Mustafa Hassan says he has new information about Malcolm X assassination
NEW YORK - Attorneys representing the family of Malcolm X revealed what they call a star witness Tuesday in their ongoing legal pursuits related to his assassination in 1965.
The witness said he had new information he could provide, all these years later.
"The police came, saying 'Is the shooter of Malcolm X with us?'" civil rights attorney Ben Crump said.
Crump is part of a legal team representing the family of Malcolm X that is filing a lawsuit against the NYPD, FBI, CIA and Department of Justice. They believe the truth behind the assassination of Malcolm X was fraudulently concealed.
Two men convicted in the murder of Malcolm X were exonerated late last year.
"Their misrepresentation that 'We didn't have anything to do with conspiring to kill Malcom X, these are the people who were convicted.' We know that fallacy has been revealed to be an outright lie," Crump said.
Tuesday's press conference introduced Mustafa Hassan. Hassan says he was part of Malcolm X's security detail the night of the assassination, Feb. 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in Upper Manhattan.
Reading from his signed affidavit, Hassan recalled seeing a man with a gun twice after the shooting.
"I saw a man running down the aisle towards the exit, where I had been posted, with a gun in his hand," Hassan said. "I would later see the same man outside as he was being beaten by Malcolm's followers while a group of policemen who suddenly showed up on the scene asking, 'Is he with us?' While at the same time, holding back Malcolm's followers from beating him."
Hassan would go on to point himself out in photographs of the moments he described, as well as video of the scene in 1965. He says despite what he witnessed, he was never approached to give a statement or appear in court. Hassan, and Crump's legal team, believe the shooter was one of several informants at the Audubon Ballroom to carry out the assassination.
Hassan was asked if he thought the man was working with the NYPD.
"He was definitely working for some government establishment," Hassan said.
Daughter of Malcolm X Ilyasah Shabazz spoke briefly, saying the assassination was orchestrated, and that she wants justice to be served.
We did reach out to the NYPD for comment on the news conference and have not heard back.
