In a statement released Saturday, the Department of Justice has declined to reopen the 46-year-old case on the assassination of Civil Rights leader Malcolm X. The department says the statute of limitations has expired on any federal laws that might apply to the case.

However, many civil rights advocates still want the Justice Department to proceed, citing the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007. However, the department insists that the Malcolm X assassination does not meet the parameters of that act.

“Although the Justice Department recognizes that the murder of Malcolm X was a tragedy, both for his family and for the community he served, we have determined that at this time, the matter does not implicate federal interests sufficient to necessitate the use of scarce federal investigative resources into a matter for which there can be no federal criminal prosecution,” said the Justice Department in their official statement.

In an interview with The New York Times Alvin Sykes, an advocate for investigation of such unsolved civil rights cases, says the agency can investigate even if no prosecution is necessary, citing the precedent set forth with the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sykes says he will appeal to President Obama and the United States Congress.