Reuters revealed that the daughters of Malcolm X have filed a $100 million lawsuit against the CIA, FBI, New York Police Department and others, alleging their involvement in the 1965 assassination of the iconic civil rights leader. Filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday (Nov. 15), the suit – joined by the Malcolm X estate – accused these agencies of conspiring in the assassination plot and failing to intervene to prevent his death.

The lawsuit claimed that the government’s role in the assassination was intentionally concealed. “The plaintiffs, and their entire family, have suffered the pain of the unknown for decades,” the suit reportedly stated. “They did not know who murdered Malcolm X, why he was murdered, the level of NYPD, FBI, and CIA orchestration, the identity of the governmental agents who conspired to ensure his demise, or who fraudulently covered up their role. The damage caused to the Shabazz family is unimaginable, immense, and irreparable.”

At a press conference announcing the lawsuit, attorney Ben Crump stood alongside Malcolm X's family, led by Ilyasah and Qubilah Shabazz. “We hope federal and city officials will read this lawsuit and learn all the dastardly deeds that were done by their predecessors and try to right these historic wrongs,” Crump said.

The assassination of Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little and later known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, has been surrounded by mystery and controversy for decades. He was 39 years old when he was killed on Feb. 21, 1965, while addressing hundreds at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, New York. Although three men were initially convicted of his murder, two were exonerated in 2021 after a reinvestigation revealed suppressed evidence and government misconduct in the case.

Representatives from the law enforcement agencies named in the lawsuit have not commented. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice also declined to respond.