Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. assassination. King had been targeted by COINTELPRO and had also been under surveillance by military intelligence agencies during the period leading up to his assassination under the code name Operation Lantern Spike. A church minister, Ronald Denton Wilson, claimed his father, Henry Clay Wilson, assassinated Martin Luther King Jr., not James Earl Ray. He stated, "It wasn't a racist thing; he thought Martin Luther King was connected with communism, and he wanted to get him out of the way." But Wilson had reportedly previously admitted his father was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. In 2004, Jesse Jackson, who
Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway (Jacksonville) route after him, and the change was effected on January 15, 2001, the 72nd anniversary of the slain leader's birth. Jacksonville was one of the last major cities in the country to rename a road for Dr. King; by choosing this route, the city was able to pay homage and yet because the entire route is without any addresses, either residential or business, the council was able to avoid irritating constituents, as often happens with such name changes. For the same reason, the frontage roads are still named Haines Street. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway (Jacksonville) The Martin Luther King