Things to know about the release of federal documents related to MLK’s assassination

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Federal records related to the investigation into the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. have been released, following the disclosure in March of tens of thousands of documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

In January, President Donald Trump ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about Kennedy’s assassination, while also moving to declassify federal records related to the deaths of New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and King more than five decades ago.

Trump ordered Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Attorney General Pam Bondi to coordinate with other government officials to review records related to the assassinations of RFK and King and present a plan to the Republican president for their “complete release.” Some 10,000 pages of records about the RFK assassination were released April 18.

Justice Department attorneys asked a federal judge to end a sealing order for the records nearly two years ahead of its expiration date. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King led, is opposed to unsealing any of the records for privacy reasons. The organization’s lawyers said King’s relatives also wanted to keep the files under seal.