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A deathbed confession by a former New York police officer claims he, the NYPD and the FBI were involved in the murder of civil rights activist and icon Malcolm X.

The letter was released to the public on the anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination.

The letter, which was written in 2011 by Ray Wood,  shares details about his involvement in the assassination plot. He explains that he helped to falsely arrest members of Malcolm X’s security team days before the planned assassination so the leader would have less protection on that day.

“The Statue of Liberty bombing idea was created by my supervisor handler. Using surveillance the agency learned that Bowe and Sayyed were key players in Malcolm X’s crowd control security detail. It was my assignment to draw the two men into felonious federal crime, so that they could be arrested by the FBI and kept away from managing Malcolm X’s Audubon Ballroom door security on February 21, 1965. On February 16, 1965, the Statue of Liberty plot was carried out and the men were arrested just days before the assassination of Malcolm.”

Woods shared that he wrote the confession in hopes of clearing Thomas Johnson of the murder of Malcolm X.

“I am aging with failing health; recently I have learned of the death of Mr. Thomas Johnson and are deeply concerned that with my death his family will not be able to exonerate him after being wrongly convicted in the killing of Malcolm X,” Woods wrote.

He also revealed that witnesses identified him leaving the Audubon Ballroom on the day that Malcolm was killed. Wood does not directly say that he killed Malcolm X, but he does say that Thompson was arrested to cover up his involvement.

“On February 21, 1965 I was ordered to be at the Audubon Ballroom, where I was identified by witness while leaving the scene. Thomas Johnson was later arrested and wrongfully convicted to protect my cover and the secret of the FBI and NYPD,” the letter states.

The family of Malcolm X is now asking for a new investigation into his death and have hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is demanding that the District Attorney offer “restorative justice.”

It is not known at this time why the letter was not released sooner.

What a way to end Black History Month.