A police informant saw a “dry run” of Malcolm X’s 1965 assassination a week prior and a new witness at the scene says he was never interviewed by authorities, attorneys and Malcolm X’s family announced Tuesday.
Why it matters Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and co-counsel Ray Hamlin alleged at a press conference more information they say points to efforts by the FBI to cover up a conspiracy to murder Malcolm X…… read the full article at Axios, source…
- The killing of Malcolm X in New York City’s Audubon Ballroom was one of the most high-profile assassinations of the Civil Rights era.
Driving the news: Crump said they were unveiling the information, including a new witness speaking for the first time, to prove negligence to get around the statute of limitations for possible legal action later.
- He said the FBI and New York Police Department failed to interview crucial witnesses and instead pinned the assassination on innocent people.
Details: Mustafa Hassan, 84, an associate of Malcolm X, said he was there at the assassination and was never interviewed by authorities.
- Hassan read from his affidavit that he heard police ask if a suspected gunman was “with us” after police saw Malcolm X’s supporters beating him. He also saw another gunman.
- He said even today, law enforcement has never attempted to interview him about what he saw.
Crump said Eugene Roberts, an NYPD informant who acted as a Malcolm X associate, saw a dress rehearsal at the Audubon Ballroom for Malcolm’s pending assassination a week before.
- Roberts told CBS’ Dan Rather years later he even heard someone say “(expletive), get your hands out of my pockets,” at the dry run — famous words remembered at the assassination.
- Roberts said he passed the information about the dry run to the FBI but doesn’t know what they did with the information. It was unclear who was organizing the dry run.
The FBI declined to comment. NYPD did not immediately return an email from Axios.
What they’re saying: “We simply want the truth to be known,” Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X’s daughter, told reporters.
