This week, a witness to the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965 revealed for the primary time that he overheard a New York police officer asking if Malcolm’s murderer was “with us.” The eyewitness, Mustafa Hassan, spoke Tuesday alongside Malcolm X’s daughter Ilyasah Shabazz and civil rights lawyer Ben Crump at a press convention on the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Instructional Heart. Democracy Now! spoke to Hassan on the press convention. He advised us, “My testimony would have modified the end result of the trial. It could have pointed the finger of guilt on the institution.” We’re additionally joined on the present by Ben Crump, who calls this newest revelation “astonishing.”
TRANSCRIPT
It is a rush transcript. Copy might not be in its last type.
AMY GOODMAN: That is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
We flip now to have a look at the assassination of Malcolm X, shot lifeless contained in the Audubon Ballroom February twenty first, 1965. On Tuesday, a witness to the assassination revealed for the primary time he overheard a New York police officer asking about Malcolm’s murderer, “Is he with us?”
The eyewitness, Mustafa Hassan, spoke Tuesday alongside Malcolm’s daughter Ilyasah Shabazz and civil rights lawyer Ben Crump at a information convention on the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Instructional Heart, housed within the former Audubon Ballroom. In February, the Shabazz household introduced plans to file a $100 million wrongful dying lawsuit towards quite a lot of establishments, together with the FBI, the CIA, the New York Police Division, concealing proof of their involvement within the assassination.
On the time of Malcolm’s assassination, Mustafa Hassan was a member of the OAAU — that’s the Group of Afro-American Unity — a part of Malcolm’s safety element. Hassan later fled the nation, fearing for his life. He described what occurred inside and outdoors the ballroom when Malcolm was shot.
MUSTAFA HASSAN: There was a loud explosion that instantly brought on additional disruption, capturing everybody’s consideration. Now, a sequence of gunshots, quantity 10, then rang out from one other path, and I instantly ran from my publish within the entrance and witnessed Malcolm X being shot. Quantity 11, I instantly began to make my method from the again of the Audubon, the place I had been posted, and in the direction of the stage, the place Malcolm X was situated. Nevertheless, the scene turned chaotic as folks frantically ran round in search of exits to cowl and defend themselves.
Quantity 12, I noticed a person working down the aisle, in the direction of the exit the place I had been posted, with a gun in his hand. I made the choice to aim to cease this individual, as a result of he had a gun in his hand and was heading instantly in the direction of me. Quantity 13, I managed to knock this individual down, and I continued in the direction of the stage, the place Malcolm X was mendacity on his again, surrounded by his followers. I do know now that the identification of the person with the gun is Talmadge X Hayer, often known as Thomas Hagan.
Once I arrived on the stage, I noticed that Malcolm X was in grave situation, seemingly near dying, and in consequence, my excessive misery and anger, I turned consideration again to the person who I had seen working away, figuring out that he had part of duty for what I had simply witnessed.
Quantity 16, I might later see the identical man outdoors as he was being overwhelmed by Malcolm’s followers, whereas a bunch of policemen who all of a sudden confirmed up on the scene requested if he was “with us,” whereas on the identical time holding again Malcolm’s followers from beating him.
BENJAMIN CRUMP: Are you able to repeat that?
MUSTAFA HASSAN: Sure. I might later see the identical man outdoors as he was being overwhelmed by Malcolm’s followers, whereas a bunch of policemen who all of a sudden confirmed up on the scene asking, “Is he with us?”
AMY GOODMAN: That was Mustafa Hassan studying from his personal affidavit. He was contained in the Audubon Ballroom when Malcolm X was assassinated 58 years in the past, 1965. Throughout Tuesday’s information convention, I had an opportunity to query Mustafa Hassan.
AMY GOODMAN: Did you ever strategy the police or the FBI, the authorities, to share what you had seen?
MUSTAFA HASSAN: No, no and no. No.
AMY GOODMAN: As a result of?
MUSTAFA HASSAN: As a result of —
BENJAMIN CRUMP: That they had simply killed Malcolm.
ILYASAH SHABAZZ: Terrorism, trauma.
MUSTAFA HASSAN: As a result of, in my perception, they have been the perpetrators. And so they knew greater than I did, as a consequence of being the perpetrators of the occasion. Why would I’m going to them? And for no matter purpose they name me, because the lawyer acknowledged — the explanation that they didn’t name me would have been that my testimony would have modified the end result of the trial. It could have pointed the finger of guilt on the institution.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Mustafa Hassan, talking Tuesday in regards to the assassination of Malcolm X.
Three males have been later convicted of killing Malcolm X. One was Talmadge Hayer, the person Mustafa noticed shoot Malcolm. Two different males, Khalil Islam and Muhammad Aziz, have been arrested and imprisoned for many years, after being falsely accused. In 2021, the 2 of them have been exonerated. By then, Khalil Islam had already died, and Muhammad Aziz was 83 years outdated.
We’re joined now by civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, representing Malcolm X’s household.
Ben, welcome again to Democracy Now! Discuss in regards to the significance of this testimony for the primary time being heard, this eyewitness account of Mustafa Hassan, and the place this matches into the lawsuit you’ll be submitting.
BENJAMIN CRUMP: Properly, thanks for having me, Amy. And thanks for being on the press convention.
Mustafa Hassan’s testimony, for the primary time in 58 years, is astonishing, particularly the extent of element that he chronicled, that was corroborated by the images, in addition to the inventory video, that when the convicted assassin, Talmadge X, was being manhandled by Malcolm’s supporters, who had simply witnessed him kill Malcolm X or shoot Malcolm X, the police ran up, they usually have been asking, “Is he with us?”
After which, as Mr. Mustafa Hassan believes, they have been attempting to assist get him away, the place he might escape from the Black supporters of Malcolm who was attempting to make it possible for he was captured. And so, Mustafa — and also you see it within the pictures — grabs onto his collar very tightly. And the police appear, as the images counsel, to be attempting to separate him from the one that that they had simply noticed shoot Malcolm. And that is Mustafa’s perception. And when he places it in context that the police are saying, “Is he with us?” it suggests to him that the police have been concerned.
Now, Amy, that is what we’re arguing is totally new proof that has by no means been introduced earlier than, this new info, and the truth that we all know fraudulent concealment is a idea that may permit us to toll the statute of limitations and for Malcolm’s household to have an opportunity at getting some measure of justice in any case these years, as a result of we all know that the federal government hid the truth that that they had a number of informants within the Audubon Ballroom on Could twenty first, 1965, when Malcolm was assassinated.
So, primarily, these informants have been saved remoted, these New York Police Division undercover officers, like Eugene Roberts and Ray Woods, have been all saved remoted from each other. And the police, we consider, knew, after they arrived on the scene, that that they had undercover informants in there, they usually didn’t know what their assignments have been, they usually didn’t know who they have been, however they have been advised a few of the Black persons are undercover informants. And that’s the reason Mr. Hassan mentioned they have been saying, “Is he with us?”
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Properly, Benjamin Crump, why has it taken over 58 years for this to come back ahead? Might you inform us a bit of bit about who Mustafa Hassan is and maybe why he was by no means questioned?
BENJAMIN CRUMP: Properly, clearly, he was a younger man who believed within the rules and philosophies of Malcolm X. He was a member of the OAAU, and he was an individual who believed that Black folks had a proper to self-determination, and that the American authorities can not proceed to oppress us and deny us liberty. And so, after they killed Malcolm, like so many individuals in America, particularly Black People who believed within the rules that Malcolm X was attempting to articulate to the world, that he left America, and for not simply his private security however his household’s security. And as he acknowledged, he was anxious about the place America was headed to as a society.
And so, he left for months, got here again and noticed that they have been having this trial. The police by no means approached him. The prosecutors by no means approached him. He was readily identifiable on all the images, all of the video. Everyone knew that he was part of the OAAU. That they had sign-in for the registrations and so forth. And so, it was clear that had they needed him to testify about every part he noticed firsthand, he might have. However they by no means did that. And we predict that’s extra telling than something.
AMY GOODMAN: In a short time, Ben, earlier than we transfer on to a different topic about the place you might be proper now — you’re a Florida resident — I needed to ask you in regards to the state of the lawsuit. You’re suing federal authorities, CIA, FBI, New York state, New York Metropolis, the NYPD, speaking about all of these businesses concerned. The 2 males who have been exonerated, though that they had served many years in jail — one lifeless, one nonetheless alive — have settled for thousands and thousands of {dollars}. Will you have the ability to use info based mostly on their settlement for the — in pursuing this $100 million settlement for the Shabazz household?
BENJAMIN CRUMP: We consider, Amy, we will use numerous the invention that the nice legal professionals with the Innocence Challenge, Barry Scheck and others, used to assist exonerate these people and assist them get their compensation, as a result of the concealment affected their liberty, however it additionally affected Betty Shabazz’s incapability to have the ability to deliver a wrongful dying lawsuit for the assassination, the conspiracy to assassinate her husband, the minister Malcolm X
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