Government Unseals Chilling Civil Rights Cold Case Secrets
Published Date: 5/27/2025
Notice
Summary
The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board reviewed 418 pages of records about three cold cases and decided which parts can be shared with the public. They approved some delays but will release hundreds of pages by May 2025, making important civil rights history more accessible. This update affects anyone interested in these cases and follows a law requiring quick public notice.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Hundreds of cold‑case pages released
The Review Board decided that 354 pages in full and 64 pages in part from a 418‑page records set will be publicly disclosed in the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection. Those determinations were made at meetings on May 9, 2025 and May 16, 2025.
Large number of postponements proposed
NARA, the Department of Justice, and the FBI proposed 559 postponements for records related to two of the incidents under review, which could limit public access to those records. The Review Board approved 161 postponements and portions of 33 additional postponements at its May 2025 meetings.
FBI withdrew 44 postponement proposals
The FBI withdrew 44 of the postponements it had originally proposed for the records. Those withdrawals reduce the number of withheld items and increase the amount of material potentially available to the public.
No postponements proposed for incident 2024-003-066
For incident identifier 2024-003-066, the agencies did not propose any postponements of disclosure, indicating those records were not recommended for withholding. This was noted in the Review Board's May 2025 meetings.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
2026-19783, Notice of Formal Determination on Records Release
The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board decided to approve 2 out of 9 new requests to delay releasing certain records about a 2024 civil rights case. This means some information will stay under wraps a bit longer, while most records will be made public soon. These decisions were announced quickly to keep things transparent and on schedule.
2026-17441, Notice of Formal Determination on Records Release
The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board previously reviewed and made formal disclosure determinations on records related to civil rights cold case incident 2023-002-006 in which the Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed postponements. The DOJ later proposed 4 additional postponements. On August 24, 2026, the Review Board rejected these postponements and determined that 32 pages in full and 33 pages in part should be publicly disclosed in the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection. By issuing this notice, the Review Board complies with the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018 that requires the Review Board to publish in the Federal Register its determinations on the disclosure or postponement of records in the Collection no more than 14 days after the date of its decision.
2026-17368, Notice of Formal Determination on Records Release
The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board received 5,617 pages of records from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) related to three civil rights cold case incidents to which the Review Board assigned the unique identifiers 2023-002-005, 2024-003-029, and 2024-003-052. The agencies proposed 3,691 postponements including postponements of sealed federal grand jury information in the records. On August 7, 2026, the Review Board approved 1,086 postponements and portions of 71 additional postponements and determined that 5,104 pages in full and 513 pages in part should be publicly disclosed in the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection. The Review Board has requested that the Attorney General petition the relevant court to unseal federal grand jury information in the records. By issuing this notice, the Review Board complies with the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018 that requires the Review Board to publish in the Federal Register its determinations on the disclosure or postponement of records in the Collection no more than 14 days after the date of its decision.
2026-03814, Notice of Formal Determination on Records Release
The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board decided to release 1,300 pages of important records about four civil rights cold cases. This means the public can now access these documents, with no delays or extra costs. The decision was made on February 20, 2026, and announced quickly to keep things transparent and timely.
2025-02522, Notice of Formal Determination on Records Release
The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board reviewed 679 pages of records about a civil rights case and decided to release most of them to the public. They approved some delays in sharing certain info but made sure 640 pages are fully open and 39 pages partly open. This means more transparency soon, with no extra costs or delays beyond the set rules.
2026-19547, Notice of Formal Determination on Records Release
The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board decided to release nearly 3,050 pages of important civil rights case records to the public while postponing 424 pages for now. This affects anyone interested in these historic cases, with some sealed grand jury info possibly becoming unsealed soon after the Attorney General asks the court. The decision was made on September 18, 2026, and follows a law that requires quick public updates.
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