Malcolm X assassination witness breaks 58-year silence with bombshell claims

27 July 2023 , 12:19

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Mustafa Hassan has broken a 58-year silence on what he witnessed during the assassination of Malcolm X (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

A man who witnessed the assassination of Malcolm X has broken his silence of 58 years to claim he overheard a New York police officer asking if the killer was "with us".

Mustafa Hassan says he was part of the civil rights activist's security team in 1965. He has said he saw an officer trying to prevent supporters from restraining a man thought to be involved in the killing.

Mr Hassan identified the man as Talmadge Hayer, who was later arrested and convicted in the killing. Mr Hassan has said he believes there was a conspiracy between police, the CIA and the FBI in the assassination of Malcolm X.

He added he was never interviewed, despite being a witness and remaining at the scene. Mr Hassan also claimed he heard officers asking each other: "Is he with us?"

Martin Luther King, Jr (L) and Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) (THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS/AFP via)

Mr Hassan said the police's actions suggested they were trying to "assist in [Hayer] getting away."

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The allegation is part of a new lawsuit filed by civil rights attorney Ben Crump on behalf of Malcolm X's family in February. The lawyer accuses the police, CIA and FBI of "fraudulent concealment of evidence surrounding Malcolm X's murder".

"We will show that the defendants concealed evidence, which gives us a cause of action," said Mr Crump. "It wasn't due to a lack of diligence.

"No one will say that Malcolm's family had accepted what the government had told them. They always sought the truth."

Mustafa Hassan (C) speaks at a press conference to discuss developments in the murder of Malcolm X (AFP via Getty Images)

Civil rights activists Malcolm X was shot 21 times in February 1965 after appearing on stage to give a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Upper Manhattan. Hayer and two other men were convicted a year later for the killing and sentenced to life in prison.

The two others - Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam - said they were innocent. Hayer acknowledged he took part in the assassination but he maintained the innocence of the two other men.

In 2021, a judge vacated the convictions of Aziz and Islam. It came after a 22-month investigation by the then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance's office and lawyers for the men found that evidence of their innocence, including FBI documents, was withheld at trial.

Malcolm X was killled in 1965 (Getty Images)

Aziz was released from prison in 1985. Islam was freed in 1987 but died in 2009 and received a posthumous exoneration. Last year, New York City agreed to pay £20 million ($26 million) to settle lawsuits filed on behalf of Aziz and Islam.

"This settlement brings some measures of justice to individuals who spent decades in prison and bore the stigma of being falsely accused of murdering an iconic figure," said Nick Paolucci, spokesman for the New York City Law Department, in a statement.

He continued: "Based on our review, this office stands by the opinion of former Manhattan District Attorney Vance who stated, based on his investigation, that 'there is one ultimate conclusion: Mr Aziz and Mr Islam were wrongfully convicted of this crime'."

Christopher Bucktin