Malcolm X — Credit: Associated Press (1963 press photo) · Public domain
On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X, a Muslim African American minister and Black power activist prominent in the civil rights movement, was shot multiple times while preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. He was pronounced dead at 3:30 p.m. shortly after arriving at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, at age 39. An autopsy identified 21 gunshot wounds, including ten buckshot wounds from an initial shotgun blast, along with wounds from semi-automatic handguns fired by two other men who rushed the stage after a disturbance in the roughly 400-person audience.
Throughout 1964, Malcolm X's relationship with the Nation of Islam (NOI) and its leader Elijah Muhammad had deteriorated after Malcolm X made remarks about the assassination of John F. Kennedy and criticized Muhammad's relationships with underage girls; he publicly left the NOI in March 1964. In the following months, FBI surveillance and NOI publications documented escalating threats against him, including a bombing of his car, a cartoon depicting his severed head, and statements from NOI figures including Louis X (later Louis Farrakhan) that Malcolm X was "worthy of death." His home was destroyed by fire on February 14, 1965, the night before an eviction hearing tied to an NOI lawsuit over the property.
One gunman, Nation of Islam member Talmadge Hayer, was beaten by the crowd at the scene before police arrived. Witnesses identified two other men as NOI members Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson. All three were convicted of murder in March 1966 and sentenced to indeterminate life terms. At trial, Hayer confessed but declined to name his co-assailants beyond stating that Butler and Johnson were not involved. In 1977 and 1978, Hayer signed affidavits again asserting Butler's and Johnson's innocence and naming other Nation members from Newark's Mosque No. 25 as participants; these affidavits did not lead to the case being reopened at that time. Hayer was paroled in April 2010.
A 2020 Netflix docuseries, Who Killed Malcolm X?, prompted a new review of the case by the Manhattan District Attorney's office. On November 18, 2021, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. exonerated Muhammad Abdul Aziz (formerly Norman 3X Butler) and Khalil Islam (formerly Thomas 15X Johnson). Aziz had been paroled in 1985 and later led the Nation's Harlem mosque; he maintains his innocence. Islam, released in 1987, rejected the Nation's teachings in prison, converted to Sunni Islam, and maintained his innocence until his death in August 2009.
Speculation and allegations regarding involvement of additional Nation of Islam members, and of law enforcement agencies including the NYPD, FBI, and CIA, have persisted for decades, including public statements by Louis Farrakhan acknowledging that words he spoke may have contributed to the atmosphere leading to the assassination. In November 2024, Malcolm X's family filed a civil lawsuit in Manhattan federal court alleging NYPD, CIA, and FBI involvement in the killing and seeking $100,000,000 in damages.
On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was shot and killed at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan while preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Three Nation of Islam members were convicted in 1966; two of them, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam, were exonerated in 2021 after a reinvestigation.
Where did the crime happen?
Audubon Ballroom, Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City.
Who was convicted?
Thomas Hagan (Convicted of murder in March 1966 (as Talmadge Hayer); confessed at trial; released on parole in April 2010.).
