Who shot Malcolm X? Questions loom 55 years after civil rights icon’s assassinat

[Richard Rubio]

Excerpted:

Who shot Malcolm X? Questions loom 55 years after civil rights icon’s assassination

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On the anniversary of his assassination, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution takes a look at some of the recent developments, including a reexamination of his murder case, and what we’ve known about the killing of the 39-year-old husband, father and influential figure.

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Three men were charged in his murder.

Thomas Hagan, who had also been called Talmadge Hayer; Mujahid Abdul Halim, known then as Thomas 15X Johnson; and Muhammad Abdul Aziz, who at the time of Malcolm X’s death was known as Norman 3X Butler, were convicted of the activist’s murder and sentenced to life.

Butler, now 81, was the second person arrested in the case. He has maintained his innocence. Hagan admitted his role, and always affirmed the other convicted’s innocence. However, he was not willing to name others who helped him assassinate Malcolm X.

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A criminal justice nonprofit says the murder case is being reexamined.

Read more at: https://www.ajc.com/news/who-shot-malcolm-questions-loom-years-after-civil-rights-icon-assassination/CNlpwdB2l2RMf34mAcQQ5J/

So, one of the convicted, Hagan, admitted involvement.

The killing of Malcolm X
by Ben Voth | February 21, 2020

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Unfortunately, Thomas Hagan interrupted the event and shot Malcolm X multiple times on that stage, and the well-known activist died in front of a large shocked and panicked audience. That was Hagan’s argument — the public killing of a man he had come to despise.

Just one week earlier on Valentine’s Day, in Detroit, Malcolm X had provided an ominous intro to his remarks by commenting on the constant threats and intimidation he was facing as someone trying to leave the Nation of Islam:

"... I was in a house last night that was bombed — my own."

More: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/the-killing-of-malcolm-x

TIME:

The Enduring Mystery of Malcolm X's Assassination

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Three members of the Nation of Islam (NOI) — Talmadge Hayer or Thomas Hagan (a.k.a Mujahid Abdul Halim), Norman Butler (a.k.a Muhammad Abdul Aziz) and Thomas Johnson (a.k.a Khalil Islam) — were convicted of his murder in 1966. The NOI is an African American religious and political organization formed in 1930 with the goal of improving the economic and spiritual conditions of the African American community in the United States. Malcolm X joined the group in 1952.

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Why do some scholars want to reopen the case?

Scholars and historians have raised questions about Malcolm’s death for years. Some have alleged, furthermore, that law enforcement was well aware that Malcolm’s life was in danger but that, because the government had such an interest in undermining his work, they did not intervene to help him. Others have suggested that the government’s refusal to investigate the other suspects named by Hayer is evidence of a “more sinister” role, as Ali puts it, in the assassination.

“The Nation of Islam was no friend of the U.S. government, and the U.S. government was no friend of the Nation of Islam,” Ali says. “So the question has to be put on the table: why would the U.S. government not pursue all viable leads into who was actually responsible for Malcolm’s assassination?'”

More: https://time.com/5778688/malcolm-x-assassination/

I think the last article by TIME is actually, probably the best one.

[Steve M. Galbraith]

There is no mystery for me; this is just conspiracy mongering about the murder, something that's come up every decade or so. The evidence is overwhelming that he was killed by followers of the Nation of Islam. Which tried to kill him before.

Malcolm made a very public break with NOI and while doing so attacked its leader Elijah Muhammed. He accused Muhammed of corruption and, worst of all, having sex with underage females. Muhammed later admitted to this. The divide got worse when he returned from his pilgrimmage to Mecca and broke with the black separatist movement or cause. He abandoned his hatred of white people - remember the NOI believes that all white people are literally devils - and believed in racial integration. This too infuriated the followers of Muhammed. For them, Malcolm was a race traitor.

In any case, his attacks infuriated followers of the NOI and they shot him down. Here is Malcolm defending himself; he knew they were coming for him. He's not worried here about the Klan going after him either.

[Richard Rubio]

Thanks for the response, very informative.