Prior to the release, some relatives of King pushed back on the plan, saying: "For us, the assassination of our father is a deeply personal family loss that we have endured over the last 56 years. We hope to be provided the opportunity to review the files as a family prior to its public release.

Historians said they saw little of note in the assassination records that President Trump disclosed despite opposition from most of Dr. King’s family.

The release includes more than 230,000 pages of records detailing the FBI’s investigation into King’s assassination.