They said it was about national security. The 2025 files show it was about fear-of one man, one message, and one movement.
🚪 Introduction: The War Within
Before a bullet ended his life in Memphis in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had already been targeted-relentlessly-by the U.S. government.
Through the covert FBI program known as COINTELPRO, King’s phones were tapped, his personal life was exploited, and his public image was quietly sabotaged. The 2025 declassification confirms this-and reveals that the depth of hostility toward MLK ran even deeper than previously reported.
🧠 What COINTELPRO Was Really About
The FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) was officially launched to “monitor and neutralize subversive threats” in the 1950s. But by the 1960s, its primary domestic target was civil rights activism.
The 2025 files confirm:
- J. Edgar Hoover personally authorized operations to “expose, discredit, and neutralize” MLK
- Internal memos refer to King as a “moral threat to national stability”
- Psychological warfare tactics were deployed-including anonymous letters threatening King’s credibility and mental health
One letter, previously redacted, is now fully visible in the files. It ends with:
“You know what you need to do. You have 34 days.”
It was a veiled call for suicide, sent by the FBI.
📁 New Evidence from the 2025 Files
The new records confirm:
- The FBI used at least 8 informants inside civil rights organizations, some of whom reported directly on MLK’s location and speech drafts.
- Attempts were made to leak manipulated audio recordings of King to the press, including one confirmed contact with a Washington Post editor in 1967.
- A CIA liaison was involved in sharing surveillance data with military intelligence, despite MLK being a U.S. citizen on domestic soil.
That’s not just illegal. That’s constitutional betrayal.
🕵️♂️ MLK and the Vietnam Trigger
One of the biggest shifts in how MLK was viewed internally came after his 1967 speech against the Vietnam War.
The 2025 files reveal:
- A “priority reclassification” memo issued the same week King publicly denounced the war
- Increased wiretap authorizations and new “domestic influence strategy” directives
- A quiet partnership between the FBI and select journalists to challenge King’s patriotism
In short: The moment MLK turned anti-war, the government turned even more aggressively against him.
🧩 Why the MLK Files Matter
Many Americans still view MLK as a universally beloved icon. But in real time, the U.S. government treated him like a destabilizing enemy.
The files prove:
- His assassination occurred during a time of maximum surveillance
- The government had deep access to his inner circle
- And no agency was seriously reprimanded for any of the COINTELPRO abuses
🔚 Conclusion: Not a Conspiracy-A Policy
The MLK files don’t suggest a cover-up.
They confirm an active campaign of harassment, sabotage, and psychological warfare-carried out by the state.
This wasn’t about keeping secrets.
It was about weaponizing intelligence against a U.S. citizen who demanded change.
And now, in 2025, we finally see it in black and white.
