I had never heard of that allegation and to be revealed only now 50 years or so later, seems very odd. Wouldn’t the victim have spoken out at some point? I doubt many men or women were saints, so the womanizing rumor is one thing, even though it’s gossip at this point. But an accusation like being present at a rape or the rape itself would need some sort of conviction to be considered true in the U.S. Maybe not in some countries where you are guilty until proven innocent. I don’t like it. It’s wrong. Especially after the accused is dead.
> I had never heard of that allegation and to be revealed only now 50 years or so later, seems very odd. Wouldn’t the victim have spoken out at some point? <
Here’s something else that is odd. Evidently FBI agents were in another room recording the “rape”. Yet none of them intervened. As peace officers, that was their duty.
Perhaps they were given orders to just eavesdrop, and do nothing more. If so, that doesn’t say much about them. Heck, why not at least anonymously call the local police or hotel security?
I am an avid reader and read about this decades ago. He was a “do as I say, not as I do” man. I never put him on a pedestal like some did and do. No one is perfect.
According to the historian who’s written a definitive hagiographic biography of MLK, the FBI has audio recordings of the incident, with MLK laughing and cheering the rapist on. Obviously, I haven’t heard them, but this guy has a lot of credibility and we know there is tons of sealed information going to come out. We’ll know one way or the other one day.