
Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr., issued a statement on Monday after President Trump ordered the release of thousands of MLK files.
In January, Trump signed an executive order to declassify assassination files on Martin Luther King Jr, Robert F. Kennedy, and former President John F. Kennedy.
On Monday, Trump’s administration published over 230,000 documents related to MLK’s 1968 assassination.
MLK’s surviving children, Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, issued a statement on X (Twitter) urging the public to have “restraint,” with “empathy” and “respect.”
Statement from me and my brother, Martin Luther King IlI, on the Release of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination Files
“We recognize that the release of documents concerning the assassination of our father, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has long been a subject of interest,… pic.twitter.com/GHHcNZ53nM
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) July 21, 2025
They warned the public not to misuse the documents or discredit their father’s legacy.
In a separate tweet, Bernice taunted Trump to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. “Now, do the Epstein files,” she wrote.
Now, do the Epstein files. pic.twitter.com/rzlub3WucQ
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) July 21, 2025
Bernice King is among Trump’s critics who believe he released the MLK files (and a separate release of Obama files last week) to distract from the controversy surrounding the Epstein files.

Rev. Al Sharpton criticized the MLK documents release as “a cheap political stunt.” He said the release of the documents was timed to “distract” the public from pressuring Trump to release the Epstein list – which Trump insists doesn’t exist.

It is unclear if Monday’s files release include audio tapes and FBI notes of MLK’s rumored motel rendezvous with various women.
Reporters who had access to the FBI’s notes in the ’60s learned that agents bugged a room where Dr. King stayed at the Willard Hotel in downtown Washington, DC in January 1964.
The microphone picked up sounds of Dr. King and at least 11 others participating in what the FBI’s internal memos described as “an orgy” on Jan. 6, 1964.
MLK was married to his faithful wife, Coretta Scott King, at the time.
In 1977 a court ordered the FBI’s notes, photographs, film footage and audio tapes on King to be sealed until 2027.
However, journalist Roland S. Martin is convinced that Trump is trying to destroy MLK’s legacy by releasing the hotel audio tapes and FBI notes on Monday.

“I guarantee you when these papers are released, and you get the recordings and all the stuff from the FBI, people are going to say ‘take his name off of streets,'” Martin said in January.
He added that parents will demand King’s name be removed from elementary schools and other institutions.
“Take his name off of elementary schools. We should not have programs honoring him. We should not have scholarship programs. He was not a moral man,” Martin said.
Martin continued: “I’m telling y’all… don’t think for a second that this executive order signed by Trump is all about getting to the truth of what happens… I’m telling y’all right now.”