President Donald Trump signed an executive order to release files related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

Trump promised to release the documents during his first term but later complied with intelligence community requests to keep much of the material classified.

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s family reacts hours after Trump signed the executive order during an Oval Office signing.

Donald J. Trump has said that once he is sworn in as president on Monday, he will quickly release records relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as part of measures to restore confidence in government.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aiming to declassify remaining federal records relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.

Donald Trump has signed an executive order that aims to declassify remaining files that detail the assassinations of JFK and MLK in the 1960s. | ITV National News

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to declassify files on the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.

Trump’s decision to release these files comes in the wake of strong advocacy from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nephew of RFK, who has long pushed for the declassification of documents related to his uncle’s assassination.

The National Archives has released tens of thousands of records in recent years related to the November 22, 1963 assassination of president Kennedy but held thousands back, citing national security concerns.

President Trump has ordered the release of thousands of classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, as well as those of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

President Trump ordered the public release of classified files on the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. NBC News' Peter Alexander reports.