Qubilah Shabazz - Louis Farrakhan

Louis Farrakhan

For many years, Shabazz's mother harbored resentment toward the Nation of Islam—and Louis Farrakhan in particular—for what she felt was their role in the assassination of her husband. In a 1994 interview, her mother was asked whether Farrakhan "had anything to do" with Malcolm X's death. She replied: "Of course, yes. Nobody kept it a secret. It was a badge of honor. Everybody talked about it, yes."

Shabazz began to obsess about Farrakhan. Like her mother, she believed he was responsible for killing her father. Now, she feared, he would kill her mother. In May 1994, she contacted Michael Fitzpatrick, a friend from high school, and asked if he would kill Farrakhan for her. She later told the FBI that she chose Fitzpatrick because "I knew he was capable of doing it".

Unbeknownst to Shabazz, Fitzpatrick was an FBI informant. He sometimes acted on their behalf as an agent provocateur. He had been arrested for drug possession shortly before Shabazz called him. He reported their conversation to the FBI.

Fitzpatrick and Shabazz spoke frequently during June and July. She believed he was romantically interested in her. She told her neighbors that he had proposed marriage. Fitzpatrick encouraged her, allowing Malcolm to call him "my dad".

In September, Shabazz and her son moved to Minneapolis, where Fitzpatrick lived. Fitzpatrick asked for money and Shabazz gave him $250. When Shabazz tried to contact Fitzpatrick, however, his roommates told her they had evicted him. When they finally spoke, she said she was "leery" and that she was "afraid to have any involvement". She also asked Fitzpatrick if he was a government informant; he told her he was not.

In January 1995, Shabazz was indicted on charges of using telephones and crossing state lines in the plot to kill Farrakhan. If convicted, she faced a possible sentence of 90 years in prison and fines in excess of $2 million. Farrakhan surprised Betty Shabazz when he defended Qubilah Shabazz, saying he did not think she was guilty and that he hoped she would not be convicted.

Shabazz accepted a plea agreement with respect to the charges on May 1. Under the terms of the plea, she maintained her innocence but accepted responsibility for her actions. She was required to undergo psychological counseling and treatment for drug and alcohol abuse for a two-year period in order to avoid a prison sentence.

Later that month, Betty Shabazz and Farrakhan shook hands on the stage of the Apollo Theater during a public event intended to raise money for Qubilah Shabazz's legal defense. Some heralded the evening as a reconciliation between the two, but others thought Betty Shabazz was doing whatever she had to in order to protect her daughter. Regardless, nearly $250,000 was raised that evening.