Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theories about the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, relate to different accounts of the incident that took place. King was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, the day after giving his final speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop". Claims soon arose over suspect aspects of King's assassination and the controversial role of the alleged assassin, James Earl Ray, who was convicted of the murder. Although his guilty plea eliminated the possibility of a trial before a jury, within days, Ray had recanted and claimed his confession was forced. Suspicions were further raised by the confirmation of illegal surveillance of King by the FBI and the CIA, and the FBI's attempt to prompt King to commit suicide.

In 1979, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded that there was a likelihood of conspiracy in the assassination of King and Ray was a scapegoat. In 1999, a mixed-race jury at a Memphis civil suit reached a unanimous verdict that King was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy involving the U.S. government and a person named Raoul, among others. After the verdict, Coretta King said: "There is abundant evidence of a major, high-level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband." The jury found the Mafia and various local, state, and federal government agencies were "deeply involved in the assassination. ... Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame."