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In 2021, on the 56th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X in New York City, lawyers and relatives of the late civil rights leader released a letter they say shows that the NYPD and the FBI conspired on his behalf. murder.
The note, said to be a deathbed confession made by Ray Wood, a former undercover NYPD officer, was revealed at a news conference by civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
Wood claims in his letter that the FBI and the New York police conspired to kill Malcolm X, who was shot on February 21, 1965, inside the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem during a rally.
He claimed that his NYPD supervisors pressured him to lure two members of Malcolm X’s security team into committing crimes that resulted in his arrest just days before the shooting.
Those arrests prevented the two men from controlling door security at the ballroom the night Malcolm was killed, according to the letter.
“My job was to infiltrate civil rights organizations throughout New York City to find evidence of criminal activity so the FBI could discredit and arrest their leaders,” Wood stated in the letter.
“Under the direction of my supervisors, I was told to encourage leaders and members of civil rights groups to commit criminal acts.”
Malcolm X (right) was assassinated in New York City. Lawyers and relatives of the late civil rights leader released a letter in 2021 that they claimed shows that the NYPD and the FBI conspired in his murder. (Pictured on the left is Reggie Wood, Ray Wood’s cousin)
Reggie Wood said he came forward in 2011 when he believed worsening cancer would take his life. He eventually went into remission and lived until November 2020.
In his last, dated January 25, 2011, the former officer stated that his actions were carried out under duress and fear of reprisals.
‘After witnessing repeated brutalities at the hands of my (police) colleagues, I tried to quit. Instead, they threatened to arrest me for marijuana and alcohol trafficking if I didn’t complete my assignments.’
On February 16, 1965, Wood claims that he forced members of Malcolm X’s security detail to plan a bombing of the Statue of Liberty.
The plan was then thwarted by the police and the two men were arrested just days before Malcolm’s murder. I was unaware at the time that Malcolm X was the target,” Wood wrote.
Wood signed the letter and told his cousin to keep the information until after he passed away.
“I hope this information is received with the understanding that I have carried these secrets with a heavy heart and remorsefully regret my involvement in this matter.”
Wood’s cousin, Reggie Wood, said he came forward in 2011 when he believed worsening cancer would take his life. He eventually went into remission and lived until November 2020.
“For 10 years, I have kept this confession in secret for fear of what might happen to me and my family if the government found out what I knew,” Reggie Wood said.
Malcolm X’s three remaining daughters joined civil rights lawyer Ben Crump in demanding that the murder investigation be reopened.
“Any evidence that provides further insight into the truth behind this terrible tragedy must be fully investigated,” said Ilyasah Shabazz.
Malcolm X was shot seconds after climbing on a lectern to speak inside the Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965.
Two police officers carry Malcolm X on a stretcher after he was felled by an assassin’s bullets at a rally
An autopsy later revealed that he had suffered a total of 21 gunshot wounds to the chest, arms and legs.
In his last, dated January 25, 2011, the former officer stated that his actions were carried out under duress and fear of reprisals.
Attorney Ray Hamlin added: “So what we’re trying to do is talk about restorative justice as lawyers – trying to pursue unrelenting justice.”
‘On behalf of the legacy of Malcolm X, Dr. Betty Shabazz, on behalf of her family, her lineage who is here.’
Three members of the Nation of Islam, Mujahid Abdul Halim (also known as Talmadge Hayer and Thomas Hagan), Muhammad Abdul Aziz (also known as Norman 3X Butler), and Khalil Islam (also known as Thomas 15X Johnson), were convicted of the murder. of Malcolm X in 1966 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
While Halim admitted to taking part in the murder, he insisted that Aziz and Islam were not involved. And the two maintained their innocence throughout the years.
Islam died in 2009 and since then Halim and Aziz have been on probation.
In 2020, the Manhattan district attorney began a review of his convictions on Islam and Aziz after meeting with representatives of the Innocence Project.
The NYPD said in a separate statement that it “provided all available records relevant to that case to the district attorney” and “remains committed to assisting with that review in any way.”
The FBI declined to comment on the matter.
“For 10 years, I have kept this confession in secret for fear of what might happen to me and my family if the government found out what I knew,” Reggie Wood said.
Malcolm X was a powerful orator who rose to fame as the national spokesman for the Nation of Islam, an African-American Muslim group that advocated black separatism.
He spent more than a decade with the group before becoming disillusioned and publicly breaking with it in 1964. He tempered some of their earlier views on the benefits of racial separation.
Malcolm X was shot seconds after climbing on a lectern to speak inside the Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965.
Seconds earlier, a man stood up and yelled, ‘N*****, get your hand out of my pocket!’
As Malcolm X and his entourage tried to quell the disturbance, a man ran onto the stage and shot him once in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun, and then two other men opened fire with semi-automatic pistols.
The civil rights activist was rushed to Columbia Presbyterian, where he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival, at 3:30 p.m.
An autopsy later revealed that he had suffered a total of 21 gunshot wounds to the chest, arms and legs.
Thomas Hagan, 22, struggles with police who lead him away from the scene outside the ballroom where Malcolm X was shot and killed.
“Any evidence that provides further insight into the truth behind this terrible tragedy must be fully investigated,” said Ilyasah Shabazz.
Days before, Malcolm X had ominously told a reporter that he believed members of the Nation of Islam were trying to kill him.
He was being watched by the FBI at the time. His home in Queens was burned down the week before he died.
Almost immediately after his death, conspiracies about police involvement in the murder began to circulate.
Many of the theories centered on the ease with which the killers were able to enter the ballroom and the perception that the police failed to preserve the crime scene.
One of the officers involved, Tony Bouza, would later write in his 2011 book Manny Marable’s Malcolm X that the “investigation failed.”