Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories

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Conspiracy theories about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, relate to different accounts of the assassination. King was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, the day after giving his final speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop." Claims soon arose regarding suspicious aspects of King's assassination and the controversial role of the alleged assassin, James Earl Ray, who was convicted of the murder. Although his guilty plea eliminated the possibility of a trial before a jury, within days Ray recanted and claimed his confession was forced. Suspicions were further raised by confirmed illegal surveillance of King by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the FBI's attempt to prompt King to commit suicide. In 1979, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded that there was a likelihood of a conspiracy in the assassination of King and Ray was a scapegoat. In...

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