Martin Luther King Jr. would almost certainly have condemned political assassination in the strongest moral and ethical terms. He consistently rejected violence as a means of achieving political goals, insisting that change must come through nonviolent action, moral persuasion, and the cultivation of justice. To King, taking a life to advance an agenda was not only illegal but a profound moral failure that undermined the very principles of democracy and human dignity.

He often framed violence as a self-defeating tool: while it may produce short-term outcomes, it corrodes the soul of society and provokes cycles of retaliation and hatred. In his writings and speeches, King emphasized that the means of pursuing justice must reflect the ends—true justice cannot be built on acts of cruelty or terror. Political assassination, in his view, would be an ultimate betrayal of the ideals of equality, compassion, and nonviolent resistance that he championed throughout his life.