ATLANTA — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s family is calling for empathy and respect following the release of thousands of FBI records.
The King family vehemently opposed the disclosure, but the Trump administration released the files to reportedly show transparency.
“There was no need to give us graphic details that dig down into that open wound,” Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs told Channel 2’s Audrey Washington.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Those who said they are opposed to the disclosure said they believe the Trump administration released the documents as a distraction.
“I think they were released to take the public’s interest away from the Epstein file,” Griggs said.
In a post, Dr. Bernice King tweeted a picture of her father with the caption: “Now, do the Epstein files.”
Despite ongoing pressure, Trump has not ordered the unsealing of the entire Epstein case file.
Trump signed an executive order to declassify the MLK files. The 240,000-page document detailed the FBI’s surveillance of Dr. King until his assassination in 1968.
“The only thing new was the continuation of the possibility that James Earl Ray didn’t act alone,” Griggs added.
“We are ensuring that no stone is left unturned in our mission to deliver complete transparency on this pivotal and tragic event in our nation’s history,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said.
Georgia State University professor Tanya Washington said the release should make people question why Dr. King was the target of such intense investigation.
“But aside from the personal … We are going to learn how our government investigates American citizens,” Washington said.
Dr. King’s former assistant Xernona Clayton wrote:
“We already suffered when we lost Dr. King. it was a painful moment for all of us. Here we are facing it again because we have ugliness at the White House.”
The King children did not mention Trump in their statement.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
