Editing Malcolm X (section)

=== 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>