Source: Les Payne. The Dead Are Arising - The Life of Malcolm X (2020)
Gene Roberts had become one of Malcolm X’s bodyguards by the time of his assassination. Long before Roberts reached that position, the NOI had tried to kill Malcolm X in Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia. EM and the “Royal Family” drew a line in the sand, ordering that Malcolm X had to be assassinated by 26 February 1965, which was Saviour’s Day (honoring the birthday of Wallace Fard Muhammad, the founder of the NOI). The hit-order was the worst-kept secret in Muslim circles, but the deadline remained a secret. Meanwhile, Malcolm X reduced his level of security around him, contrary to given advice.
On 14 February 1965, the NOI firebombed the very home (which was vacant) in Queens that had been the target of eviction for Malcolm X and his family. Roberts had joined the OAAU during the Spring of 1964, but even ten months in the organization, he was kept outside of the Circle of Trust, since he wasn’t a Muslim and hadn’t earned the trust of those close to Malcolm X. Roberts worked his way into the Circle due to his expertise in martial arts, and he became even more expert under the training of James 67x, and accomplished black belt and Malcolm X’s to “Go-To-Guy”. It was due to James 67x that Roberts was one of the very few security men for Malcolm X. That being said, James 67x was leery of Roberts from the start, even though he couldn’t exactly say why. One reason was that the Muslims around Malcolm X were open with each other, but Roberts remained circumspect.
On 14 February 1965, the NOI firebombed the very home (which was vacant) in Queens that had been the target of eviction for Malcolm X and his family. Roberts had joined the OAAU during the Spring of 1964, but even ten months in the organization, he was kept outside of the Circle of Trust, since he wasn’t a Muslim and hadn’t earned the trust of those close to Malcolm X. Roberts worked his way into the Circle due to his expertise in martial arts, and he became even more expert under the training of James 67x, and accomplished black belt and Malcolm X’s to “Go-To-Guy”. It was due to James 67x that Roberts was one of the very few security men for Malcolm X. That being said, James 67x was leery of Roberts from the start, even though he couldn’t exactly say why. One reason was that the Muslims around Malcolm X were open with each other, but Roberts remained circumspect.
Roberts was in fact an undercover NYPD officer. The NYPD had recruited Roberts out of the military, so he would be an unknown. Roberts dutifully reported what he had observed with Malcolm X and those around him to his handlers in the NYPD, who then forwarded that information to FBI Director Hoover, who by then was far more focused and interested in Malcolm X.
During a speech in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on 15 February 1965, Malcolm X exposed EM’s secret meeting with the Ku Klux Klan, stating that EM had struck a secret deal with “White America”. Malcolm X went further, saying that EM was using the same tactics as the KKK, such as the firebombing of the house in Queens the previous night. Also, Malcolm X promised more precise information on EM in the coming weeks, even specifically naming individuals. After the speech, Malcolm X understood that the target on his back for assassination became much larger. Captain Joseph was the leader of the FOI, and he admitted that EM and the “Royal Family” ordered the assassination of Malcolm X. Jeremiah X, on his deathbed in 1998, confirmed the NOI deadline of 26 February 1965 for the assassination.
During Malcolm X’s speech on 15 February 1965, Roberts was on high alert as a bodyguard as well as an undercover cop gathering intelligence. Roberts told his handlers that he had witnessed a dry run to assassinate Malcolm X, and that measures needed to be taken; his intelligence and advice were ignored. It became crystal clear to Roberts that 15 February 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem was a rehearsal for assassination, but his superiors in the NYPD drastically scaled-down the police presence in the area surrounding the Audubon Ballroom. After Malcolm X was shot many times and lay dying on the stage, Roberts would be horrified to witness the inordinately long time it took the NYPD to respond to the emergency call to take Malcolm X to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, basically within easy walking distance of the ballroom.
During a speech in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on 15 February 1965, Malcolm X exposed EM’s secret meeting with the Ku Klux Klan, stating that EM had struck a secret deal with “White America”. Malcolm X went further, saying that EM was using the same tactics as the KKK, such as the firebombing of the house in Queens the previous night. Also, Malcolm X promised more precise information on EM in the coming weeks, even specifically naming individuals. After the speech, Malcolm X understood that the target on his back for assassination became much larger. Captain Joseph was the leader of the FOI, and he admitted that EM and the “Royal Family” ordered the assassination of Malcolm X. Jeremiah X, on his deathbed in 1998, confirmed the NOI deadline of 26 February 1965 for the assassination.
During Malcolm X’s speech on 15 February 1965, Roberts was on high alert as a bodyguard as well as an undercover cop gathering intelligence. Roberts told his handlers that he had witnessed a dry run to assassinate Malcolm X, and that measures needed to be taken; his intelligence and advice were ignored. It became crystal clear to Roberts that 15 February 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem was a rehearsal for assassination, but his superiors in the NYPD drastically scaled-down the police presence in the area surrounding the Audubon Ballroom. After Malcolm X was shot many times and lay dying on the stage, Roberts would be horrified to witness the inordinately long time it took the NYPD to respond to the emergency call to take Malcolm X to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, basically within easy walking distance of the ballroom.
On 21 February 1965, as Malcolm X once again made his way to the Audubon Ballroom, a sense of dread enveloped his entourage. By then, James 67x was basically fed up with Malcolm X reducing security in the face of legitimate threats to his life, and tendered his resignation, which Malcolm X reluctantly accepted. Even so, James 67x was at the Audubon Ballroom, finishing his year of service that he had promised to Malcolm X.
James 67x was very frustrated at the lack of organization and discipline in the MMI and the OAAU, as well as their rivalry. Adding further to his stress level was the myriad of irritating inquiries from Malcolm X’s wife, Betty. Malcolm X had in effect shut out his wife from his non-domestic life, and the only way she could get any information about her husband was to badger James 67x and the other members of the entourage. So then, it had reached the point where James 67x didn’t know if his relationship with Malcolm X would even last the day.
On 21 February 1965, the initial four man roster of bodyguards, with Roberts at the flank, moved into position for its 30 minute shift before being replaced. Benjamin 2x, now Malcolm X’s right hand man, spoke first to warm up the audience. While doing so, he noticed two Muslim men that had their coats folded over their arms, and he felt a very bad aura coming from them. During his 20 minute introduction, his eyes kept coming back to them, but he didn’t recognize either man.
James 67x was very frustrated at the lack of organization and discipline in the MMI and the OAAU, as well as their rivalry. Adding further to his stress level was the myriad of irritating inquiries from Malcolm X’s wife, Betty. Malcolm X had in effect shut out his wife from his non-domestic life, and the only way she could get any information about her husband was to badger James 67x and the other members of the entourage. So then, it had reached the point where James 67x didn’t know if his relationship with Malcolm X would even last the day.
On 21 February 1965, the initial four man roster of bodyguards, with Roberts at the flank, moved into position for its 30 minute shift before being replaced. Benjamin 2x, now Malcolm X’s right hand man, spoke first to warm up the audience. While doing so, he noticed two Muslim men that had their coats folded over their arms, and he felt a very bad aura coming from them. During his 20 minute introduction, his eyes kept coming back to them, but he didn’t recognize either man.
When Malcolm X rose to speak, he insisted that Benjamin 2x not sit on the stage, but instead check on some details off stage; that meant that the space behind Malcolm X on the stage was empty. The last words Benjamin X uttered in his introduction before Malcolm X rose to speak was a “man who would give his life for his people”. Malcolm X greeted the audience by saying “As-Salaam-Alaikum” (Peace To You), and then “Wa-laik-um Salaam” (Peace Be Unto You). After those two greetings, two men rose in a scuffle four rows back and to the left, with one screaming “get your hands out of my pocket”, making it seem to be the rantings of a couple of drunks. Then a man in the back lit a strip of film in a sock (a homemade smoke bomb) and threw it forward, as it fizzled smoke. Two of the four security men in front of the stage moved forward towards the disturbance, leaving their posts.
Malcolm X moved out from behind the podium, raising his hands trying to restore order. At that instant, William 25x, a member of the Newark temple, charged the stage from the fourth row in a light crouch and aimed a sawed-off shotgun dead center on the chest of Malcolm X. After hesitating a fraction of a second, William 25x pulled the trigger, and Malcolm X’s arms folded over his chest and he fell off to his right over two wooden chairs. One of the seven shotgun pellets that entered Malcolm X’s body punctured the wall of his aorta. Malcolm X hit the floor so hard that the jarring loosened his folded arms, with one of them kind of hooked in his belt. William 25x had also leveled a shotgun blast at the podium, which destroyed the tape recorder, but not the tape that had recorded the second shotgun blast.
Malcolm X moved out from behind the podium, raising his hands trying to restore order. At that instant, William 25x, a member of the Newark temple, charged the stage from the fourth row in a light crouch and aimed a sawed-off shotgun dead center on the chest of Malcolm X. After hesitating a fraction of a second, William 25x pulled the trigger, and Malcolm X’s arms folded over his chest and he fell off to his right over two wooden chairs. One of the seven shotgun pellets that entered Malcolm X’s body punctured the wall of his aorta. Malcolm X hit the floor so hard that the jarring loosened his folded arms, with one of them kind of hooked in his belt. William 25x had also leveled a shotgun blast at the podium, which destroyed the tape recorder, but not the tape that had recorded the second shotgun blast.
Two other men with drawn pistols (the ones that had their coats over their hands) rushed to the stage, knowing that their part of the assassination plan was not necessary, but they had their orders. The two men fired their 9 mm Beretta and .45 caliber handguns as “insurance”. William 25x dropped his shotgun wrapped in a brown suit jacket on the stage, and the Beretta gunman dropped his weapon, which was part of the plan. The .45 caliber gunman, a very nervous Thomas Hayer, held his handgun long enough to be identified. The three assassins then tried to melt into the panicked-and-scattering crowd. All three remained in a crouch and headed towards the rear exit 200 feet away.
As they worked their way to the exit, Hayer fired off a few shots, and someone with a .32 caliber handgun was returning fire. Roberts, who was not one of the four bodyguards in front of the stage when the shooting started (since it wasn’t his shift), was near the rear exit, and it was an unarmed Roberts that blocked the rear exit, keeping his head while the three assassins were losing theirs. As Hayer came toward the exit with his gun raised, Roberts turned sideways, keeping his eyes on Hayer. Hayer fired from about four feet away, and missed. Roberts threw a chair at Hayer which knocked him down; Roberts quick reaction with the chair was due to the rigorous martial arts training he had recently gone through, ironically not from the NYPD, but from the Muslims of which he was ordered to spy. It had been a close call for Roberts, since the bullet went through his suit.
As they worked their way to the exit, Hayer fired off a few shots, and someone with a .32 caliber handgun was returning fire. Roberts, who was not one of the four bodyguards in front of the stage when the shooting started (since it wasn’t his shift), was near the rear exit, and it was an unarmed Roberts that blocked the rear exit, keeping his head while the three assassins were losing theirs. As Hayer came toward the exit with his gun raised, Roberts turned sideways, keeping his eyes on Hayer. Hayer fired from about four feet away, and missed. Roberts threw a chair at Hayer which knocked him down; Roberts quick reaction with the chair was due to the rigorous martial arts training he had recently gone through, ironically not from the NYPD, but from the Muslims of which he was ordered to spy. It had been a close call for Roberts, since the bullet went through his suit.