The Assassination of Malcolm X

The Role of the FBI and NYPD Remains Unclear

“The FBI’s New York field office is aware of recent reporting regarding the circumstances surrounding Malcom X’s death. Over the past several months, we have worked cooperatively with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to assist in its review of the matter and provide relevant documents from FBI holdings. Today’s FBI stands for the noble pursuit of justice, and we will continue to support the review in any way we can.” FBI Spokesperson

“Several months ago, the Manhattan District Attorney initiated a review of the investigation and prosecution that resulted in two convictions for the murder of Malcom X. The NYPD has provided all available records relevant to that case to the District Attorney. The Department remains committed to assist with that review in any way.” NYPD Spokesperson

Malcolm X was assassinated in the Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965. There were multiple shooters, one of whom was wounded by security forces and captured on the scene. Those are the only unequivocally true facts in the standard narrative about his murder. FBI reports at the time of the incident indicated there were five shooters. Within two weeks of the shooting, two other men were arrested and charged with the murder. Most historians agree that those two men, Muhammad A. Aziz and Khalil Islam were not guilty nor even present at the time. Yet, they served twenty years each for crimes they didn't commit.

How do we know they were innocent? There were no less than nine undercover FBI informants in the Audubon Ballroom at the time who provided reports describing the shooter with a sawed-off shotgun credited with being the murder weapon. The burly, dark-skinned man they described didn't come close to the light-skinned, thin man charged with carrying the gun that never was found. One of the men had suffered an injury that made him incapable of walking without assistance. Both men, members of the local Mosque #7 in New York, were well known to the security forces hired by Malcolm X and would never have let them in the room because of the animosity between that Mosque and Malcolm.

FBI reports describing the primary shooter were never provided to the New York Police Department. A letter was recently released, written by an undercover NYPD officer who described a plot to arrest two of Malcolm's primary bodyguards so they wouldn't be available when he spoke at the Audubon Ballroom. Another FBI informant had infiltrated Malcolm's entourage and had become his head of security. None of the FBI informants or the undercover operatives testified at the trial of the suspects. The FBI knew that two men were ultimately convicted of a murder they didn't commit, and they said nothing.

Netflix produced a six-part special, "Who Killed Malcolm X?" initially released on February 20, 2020. The furor that arose caused the Manhattan District Attorney to reopen the investigation into Malcolm's death and the subsequent cover-up. It became clear that two men were unjustly convicted and that at least the FBI knew and did nothing. One man, Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, a historian not associated with law enforcement. Meticulously researched, interviewed people, and dug through records to discover not only that the shooters didn't come from Mosque #7 but were sent from a New Jersey Mosque. The FBI not only knew this but the name of the burly man who wielded the shotgun. That man was never arrested or even interviewed before he died of natural causes over fifty-five years later.

Last year, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance indicated the investigation was ongoing. The Innocence Project and David B. Shanies law firm issued a joint statement:

“We are grateful that District Attorney Vance quickly agreed to conduct a review of the conviction of Muhammad Aziz. Given the historical importance of this case and the fact that our client is 81 years old, we are especially encouraged that Mr. Vance has assigned two highly respected prosecutors, Peter Casolaro and Charles King, to work on this re-investigation,”

The FBI and NYPD released responses about full cooperation in February of 2021. There has been no public release of new information since. Nobody wanted to know what happened at the time. There appears to be no interest in revealing the truth now. I call bullshit!