Editing Malcolm X (section)

== Assassination ==
{{Main|Assassination of Malcolm X}}
[[File:Malcolm X bullet holes2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|The stage of the [[Audubon Ballroom]] after Malcolm X's assassination, with bullet holes circled]]

{{External media |float=right |width=23em |image1=[https://books.google.com/books?id=KkEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26 "The Violent End of the Man Called Malcolm"], ''[[Life (magazine)|LIFE]]'', March 5, 1965. Photos taken moments after the fatal shots were fired, including one of activist [[Yuri Kochiyama]] cradling the dying Malcolm&nbsp;X's head.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/05/19/google-commemorates-a-very-controversial-civil-rights-figure-yuri-kochiyama/ |title=Google Commemorates a Very Controversial Civil-Rights Figure, Yuri Kochiyama |first=Janell |last=Ross |date=May 19, 2016 |work=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=May 20, 2016 |archive-date=May 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528200549/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/05/19/google-commemorates-a-very-controversial-civil-rights-figure-yuri-kochiyama/ |url-status=live }}</ref> }}

On February{{nbsp}}19, 1965, Malcolm&nbsp;X told interviewer [[Gordon Parks]] that the Nation of Islam was actively trying to kill him. On February{{nbsp}}21, 1965, he was preparing to address the [[Organization of Afro-American Unity|OAAU]] in Manhattan's [[Audubon Ballroom]] when someone in the 400-person audience yelled,
<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THIS EXACT QUOTE. SEE [[WP:NOTCENSORED]] -->"Nigger! Get your hand outta my pocket!"<ref>{{harvnb|Karim|1992|p=191}}.</ref><ref name="Evanzz295">{{harvnb|Evanzz|1992|p=295}}.</ref><ref name="Times65-02-22a">{{harvnb|Kihss|1965|p=1}}.</ref>

As Malcolm&nbsp;X and his bodyguards tried to quell the disturbance,{{efn-ua|In his Epilogue to ''The Autobiography of Malcolm&nbsp;X'', Haley wrote that Malcolm&nbsp;X said, "Hold it! Hold it! Don't get excited. Let's cool it, brothers" (p. 499). According to a transcript of an audio recording, Malcolm's only words were, "Hold it!", repeated ten times (DeCaro, p.{{nbsp}}274).}} a man rushed forward and shot him once in the chest with a [[sawed-off shotgun]]<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=436–437}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=366}}.</ref> and two other men charged the stage firing semi-automatic handguns.<ref name="Evanzz295" /> Malcolm&nbsp;X was pronounced dead at 3:30{{nbsp}}pm, shortly after arriving at [[Columbia University Medical Center|Columbia Presbyterian Hospital]].<ref name="Times65-02-22a" /> The autopsy identified 21 gunshot wounds to the chest, left shoulder, arms and legs, including ten buckshot wounds from the initial shotgun blast.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=450}}.</ref>

One gunman, Nation of Islam member [[Thomas Hagan|Talmadge Hayer]] (also known as Thomas Hagan), was beaten by the crowd before police arrived.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|pp=366–367}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/22/archives/police-save-suspect-from-the-crowd.html |title=Police Save Suspect From the Crowd |access-date=June 19, 2018 |last=Talese |first=Gay |author-link=Gay Talese |date=February 22, 1965 |page=10 |newspaper=The New York Times |url-access=limited |archive-date=July 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727221333/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/22/archives/police-save-suspect-from-the-crowd.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Witnesses identified the other gunmen as Nation members [[Muhammad Abdul Aziz|Norman 3X Butler]] and Thomas 15X Johnson.<ref>{{harvnb|Kondo|1993|p=97}}.</ref> All three were convicted of murder in March 1966 and sentenced to life in prison.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/03/11/archives/malcolm-x-jury-finds-3-guilty-2-black-muslims-and-3d-man-convicted.html |title=Malcolm&nbsp;X Jury Finds 3 Guilty |access-date=June 19, 2018 |last=Buckley |first=Thomas |date=March 11, 1966 |page=1 |newspaper=The New York Times |url-access=limited |archive-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619215830/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/03/11/archives/malcolm-x-jury-finds-3-guilty-2-black-muslims-and-3d-man-convicted.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/04/15/archives/3-get-life-terms-in-malcolm-case-sentenced-for-1965-murder-of-black.html |title=3 Get Life Terms in Malcolm Case |access-date=June 19, 2018 |last=Roth |first=Jack |date=April 15, 1966 |page=36 |newspaper=The New York Times |url-access=limited |archive-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619215828/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/04/15/archives/3-get-life-terms-in-malcolm-case-sentenced-for-1965-murder-of-black.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

At trial, Hayer confessed, but refused to identify the other assailants except to assert that they were not Butler and Johnson.<ref>{{harvnb|Kondo|1993|p=110}}.</ref>
In 1977 and 1978, [[Hayer affidavits|he signed affidavits]] reasserting Butler's and Johnson's innocence, naming four other Nation members of Newark's Mosque No.&nbsp;25 as participants in the murder or its planning.<ref>{{cite news |last=Leland |first=John |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/nyregion/malcolm-x-assassination-case-reopened.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206101111/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/nyregion/malcolm-x-assassination-case-reopened.html |archive-date=February 6, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Who Really Killed Malcolm&nbsp;X? |date=February 6, 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 27, 2020 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/man-denies-authors-claim-_n_844637 |title=Muslim Man Denies Author's Claim That He Killed Malcolm&nbsp;X |date=April 4, 2011 |work=[[HuffPost]] |language=en |first=Amy Ellis |last=Nutt |author2=Barry Carter |access-date=February 27, 2020 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125183652/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/man-denies-authors-claim-_n_844637 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bush">{{cite book |last=Bush |first=Roderick |author-link=Roderick D. Bush |title=We Are Not What We Seem: Black Nationalism and Class Struggle in the American Century |year=1999 |publisher=New York University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8147-1317-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/wearenotwhatwese00bush/page/179 179] |url=https://archive.org/details/wearenotwhatwese00bush/page/179}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Friedly|1992|pp=112–129}}.</ref> These affidavits did not result in the case being reopened.

Butler, today known as Muhammad Abdul Aziz, was paroled in 1985 and became the head of the Nation's [[Mosque No. 7|Harlem mosque]] in 1998; he maintains his innocence.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/71838.stm |title=Malcolm&nbsp;X Killer Heads Mosque |access-date=October 2, 2014 |date=March 31, 1998 |work=BBC News |archive-date=April 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403233411/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/71838.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In prison Johnson, who changed his name to Khalil Islam, rejected the Nation's teachings and converted to Sunni Islam. Released in 1987, he maintained his innocence until his death in August 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nymag.com/news/features/38358/ |title=The Man Who Didn't Shoot Malcolm&nbsp;X |access-date=October 2, 2014 |last=Jacobson |first=Mark |date=October 1, 2007 |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |archive-date=February 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201070732/http://nymag.com/news/features/38358/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|p=474}}.</ref> Hayer, who also rejected the Nation's teachings while in prison and converted also to Sunni Islam,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2008/05/18/quiet-life-of-an-x-assassin/ |title=Quiet Life of an 'X'-Assassin |work=[[New York Post]] |date=May 18, 2008 |first=James |last=Fanelli |access-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-date=October 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024191910/https://nypost.com/2008/05/18/quiet-life-of-an-x-assassin/ |url-status=live }}</ref> is known today as [[Thomas Hagan|Mujahid Halim]].<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=489}}.</ref> He was paroled in 2010.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2011|pp=474–475}}.</ref>

In 2021, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam (formerly Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson) were exonerated from their murder convictions, following a review that found the FBI and the New York Police Department withheld key evidence during the trial.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Southall|first1=Ashley|last2=Bromwich|first2=Jonah E.|date=November 17, 2021|title=2 Men Convicted of Killing Malcolm&nbsp;X Will Be Exonerated Decades Later|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/17/nyregion/malcolm-x-killing-exonerated.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/17/nyregion/malcolm-x-killing-exonerated.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited|access-date=November 17, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On July 14, 2022, Aziz filed suit in the [[EDNY|US District Court]] in Brooklyn against the [[New York City|City of New York]], seeking $40&nbsp;million in damages related to his wrongful imprisonment.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Southall|first=Ashley|date=July 14, 2022|title=Man Exonerated in Malcolm&nbsp;X Murder Sues New York City After Talks Fail|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/nyregion/malcolm-x-murder-lawsuit-40-million.html|access-date=July 15, 2022|archive-date=July 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715002102/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/nyregion/malcolm-x-murder-lawsuit-40-million.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Les Payne]] and Tamara Payne, in their [[Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography|Pulitzer Prize-winning biography]] ''[[The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm&nbsp;X]]'', claim that the assassins were members of the Nation of Islam's Newark, New Jersey mosque: William 25X (also known as William Bradley), who fired the shotgun; Leon Davis; and Thomas Hayer.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Payne |first1=Les |author-link1=Les Payne |last2=Payne |first2=Tamara |title=[[The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm&nbsp;X]] |date=2020 |isbn=978-1-63149-166-5 |publisher=Liveright |location=New York |pages = 477–478}}</ref>

=== Funeral ===
The public viewing, February{{nbsp}}23{{ndash}}26 at Unity Funeral Home in Harlem, was attended by some 14,000 to 30,000 mourners.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=374}}. Alex Haley, in his Epilogue to ''The Autobiography of Malcolm&nbsp;X'', says 22,000 (p. 519).</ref>
For the funeral on February{{nbsp}}27, loudspeakers were set up for the overflow crowd outside Harlem's thousand-seat Faith Temple of the [[Church of God in Christ]],<ref name="Rickford252">{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=252}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|DeCaro|1996|p=291}}.</ref> and a local television station carried the service live.<ref name="Times65-02-28">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/28/archives/harlem-is-quiet-as-crowds-watch-malcolm-x-rites-murdered-leader-of.html |title=Harlem Is Quiet as Crowds Watch Malcolm&nbsp;X Rites |access-date=June 19, 2018 |last=Arnold |first=Martin |date=February 28, 1965 |page=1 |newspaper=The New York Times |url-access=limited |archive-date=January 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108005321/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/28/archives/harlem-is-quiet-as-crowds-watch-malcolm-x-rites-murdered-leader-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Among the civil rights leaders attending were [[John Lewis]], [[Bayard Rustin]], [[James Forman]], [[James Farmer]], [[Jesse Gray]], and [[Andrew Young]].<ref name="Rickford252" /><ref>{{harvnb|DeCaro|1996|p=290}}.</ref> Actor and activist [[Ossie Davis]] delivered the eulogy, describing Malcolm&nbsp;X as "our shining Black prince{{nbsp}}... who didn't hesitate to die because he loved us so":

<blockquote>There are those who will consider it their duty, as friends of the Negro people, to tell us to revile him, to flee, even from the presence of his memory, to save ourselves by writing him out of the history of our turbulent times. Many will ask what Harlem finds to honor in this stormy, controversial and bold young captain{{mdashb}}and we will smile. Many will say turn away{{mdashb}}away from this man, for he is not a man but a demon, a monster, a subverter and an enemy of the Black man{{mdashb}}and we will smile. They will say that he is of hate{{mdashb}}a fanatic, a racist{{mdashb}}who can only bring evil to the cause for which you struggle! And we will answer and say to them: Did you ever talk to Brother Malcolm? Did you ever touch him, or have him smile at you? Did you ever really listen to him? Did he ever do a mean thing? Was he ever himself associated with violence or any public disturbance? For if you did you would know him. And if you knew him you would know why we must honor him.... And, in honoring him, we honor the best in ourselves.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://malcolmx.com/eulogy/ |title=Malcolm&nbsp;X's Eulogy |access-date=August 9, 2016 |publisher=The Official Website of Malcolm&nbsp;X |last=Davis |first=Ossie |author-link=Ossie Davis |date=February 27, 1965 |archive-date=July 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731185605/http://malcolmx.com/eulogy/ |url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>

Malcolm&nbsp;X was buried at [[Ferncliff Cemetery]] in [[Hartsdale, New York]].<ref name="Times65-02-28" /> Friends took up the gravediggers' shovels to complete the burial on their own.<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=255}}.</ref>
[[File:GraveplaqueMalcolmX.jpg|thumb|Grave plaque for Malcolm X and his wife at Ferncliff Cemetery ]]
Actor and activist [[Ruby Dee]] and Juanita Poitier (wife of [[Sidney Poitier]]) established the Committee of Concerned Mothers to raise money for a home for his family and for his children's educations.<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|pp=261–262}}.</ref>

=== Reactions ===
Reactions to Malcolm&nbsp;X's assassination were varied. In a telegram to [[Betty Shabazz]], [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] expressed his sadness at "the shocking and tragic assassination of your husband."<ref name="stan">{{cite web |title=Telegram from Martin Luther King Jr. to Betty al-Shabazz |url=http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/documentsentry/telegram_from_martin_luther_king_jr_to_betty_al_shabazz/ |last=King |first=Martin Luther Jr. |author-link=Martin Luther King Jr. |date=February 26, 1965 |publisher=The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201130347/http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/documentsentry/telegram_from_martin_luther_king_jr_to_betty_al_shabazz/ |archive-date=February 1, 2016 |access-date=May 28, 2018}}</ref> He said:<ref name="stan" />

<blockquote>While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had a great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem. He was an eloquent spokesman for his point of view and no one can honestly doubt that Malcolm had a great concern for the problems that we face as a race.</blockquote>

[[Elijah Muhammad]] told the annual [[Saviours' Day|Savior's Day]] convention on February{{nbsp}}26 that "Malcolm&nbsp;X got just what he preached," but denied any involvement with the murder.<ref>{{harvnb|Evanzz|1992|p=301}}.</ref> "We didn't want to kill Malcolm and didn't try to kill him," Muhammad said, adding "We know such ignorant, foolish teachings would bring him to his own end."<ref>{{harvnb|Clegg III|1997|p=232}}.</ref>

Writer [[James Baldwin]], who had been a friend of Malcolm&nbsp;X's, was in London when he heard the news of the assassination. He responded with indignation towards the reporters interviewing him, shouting, "You did it! It is because of you—the men that created this White supremacy—that this man is dead. You are not guilty, but you did it.... Your mills, your cities, your rape of a continent started all this."<ref>{{harvnb|DeCaro|1996|p=285}}.</ref>

The ''[[New York Post]]'' wrote that "even his sharpest critics recognized his brilliance{{mdashb}}often wild, unpredictable and eccentric, but nevertheless possessing promise that must now remain unrealized."<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=247}}.</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that Malcolm&nbsp;X was "an extraordinary and twisted man" who "turn[ed] many true gifts to evil purpose" and that his life was "strangely and pitifully wasted."<ref name="Times65-02-22">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/22/archives/malcolm-x.html |title=Malcolm&nbsp;X |access-date=June 19, 2018 |date=February 22, 1965 |page=20 |newspaper=The New York Times |url-access=limited |archive-date=June 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622174557/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/22/archives/malcolm-x.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' called him "an unashamed [[demagogue]]" whose "[[creed]] was violence."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839291,00.html |title=Death and Transfiguration |date=March 5, 1965 |magazine=Time |access-date=October 2, 2014 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=January 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108005320/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839291,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Outside the US, particularly in Africa, the press was sympathetic.<ref name="Rickford248">{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=248}}.</ref> The ''[[Daily Times of Nigeria]]'' wrote that Malcolm&nbsp;X would "have a place in the palace of martyrs."<ref name="Evanzz305">{{harvnb|Evanzz|1992|p=305}}.</ref> The ''[[Ghanaian Times]]'' likened him to [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]], [[Medgar Evers]], and [[Patrice Lumumba]], and counted him among "a host of Africans and Americans who were martyred in freedom's cause."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/26/archives/malcolm-called-a-martyr-abroad-rowan-asserts-murder-was.html |title=Malcolm Called a Martyr Abroad |access-date=June 19, 2018 |last=Kenworthy |first=E. W. |date=February 26, 1965 |page=15 |newspaper=The New York Times |url-access=limited |archive-date=January 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108005717/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/26/archives/malcolm-called-a-martyr-abroad-rowan-asserts-murder-was.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="AmNews">{{cite web |url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2024/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News%201965/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News%201965%2000214_1.pdf |title=How World Saw Malcolm&nbsp;X's Death |date=March 13, 1965 |work=[[New York Amsterdam News]] |access-date=January 15, 2018 |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807201635/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2024/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News%201965/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News%201965%2000214_1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In China the ''[[People's Daily]]'' described Malcolm&nbsp;X as a martyr killed by "ruling circles and racists" in the United States; his assassination, the paper wrote, demonstrated that "in dealing with imperialist oppressors, violence must be met with violence."<ref name="AmNews" /> The ''[[Guangming Daily]]'', also published in Beijing, stated that "Malcolm was murdered because he fought for freedom and equal rights."<ref>{{harvnb|Evanzz|1992|p=306}}.</ref> In Cuba, ''El Mundo'' described the assassination as "another racist crime to eradicate by violence the struggle against discrimination."<ref name="Rickford248" />

In a weekly column he wrote for the ''[[New York Amsterdam News]]'', King reflected on Malcolm&nbsp;X and his assassination:<ref>{{cite web |title=The Nightmare of Violence |url=http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2024/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News%201965/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News%201965%2000216_1.pdf |last=King |first=Martin Luther Jr. |date=March 13, 1965 |work=New York Amsterdam News |access-date=January 15, 2018 |archive-date=November 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107175716/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2024/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News%201965/New%20York%20NY%20Amsterdam%20News%201965%2000216_1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

<blockquote> Malcolm&nbsp;X came to the fore as a public figure partially as a result of a TV documentary entitled, ''The Hate that Hate Produced''. That title points to the nature of Malcolm's life and death.

Malcolm&nbsp;X was clearly a product of the hate and violence invested in the Negro's blighted existence in this nation....

In his youth there was no hope, no preaching, teaching or movements of non-violence....

It is a testimony to Malcolm's personal depth and integrity that he could not become an underworld Czar, but turned again and again to religion for meaning and destiny. Malcolm was still turning and growing at the time of his brutal and meaningless assassination.…

Like the murder of Lumumba, the murder of Malcolm&nbsp;X deprives the world of a potentially great leader. I could not agree with either of these men, but I could see in them a capacity for leadership which I could respect, and which was just beginning to mature in judgment and statesmanship.</blockquote>

=== Allegations of conspiracy ===
[[File:Louis Farrakhan, smiling.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Louis Farrakhan]] in 2005|alt=Louis Farrakhan in 2005]]

Within days the question of who bore responsibility for the assassination was being publicly debated. On February{{nbsp}}23, James Farmer, leader of the [[Congress of Racial Equality]], announced at a news conference that local drug dealers, and not the Nation of Islam, were to blame.<ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=371}}.</ref> Others accused the [[New York City Police Department|NYPD]], the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], or the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], citing the lack of police protection, the ease with which the assassins entered the Audubon Ballroom, and the failure of the police to preserve the crime scene.<ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2009|pp=305–306}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Perry|1991|p=372}}.</ref> Earl Grant, one of Malcolm&nbsp;X's associates who was present at the assassination, later wrote:<ref>Grant, Earl, "The Last Days of Malcolm&nbsp;X", {{harvnb|Clarke|1990|p=96}}.</ref>

<blockquote><poem>[A]bout five minutes later, a most incredible scene took place. Into the hall sauntered about a dozen policemen. They were strolling at about the pace one would expect of them if they were patrolling a quiet park. They did not seem to be at all excited or concerned about the circumstances.

I could hardly believe my eyes. Here were New York City policemen, entering a room from which at least a dozen shots had been heard, and yet not one of them had his gun out! As a matter of absolute fact, some of them even had their hands in their pockets.</poem></blockquote>

In the 1970s, the public learned about [[COINTELPRO]] and other secret FBI programs established to infiltrate and disrupt civil rights organizations during the 1950s and 1960s.<ref>{{harvnb|Kondo|1993|pp=7–39}}.</ref> Louis Lomax wrote that John Ali, national secretary of the Nation of Islam, was a former FBI agent.<ref name="Lomax198" /> Malcolm&nbsp;X had confided to a reporter that Ali exacerbated tensions between him and Elijah Muhammad and that he considered Ali his "archenemy" within the Nation of Islam leadership.<ref name="Lomax198" /> Ali had a meeting with Talmadge Hayer, one of the men convicted of killing Malcolm&nbsp;X, the night before the assassination.<ref>{{harvnb|Evanzz|1992|p=294}}.</ref>

The Shabazz family are among those who have accused Louis Farrakhan of involvement in Malcolm&nbsp;X's assassination.<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|pp=437, 492–495}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Evanzz|1992|pp=298–299}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Friedly|1992|p=253}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Kondo|1993|pp=182–183, 193–194}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Marable|2009|p=305}}.</ref> In a 1993 speech Farrakhan seemed to acknowledge the possibility that the Nation of Islam was responsible:<ref>{{harvnb|Rickford|2003|p=492}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Brother Minister: The Martyrdom of Malcolm&nbsp;X |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/brotherministerthemartyrdomofmalcolmx_c0098f.htm |last=Wartofsky |first=Alona |date=February 17, 1995 |work=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=October 2, 2014 |archive-date=April 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413142429/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/brotherministerthemartyrdomofmalcolmx_c0098f.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

<blockquote>Was Malcolm your traitor or ours? And if we dealt with him like a nation deals with a traitor, what the ''hell'' business is it of yours? A nation has to be able to deal with traitors and cutthroats and turncoats.</blockquote>

In a ''[[60 Minutes]]'' interview that aired during May 2000, Farrakhan stated that some things he said may have led to the assassination of Malcolm&nbsp;X. "I may have been complicit in words that I spoke," he said, adding "I acknowledge that and regret that any word that I have said caused the loss of life of a human being."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/farrakhan-admission-on-malcolm-x/ |title=Farrakhan Admission on Malcolm&nbsp;X |access-date=October 2, 2014 |date=May 14, 2000 |work=[[60 Minutes]] |publisher=[[CBS News]] |archive-date=July 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717165807/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/farrakhan-admission-on-malcolm-x/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A few days later Farrakhan denied that he "ordered the assassination" of Malcolm&nbsp;X, although he again acknowledged that he "created the atmosphere that ultimately led to Malcolm&nbsp;X's assassination."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Perspectives_1/article_9611.shtml |title=Farrakhan Responds to Media Attacks |access-date=October 2, 2014 |date=May 15, 2000 |work=[[The Final Call (newspaper)|The Final Call]] |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924013025/http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Perspectives_1/article_9611.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

No consensus has been reached on who was responsible for the assassination.<ref>{{harvnb|Natambu|2002|pp=315–316}}.</ref> In August 2014, an online petition was started using the [[We the People (petitioning system)|White House online petition mechanism]] to call on the government to release, without alteration, any files they still held relating to the murder of Malcolm&nbsp;X.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2015/01/09/release-government-files-malcolm-assassination/q5NgGT963h83acy481vv5K/story.html |title=Release Government Files on Malcolm&nbsp;X Assassination |work=The Boston Globe |date=January 10, 2015 |access-date=November 11, 2017 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=July 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220722064041/https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2015/01/09/release-government-files-malcolm-assassination/q5NgGT963h83acy481vv5K/story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2019, members of the families of Malcolm&nbsp;X, [[John F. Kennedy]], Martin Luther King Jr., and [[Robert F. Kennedy]] were among dozens of Americans who signed a public statement calling for a [[Truth commission|truth and reconciliation commission]] to persuade Congress or the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] to review the assassinations of all four leaders during the 1960s.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/01/25/kennedy-king-malcolm-x-relatives-scholars-seek-new-assassination-probes/ |title=Kennedy, King, Malcolm&nbsp;X relatives and scholars seek new assassination probes |first=Tom |last=Jackman |date=January 25, 2019 |work=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=January 26, 2019 |archive-date=April 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413153504/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/01/25/kennedy-king-malcolm-x-relatives-scholars-seek-new-assassination-probes/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKstatement.htm |title=Kennedy and King Family Members and Advisors Call for Congress to Reopen Assassination Probes |first=John |last=Simkin |date=January 2019 |publisher=[[Spartacus Educational]] |access-date=January 26, 2019 |archive-date=July 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220722064041/https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKstatement.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

A February 21, 2021, press conference attended by three of Malcolm&nbsp;X's daughters and members of deceased NYPD undercover officer Raymond Wood's family released his authorized posthumous letter that stated in part: "I was told to encourage leaders and members of the civil rights groups to commit felonious acts." ''[[The Guardian]]'' reports that "The arrests kept the two men from managing door security at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights on the day of the shooting, according to the letter."<ref>{{cite web |date=February 21, 2021 |title=Malcolm&nbsp;X family says letter shows NYPD and FBI conspired in his murder |url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/21/malcolm-x-death-family-letter-nypd-fbi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221184804/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/21/malcolm-x-death-family-letter-nypd-fbi |archive-date=February 21, 2021 |access-date=February 21, 2021 |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Oliver |last=Laughland |language=en |quote=The arrests kept the two men from managing door security at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights on the day of the shooting, according to the letter.}}</ref> On February 26, 2021, the daughter of Raymond Wood, Kelly Wood, stated that the letter presented at the February 21 press conference is fake. Kelly Wood stated that the letter was created by her cousin Reggie Wood for attention and book sales.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 21, 2021 |title=Daughter of Former NYPD Officer Says Malcolm&nbsp;X Assassination Letter is Fake |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/02/26/daughter-of-former-nypd-officer-says-malcolm-x-letter-is-fake |first=Dean |last=Meminger |access-date=February 26, 2021 |website=[[NY1]] |language=en |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227075513/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/02/26/daughter-of-former-nypd-officer-says-malcolm-x-letter-is-fake |url-status=live }}</ref>

In early 2023, members of Malcolm&nbsp;X's family said they would file a $100&nbsp;million wrongful death lawsuit against the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]], the [[New York City Police Department|NYPD]] and others for allegedly concealing evidence related to the assassination and for alleged involvement to it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Malcolm&nbsp;X's family plans $100M wrongful death lawsuit against CIA, FBI – National {{!}} Globalnews.ca |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9503943/malcolm-x-lawsuit-100-million-fbi-cia/ |access-date=February 23, 2023 |website=globalnews.ca |language=en-US |archive-date=February 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223001310/https://globalnews.ca/news/9503943/malcolm-x-lawsuit-100-million-fbi-cia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The attorney representing the family is [[Benjamin Crump]].<ref>{{cite news
| last         = Tracy
| first         = Thomas
| date         = July 25, 2023
| title         = Witness to Malcolm X assassination comes forward with account questioning NYPD response
| url         = https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-bombshell-testimony-in-malcolm-x-assassination-20230725-kzmzpeftp5dfpkpvdzftveieiy-story.html
| work         = New York Daily News
| access-date         = August 5, 2023
| archive-date         = August 5, 2023
| archive-url         = https://web.archive.org/web/20230805031207/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-bombshell-testimony-in-malcolm-x-assassination-20230725-kzmzpeftp5dfpkpvdzftveieiy-story.html
| url-status         = live
}}</ref> In November 2024, three daughters of Malcolm X filed the lawsuit in Manhattan Federal Court.<ref>{{Cite web |last=NEUMEISTER |first=LARRY |date=November 15, 2024 |title=The daughters of Malcolm X sue the CIA, FBI and NYPD over the civil rights leader's assassination |url=https://apnews.com/article/malcolmx-daughters-death-lawsuit-682c71e26cbeaf293d0ea783999c0c5e |access-date=November 17, 2024 |website=[[AP News]] |language=en |archive-date=December 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226072250/https://apnews.com/article/malcolmx-daughters-death-lawsuit-682c71e26cbeaf293d0ea783999c0c5e |url-status=live }}</ref>