WHO WERE THE KILLERS?

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000404060001-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 18, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: February 26, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/18: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404060001-8
AGTIG1E APPEARED
VILLAGE VOICE
26 February 1985
STAT
U
By Maria Laurino
That Sunday, February 21, 1965, when
Malcolm X went to address a rally at
Harlem's Audubon Ballroom, he knew he
would soon die. He had telephoned Alez
Haley the day before, his voice shaken,
saying that he was looking for a new
home for his family since his house had
been firebombed the week before. In the
preceding months, Malcolm had become
violently ill in Cairo and believed that
American agents had tried to poison him.
His split with the Honorable Elijah Mu-
hammad created a hatred among mem-
bers of the Nation of Islam who had tried
to attack him in Los Angeles and Chicago
just weeks before. He was surrounded by
hostile forces. Malcolm X entered the
Audubon on Sunday afternoon and greet-
ed the crowd with his customary "As-
salaam alaikum," when a disturbance
erupted in the back of the hall. His atten-
tion diverted, Malcolm was killed by a
shotgun 15 feet away.
Twenty years later-with three Mus-
lim men serving jail sentences of 25 years
to life for killing Malcolm X-many
questions raised during the trial have still
never been answered. Three schools of
thought about his,assassination have de-
veloped since then. The simplest theory
is that the Muslims were solely responsi-
ble for his death. Malcolm knew he had
to leave the Nation of Islam after he
learned that his revered leader, Elijah
Muhammad, had fathered illegitimate
children-a, violation of Muslim law-
and after he had been silenced by Mu-
hammad for a comment he made about
JFK's assassination. Some of his fellow
Muslims, calling him a traitor, turned
against him and wanted him dead.
A second theory put forth is that the
CIA played an active role in Malcolm's
death. In the months before he was
killed, Malcolm had become a major in-
ternational figure. The CIA and the State
Department were following him through-
out his travels in Africa, and proponents
of this theory argue that the government
saw Malcolm X's growing popularity
abroad as a clear threat to American in-
terests. And he- was organizing to get a
resolution adopted at the United Nations
condemning the U.S. for human rights
violations. -On February 9, Malcolm was
mysteriously barred by the French gov-
ernment from entering their country. Ac-
cording to this view of the events, while
the Muslims may have pulled the trigger,
the CIA was behind' the murder:.:
Others who have studied the assassina-
tion argue that the FBI and the Nei-
York City police were involved. Clearly,
the FBI was following Malcolm-he had
tape-recorded conversations with FBI
agents who had come to his home. The
agents tried to pay off Malcolm in return
for the names of the Nation of Islam's
members. The Church Commission's Se-
lect Committee Tb Study Government
Operations contains references to the
FBI tapping his phone. The New York
City police's Bureau of Special Services
(BOSS) had been investigating Malcolm
and they had every reason to know his
life was in danger. Yet the police failed to
provide adequate protection in the last
months of his life.
EXCEIZkl~W
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/18: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404060001-8