Bondi. "The American people deserve answers decades after the horrific assassination of one of our nation's great leaders," she said. Bondi received Alveda King, an activist and niece of the assassinated leader, at the headquarters of the Department of Justice in Washington. Bondi expressed her gratitude for the "historic step towards the truth" that she believes the government has taken. "I am grateful to President Trump and Attorney General Bondi for keeping their promise of transparency by releasing these documents," she said.

On the other hand, the King Center, founded by Martin Luther King Jr.'s wife, has criticized the declassification for the "poor timing" in which it is taking place: it believes that it could divert attention from the injustices that still persist in the US and around the world. "This is unfortunate [...] given the multitude of urgent problems and injustices affecting the United States and global society," the Center said in a statement. "We cannot afford to lose focus on how each of us can contribute to changing the course of our World Home. If we are not careful, that is what publication could do."

The King Center points out that the fundamental issue is not who killed the leader of the desegregation movement, but the structural causes behind the crime and, in particular, the surveillance to which he was subjected by the US government. According to The New York TimesIn fact, several historians have already advanced that the declassified documents contain little new information or revelations about the case and do not include, for example, recordings of FBI wiretaps on King.

Trump administration officials detailed that the declassified documents include notes on the leads followed by investigators, interviews with people who knew the civil leader's assassin, James Earl Ray, and previously unpublished details about interactions with foreign intelligence services during the investigation. Many of the pages have become almost illegible over time and the digitization process, according to the newspaper.

Born in Atlanta (Georgia) in 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. stood out for his peaceful fight against racism and inequalities in the United States. Author of the famous speech of And have a dream (I Have a Dream) was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis while supporting a workers' strike. His death caused widespread shock and reinforced his status as a symbol of the fight for justice and equality around the world.