New MLK Assassination Files Reveal FBI Tracked Confessions, CIA Monitored Critics

A newly declassified trove of over 230,000 pages related to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reveals that the FBI tracked claims by James Earl Ray’s former cellmate that the convicted assassin discussed an alleged plot to kill King prior to the 1968 shooting. 

Image Source: Sean Gardner

The documents also show that the CIA actively monitored prominent critics of the Warren Commission and King’s assassination narrative, including attorney Bernard Fensterwald and District Attorney Jim Garrison.

Among the most explosive contents: FBI memoranda referencing statements by Ray’s fellow inmates who allege he discussed plans to flee and referenced targeting a national figure. One file includes the CIA’s internal response to a 1978 House Select Committee request confirming surveillance files on Ray, though the agency denied any link to the 1966 timeline prior to the assassination.

Separate documents profile Fensterwald—who later represented Ray—and reveal CIA interest in his Committee to Investigate Assassinations. The agency tracked his meetings, publications, and even suspected him of attributing a controversial book, Farewell America, to the CIA. The book suggested a deep-state conspiracy behind the JFK assassination and implicated similar forces in King’s killing.

The files also confirm that U.S. intelligence agencies were on high alert in the months surrounding King’s assassination. Situation reports show federal attention to anti-war protests, racial unrest, and civil rights groups. One 1968 FBI file documents plots by alleged extremists to disrupt U.S. and Soviet embassies in Europe during protests that occurred just weeks after King’s death.

Civil rights leaders and historians say the files could change the public’s understanding of how intelligence agencies surveilled and reacted to King’s activism—and later, his murder.

“The public has a right to know the full scope of government activity surrounding these assassinations,” said Roland Martin, political analyst and author. “This is not just about Ray—it’s about power, surveillance, and suppression.”

The documents were released under Executive Order 14176, a directive signed under the Trump administration. It initiated a multi-agency declassification process covering federal files on the assassinations of Dr. King, President John F. Kennedy, and Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

The declassification follows decades of advocacy by historians, journalists, and family members of the slain leaders. The order required agencies to identify, digitize, and release materials long withheld from public view—many of which detail surveillance activities, FBI leads, and intelligence on possible accomplices or alternative theories in the King case.

While James Earl Ray pleaded guilty in 1969, he later recanted and sought a trial until his death in 1998. King's family repeatedly raised concerns about the official narrative and endorsed new investigations.

As experts continue to comb through the records, civil liberties groups are calling for full transparency and independent review.