Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. King was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. James Earl Ray pleaded guilty but recanted almost immediately, and in 1999 a civil trial jury found that King's assassination was the result of a conspiracy involving the U.S. government. The FBI's documented hatred of King -- including a letter encouraging him to commit suicide -- makes this one of the most credible assassination conspiracies in American history.
FBI Involvement in the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
The theory that the FBI was involved in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., including COINTELPRO targeting, the 1999 civil trial verdict, and unresolved questions.
COINTELPRO — FBI Targeting of Civil Rights Leaders
Confirmed FBI counterintelligence program that surveilled, infiltrated, and disrupted civil rights, socialist, and anti-war organizations — including harassment
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination Conspiracy
The conspiracy theory that James Earl Ray did not act alone in assassinating Martin Luther King Jr., supported by the 1999 civil trial in which a Memphis jury found that a conspiracy involving government agencies was responsible for King's death.
Loyd Jowers & Government MLK Conspiracy
Restaurant owner Loyd Jowers claimed he was part of a plot to kill Martin Luther King Jr. A 1999 civil jury agreed. The DOJ disagreed. The truth remains one of America's most contested questions.