On the 59th anniversary of civil rights activist Malcolm X’s assassination, attorneys representing his family unveiled sworn statements from two individuals implicating federal agencies and the New York Police Department (NYPD) in a conspiracy to orchestrate his killing.
During a press conference held in New York, two former members of Malcolm X’s security detail disclosed that an undercover NYPD officer named Robert Wood had drawn them into discussions about a purported plan to destroy national monuments, including the Statue of Liberty.
The individuals revealed that they were subsequently arrested and detained five days prior to Malcolm X’s assassination at New York’s Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965.
Malcolm X (Credits: Syracuse.com)
The motive behind the alleged police conspiracy, as asserted by the individuals, was to divert their attention away from Malcolm X’s security detail, thus rendering him more vulnerable to assassination by his adversaries.
Attorneys Ben Crump and G. Flint Taylor asserted that the conspiracy extended to involve the FBI, the NYPD, and its Bureau of Special Services and Investigations (BOSSI) unit, which operated until the mid-1980s.
Walter Bowe, now in his 90s and reportedly in poor health, provided a statement expressing his belief that had he been present at the Audubon Ballroom on the day of the assassination, he might have been able to prevent it.
Bowe accused Wood, the NYPD, and BOSSI of colluding to orchestrate the arrests of him and other members of Malcolm X’s security detail, thereby facilitating the success of the assassination plot.
Khaleel Sayyed, then a 22-year-old Howard University student and a devoted supporter of Malcolm X, also delivered a statement corroborating Bowe’s account. Sayyed recounted being part of a group tasked with providing security following the firebombing of Malcolm X’s home on February 14, 1965.
Sayyed claimed that Wood had proposed the idea of destroying monuments during a meeting, but he dismissed it as a joke at the time.
The revelations shed new light on the circumstances surrounding Malcolm X’s assassination and raise troubling questions about the extent of government involvement in the tragic event.
