Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr., an American clergyman and civil rights leader, was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, and was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. CST. He was a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was known for his use of nonviolence and civil disobedience. James Earl Ray, a fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary, was arrested on June 8, 1968, in London at Heathrow Airport, extradited to the United States, and charged
Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories Dr King." The HSCA's Chief Counsel, Robert Blakey, said that if the CIA or FBI had been involved, all incriminating documents would have been destroyed long before 1979. Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories The conspiracy theories relating to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement, relate to different accounts of the assassination that took place on April 4, 1968, in Memphis Tennessee. King was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, one day after giving his final speech: "I've Been to the Mountaintop." Claims soon arose over suspect aspects