Index/Topics/FBI surveillance of King

FBI surveillance of King

The FBI's surveillance of Martin Luther King, including the use of COINTELPRO tactics to discredit him.

Fact-Checks

11 results
Jan 20, 2026
Most Viewed

What did the FBI file claim about Martin Luther King Jr.'s alleged extramarital affairs and on what evidence did it rely?

The FBI files portray Martin Luther King Jr. as a serial adulterer and catalogue a range of sexual allegations — from numerous affairs to salacious episodes recorded in hotel rooms — based on the Bure...

Jan 25, 2026
Most Viewed

How have historians assessed David Garrow’s claims about MLK and what are the main scholarly critiques?

’s 2019 essay reviving allegations from files about provoked a sharp divide: some commentators and Garrow himself argue the newly released documents force historians to reassess King’s personal conduc...

Jan 28, 2026
Most Viewed

Did Martin Luther King, Jr. Participate in orgies

The archived memos and later reporting by contain explicit allegations that participated in group sex events described as “,” including a February 1968 workshop and a January 1964 , encounter, and cla...

Jan 19, 2026

kings extra matital affIRS

New reporting and declassified files document that Martin Luther King Jr. engaged in extramarital sexual relationships and that the FBI collected and publicized material about those relationships as p...

Jan 28, 2026

What new documents have been declassified since 2025 that could change interpretations of MLK's assassination?

— roughly 230,000–240,000 pages — was declassified and posted in 2025 after ’s directed the release of assassination files, and the release was coordinated by the , DNI, , and . The newly available ma...

Jan 23, 2026

Which portions of the FBI’s audio recordings of Martin Luther King Jr. remain sealed, and what legal or archival barriers limit access?

The core portion of the ’s surveillance materials on —including audio wiretap recordings, transcripts of those recordings and related FBI surveillance documents—were placed under a federal sealing ord...

Jan 19, 2026

MLK s private escapades

New revelations about Martin Luther King Jr.’s private life—chiefly drawn from FBI surveillance files and the research of biographers such as David Garrow—have intensified debate over documented sexua...

Feb 7, 2026

What specific FBI files and recordings about Martin Luther King Jr. were declassified and when were they released?

A January 23, 2025 executive order directed wide tied to the , and (MLK), and on July 21, 2025 the , in coordination with , , and , published a large tranche of MLK-related records—more than 230,000 p...

Jan 21, 2026

How have historians evaluated David Garrow’s 2019 reporting on MLK and the controversies it generated?

’s 2019 essay mining newly released files to make explosive allegations about provoked a sharp split among historians: many condemned his treatment of heavily tainted FBI material as credulous and irr...

Jan 20, 2026

What do Martin Luther King Jr. scholars say about evaluating FBI files as historical evidence?

Martin Luther King Jr. scholars treat FBI files as indispensable but compromised primary sources: they reveal extensive surveillance and a “rich human story,” yet must be read skeptically because the ...

Jan 19, 2026

How have King’s alleged affairs been treated differently in major biographies (e.g., David Garrow, Taylor Branch, and recent works by David J. Garrow and Taylor Branch)?

David Garrow’s recent excavations of FBI files foreground explicit allegations of dozens of extramarital encounters and an especially explosive charge about King’s presence at a 1964 sexual assault, p...