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{{Short description|1968 murder in Los Angeles, California}} | |||
] | |||
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} | |||
The '''assassination of Robert F. Kennedy''', a ] and brother of assassinated ] ], took place shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles, California. ] was killed during celebrations of his successful campaign in the Californian ]s while seeking the ] nomination for President of the United States. The perpetrator was a twenty-four year old ] ] named ], who remains incarcerated for this crime as of 2009. The shooting was recorded on audio tape by a freelance newspaper reporter, while the aftermath was captured on film. | |||
{{pp-move}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}} | |||
{{Infobox civilian attack | |||
| title = Assassination of {{nowrap|Robert F. Kennedy}} | |||
| image = Rfk assassination.jpg | |||
| alt = Refer to the caption | |||
| caption = ] lies mortally wounded on the floor immediately after the shooting. Kneeling beside him is 17-year-old busboy Juan Romero, who was shaking Kennedy's hand when ] fired the shots.{{Sfn|Esty-Kendall|2018}} | |||
| location = ], Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |||
| coordinates = {{Coord|34.0597|N|118.2971|W|region:US-CA_type:event_scale:50000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | |||
| date = {{start date and age|1968|06|05}} | |||
| time = 12:15 a.m. | |||
| timezone = ] | |||
| target = ] | |||
| fatalities = 1 (Kennedy died on June 6, 1968, from his injuries) | |||
| type = Political assassination, ] | |||
| injuries = 5{{efn|Paul Schrade, William Weisel, Elizabeth Evans, Ira Goldstein, Irwin Stroll}} | |||
| perp = ] | |||
| weapons = ] ] revolver | |||
| verdict = ] | |||
| convictions = ], ] (5 counts){{Sfn|State of California|2022}}{{Infobox event | |||
| title = | |||
| child = yes | |||
| sentence = ] in 1969; commuted ] to ] with the possibility of parole | |||
}} | |||
}} | |||
{{Robert F. Kennedy series}} | |||
On June 5, 1968, ] was shot by ] at the ] in Los Angeles, California, and pronounced dead the following day. | |||
Kennedy, a ] and candidate in the ], won the California and South Dakota primaries on June 4. He addressed his campaign supporters in the Ambassador Hotel's Embassy Ballroom. After leaving the podium, and exiting through a kitchen hallway, he was mortally wounded by multiple shots fired by Sirhan. Kennedy died at ] nearly 25 hours later. His body was buried at ]. | |||
Kennedy's body lay in repose at ] in New York for two days before a funeral mass was held on June 8. His body was interred near his brother John at ]. His death prompted the protection of presidential candidates by the ]. ] went on to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency, but ultimately lost the election to ]. | |||
Sirhan, a Palestinian who held strong ] and ] beliefs, testified in 1969 that he killed Kennedy "with 20 years of malice aforethought"; he was convicted and sentenced to death. Due to '']'', his sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1972 with a possibility of parole. His parole request has been denied numerous times. Kennedy's assassination prompted ] to protect presidential candidates. Additionally, it led to ]. | |||
As with his brother's death, Robert Kennedy's assassination and the circumstances surrounding it have spawned a variety of ], particularly in relation to the existence of a supposed second gunman. | |||
The assassination was one of four major assassinations of the ], coming several years after the ] in 1963 and the ] in 1965, and two months after the ] in 1968. | |||
== Background == | == Background == | ||
] was born in ], in 1925.{{Sfn|O'Neill|2000}} In 1948, ] and wrote six dispatches for '']''.{{Sfn|Bass|2003|p=50}}{{Sfn|Heymann|1998|p=45}} He dismissed the possibility of the Jewish state becoming ] as "fantastically absurd",{{Sfn|Bass|2003|p=51}} and called it the "only stabilizing factor remaining in the near and middle East".{{Sfn|Davis|1992|p=650}} In 1960, ], Robert's elder brother, was elected the president of the United States{{Sfn|Heymann|1998|pp=182–183}} and appointed Robert as ]. During his tenure, Robert served as John's close advisor{{Sfn|Palermo|2001|p=4}} and was associated with various decisions during the ].{{Sfn|O'Neill|2000}} According to author Matthew A. Hayes, during the ], Robert acted as a "de-facto Chief of Staff, Presidential Agent and Intermediary for his brother" and was an "indispensable partner" in its successful resolution.{{Sfn|Hayes|2019|pp=1–3}} In November 1963, ],{{Sfn|Kurtz|1982|p=1}} and Robert was deeply affected by it.{{Sfn|Thomas|2002|p=21}}{{Sfn|Clarke|2008|p=19}} Vice President ] assumed the presidency{{Sfn|Palermo|2001|p=5}} and retained almost all prominent Kennedy advisors, including Robert as attorney general.{{Sfn|O'Neill|2000}}{{Sfn|Palermo|2001|p=5}} | |||
Kennedy had been appointed United States ] in January 1961, and remained in this post until he resigned on September 3, 1964, to run for election as a United States senator.<ref name=congressbio>{{cite web| url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=k000114 |title= Kennedy, Robert Francis - Biographical information|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=2008-07-26}}</ref> He took office as Senator on January 3, 1965.<ref name=congressbio /> | |||
] | |||
The approach of the ] saw the incumbent president, ], serving during a period of social unrest. There were riots in the major cities despite Johnson's attempts to introduce anti-poverty and anti-discrimination legislation, and there was significant opposition to the ongoing military action in ].<ref name=BBCJohnson>{{cite news| title = 1964: Election triumph for Lyndon B Johnson| work = On this Day| publisher = ]|year= 2005 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/3/newsid_3641000/3641464.stm | accessdate = 2008-04-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/lj36.html |title= Biography of Lyndon B. Johnson |publisher = White House |accessdate=2008-04-24}}</ref> The ] in April 1968 led to further riots in 100 cities.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news | title = 1968: Martin Luther King shot dead| work = On this Day| publisher = ] |year= 2006| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/4/newsid_2453000/2453987.stm | accessdate = 2006-09-17 }}</ref> | |||
Kennedy entered the race for the Democratic Party's nomination for President on March 16, 1968 – four days after Senator ] received a large percentage of the vote in the ] primary against the incumbent President (42% to Johnson's 49%).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/06/15_newsroom_mccarthytimeline/|title=A timeline of Sen. Eugene McCarthy's life and political career|publisher=Minnesota Public Radio|date=2005-12-10|accessdate=2008-07-25}}</ref> Two weeks later, a demoralized Johnson announced he was no longer seeking re-election. One month later, Vice President Hubert Humphrey announced he would seek the presidency. Humphrey did not participate in any primaries but he did obtain the support of many Democratic Party ]. Following the California primary, Kennedy was in second place with 393 delegates compared to Humphrey's 561.<ref>Moldea 1995, p. 26n.</ref> | |||
In 1964, polls showed that various Democrats wanted Kennedy to be Johnson's running mate in ].{{Sfn|Palermo|2001|pp=5–6}} Kennedy instead organized his ],{{Sfn|Palermo|2001|p=6}} challenging ], an incumbent Republican senator.{{Sfn|Ayton|2007|p=43}} During a campaign speech, Kennedy declared his support for Israel, stating that in the event of an attack, "we will stand by Israel and come to her assistance".{{Sfn|Ayton|2007|p=x}} He won the election; during his congressional career, he supported ] and opposed Johnson's policies regarding the ].{{Sfn|O'Neill|2000}} | |||
==Assassination== | |||
] | |||
Four hours after the polls closed in California, Kennedy claimed victory in the state's Democratic presidential primary. At approximately 12:15 a.m. ], he addressed his campaign supporters in the ]'s Embassy Room ballroom, in the ] district of ].<ref name=LAFiles>{{cite web|url=http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?absPageId=1109722|title=RFK LAPD Microfilm, Volume 75 (SUS Final Report)|publisher=Mary Ferrell Foundation|accessdate=2008-07-25}}</ref> At the time, the government provided ] protection for incumbent presidents but not for presidential candidates. Kennedy's only security was provided by former ] agent William Barry and two unofficial bodyguards, former professional athletes.<ref>Moldea 1995, pp. 24–25.</ref> During the campaign, Kennedy had welcomed contact with the public, and people had often tried to touch him in their excitement.<ref>Witcover 1969, pp. 113–114.</ref> | |||
The ] has been referred to as one of the most volatile campaigns in American history.{{Sfn|Sieg|1996|p=1062}} There was strong opposition to the ongoing Vietnam War; and it was a period of social unrest, with riots in major cities.{{Sfn|Thomas|2002|p=22}} ], a Democratic politician, organized a "]" movement to prevent Johnson's nomination as the presidential candidate,{{Sfn|Hoogenboom|2000}} and asked Kennedy to run instead. Kennedy refused, asserting that he did not want to split the Democratic Party.{{Sfn|O'Neill|2000}} ], a U.S. senator from Minnesota, then emerged as the leader of the "Dump Johnson" movement and entered several state presidential primaries.{{Sfn|Keene|2013}} In late January 1968, the ], in the view of historian ], "shattered hopes that the war could be won within a reasonable period of time—if ever—and broke open the cracks in the Democratic coalition".{{Sfn|Gardner|2000}} | |||
Kennedy had planned to walk through the ballroom when he had finished speaking, on his way to another gathering of supporters elsewhere in the hotel.<ref>Witcover 1969, p. 264.</ref> However, with deadlines fast approaching, reporters wanted a ]. Campaign aide ] decided that Kennedy would forgo the second gathering and instead go through the kitchen and pantry area behind the ballroom to the press area. Kennedy finished speaking and started to exit when William Barry stopped him and said, "No, it's been changed. We're going this way."<ref name="w2645"/> Barry and Dutton began clearing a way for Kennedy to go left through swinging doors to the kitchen corridor, but Kennedy, hemmed in by the crowd, followed hotel maitre d' Karl Uecker through a back exit.<ref name="w2645">Witcover 1969, pp. 264–265.</ref> | |||
On March 12, 1968, in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, McCarthy nearly defeated Johnson{{Sfn|Moldea|1995|p=19}} with 42 percent to Johnson's 49 percent of the votes.{{Sfn|Keene|2013}} Four days later, Kennedy announced his presidential campaign.{{Sfn|Clarke|2008|p=1}} On March 31, Johnson announced that he would not seek the presidency.{{Sfn|Goldzwig|2003|p=51}} Four days later, civil rights activist ], leading to ] in several cities.{{Sfn|Clarke|2008|pp=ix, 1, 92}} The same day, Kennedy gave a ] in Indianapolis,{{Sfn|Clarke|2008|pp=ix, 94}} saying: | |||
Uecker led Kennedy through the kitchen area, holding Kennedy's right wrist but frequently releasing it as Kennedy shook hands with those he encountered.<ref name=moldeaexcerpt>Moldea, 1995, Chapter 1.</ref> Uecker and Kennedy started down a passage way narrowed by an ice machine against the right wall and a steam table to the left.<ref name=moldeaexcerpt /> Kennedy turned to his left and shook hands with ] ] as ] stepped down from a low tray-stacker beside the ice machine, rushed past Uecker, and repeatedly fired what was later identified as a ] ] revolver.<ref>Witcover 1969, p. 266.</ref> | |||
<blockquote>What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black. ... let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.{{Sfn|Clarke|2008|p=96}}</blockquote> | |||
After Kennedy had fallen to the floor, security man Bill Barry hit Sirhan twice in the face while others, including ]s Uecker and Edward Minasian, writer ], ] gold medal ] ] and ] player ], forced Sirhan against the steam table and disarmed him.<ref name=EventAccount>{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,900110-3,00.html|title=A Life On The Way To Death|publisher=''TIME''|date=1968-06-14|accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Sirhan wrestled free and grabbed the revolver again, but he had already fired all the bullets.<ref name="w269"/> Barry went to Kennedy and lay his jacket under the candidate's head, later recalling: "I knew immediately it was a .22, a small caliber, so I hoped it wouldn't be so bad, but then I saw the hole in the Senator's head, and I knew".<ref name="w269">Witcover 1969, p. 269.</ref> Reporters and photographers rushed into the area from both directions, contributing to the chaos. As Kennedy lay wounded, Juan Romero cradled the senator's head and placed a ] in his hand.<ref>{{cite web | first=Steve |last=Lopez | date=1998-06-08 | title=Guarding the Dream | url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988470,00.html | publisher=''TIME'' | accessdate=August 16 | accessyear=2007}}</ref> Kennedy asked Romero, "Is everybody safe, OK?" and Romero responded, "Yes, yes, everything is going to be OK".<ref name="nw29">"Bobby's Last, Longest Day," ''Newsweek'', (1968-06-17), p. 29.</ref> Captured by ''Life'' photographer Bill Eppridge and Boris Yaro of the ''Los Angeles Times'', this moment became the ] image of the assassination.<ref name="Picture">{{cite web |year=2007 |url= http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/exhibition/zoomify.asp?id=1746&type=g&width=640&height=480&hideAlt=1|title = Assassination of presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy|format = PICTURE|publisher = ]| accessdate = 2008-05-14 | last= |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=154486&TICK=NIKC&STORY=/www/story/02-04-2004/0002103183&EDATE=Feb+4,+2004 |title=NikonNet and 'Legends Behind the Lens' Honor the Iconic Works of Photojournalist Bill Eppridge|publisher=NikonUSA|date=2004-02-04|accessdate=2008-05-14}}</ref><ref name="Yaro">{{cite web |year=2007 |url = http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jan/05/entertainment/et-artphotos5|title = Double exposure of history and art, in a shutter’s click|publisher = Los Angeles Times| accessdate = 2008-08-01 }}</ref> | |||
In April, Vice President ] announced ]. He mostly avoided primaries and focused on states which held caucuses. Contrary to Kennedy, Humphrey did not publicly oppose the Vietnam War.{{Sfn|Curtin|2000}} | |||
] stood outside the crush of people at the scene, seeking help.<ref name="nw29"/> She was soon led to her husband and knelt beside him. He turned his head and seemed to recognize her.<ref>Witcover 1969, p. 272.</ref> After several minutes, medical attendants arrived and lifted Kennedy onto a stretcher, prompting him to exclaim, "No, no".<ref name="w273">Witcover 1969, p. 273.</ref> He lost consciousness shortly thereafter.<ref name="w273"/> Kennedy was taken a mile away to Central Receiving Hospital, where he arrived near death. One doctor slapped his face, calling, "Bob, Bob", while another massaged Kennedy's heart.<ref name = everything>{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,900131,00.html |title=Everything Was Not Enough|date=1968-06-14|publisher=''TIME''|accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> After obtaining a good heartbeat, doctors handed a ] to Ethel Kennedy so she could hear her husband's heart beating, much to her relief.<ref>"Bobby's Last, Longest Day," ''Newsweek'', (1968-06-17), p. 30.</ref> After about 30 minutes, Kennedy was transferred several ] to the Hospital of the Good Samaritan for surgery. Surgery began at 3:12 a.m. PDT and lasted three hours and 40 minutes.<ref>Witcover 1969, pp. 281–282.</ref> Ten and a half hours later, at 5:30 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, spokesman ] announced that Kennedy's doctors were "concerned over his continuing failure to show improvement"; his condition remained "extremely critical as to life".<ref>Witcover 1969, p. 289.</ref> | |||
== Assassination == | |||
Kennedy had been shot three times. One bullet, fired at a range of about {{convert|1|in|cm|2}}, entered behind his right ear, dispersing fragments throughout his brain.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,838974,00.html |title=The Man Who Loved Kennedy|publisher=''TIME''|date=1969-02-21|accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Two others entered at the rear of his right armpit; one exited from his chest and the other lodged in the back of his neck.<ref>Moldea 1995, p. 85.</ref> Despite extensive ] at the Good Samaritan Hospital to remove the bullet and bone fragments from his brain, Kennedy died at 1:44 a.m. PDT, nearly 26 hours after the shooting.<ref name = everything /> | |||
=== California primary and shooting === | |||
Five other people were also wounded: William Weisel of ], Paul Schrade of the ] union, Democratic Party activist Elizabeth Evans, Ira Goldstein of the Continental News Service and Kennedy campaign volunteer Irwin Stroll.<ref name=EventAccount /> Although not physically wounded, singer ], a strong Kennedy supporter, was present in the ballroom during the shooting in the pantry and suffered a ] shortly afterward.<ref name="Clooney">{{cite web |year=2002 |url = http://web.archive.org/web/20020701-20020830re_/http://www.cincypost.com/2002/jul/01/rostim070102.html|title = Rosemary Clooney: 1928-2002|publisher = The Cincinnati Post| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}</ref> | |||
] | |||
The California presidential primary elections were held on June 4, 1968. Polls by ] showed Kennedy leading by 7 percent.{{Sfn|Clarke|2008|p=265}} The statewide results gave Kennedy 46 percent to McCarthy's 42 percent.{{Sfn|''Guide to U.S. Elections''|2010|p=410}} Kennedy also won the South Dakota primary, winning approximately 50 percent of the vote.{{Sfn|Clarke|2008|p=266}} Author ] referred to the victory as Kennedy's "greatest". He was now in second place with {{Fraction|393|1|2}} total delegates, against Humphrey's {{Fraction|561|1|2}} delegates.{{Sfn|Moldea|1995|p=26n}}{{Sfn|Palermo|2001|p=245}} | |||
==Perpetrator== | |||
{{wikisource|Sirhan Sirhan's diary}} | |||
{{main|Sirhan Sirhan}} | |||
At approximately 12:02 a.m. ]{{Sfn|O'Sullivan|2008|p=495}} the next day, Kennedy addressed his campaign supporters in the Embassy Ballroom of the ], in the ].{{Sfn|Thomas|2002|p=387}} At the time, the government did not provide ] protection for presidential candidates.{{Sfn|O'Sullivan|2008|p=159}} Kennedy's only security personnel were former ] agent William Barry and two unofficial bodyguards: Olympic decathlon gold medalist ]{{Sfn|Clarke|2008|pp=8, 119}} and former football player ].{{Sfn|Moldea|1995|p=46}} At approximately 12:10 am, concluding his victory speech, Kennedy said: "So my thanks to all of you and on to Chicago and let's win there."{{Sfn|''The New York Times''|1968}}{{Sfn|''Los Angeles Times''|1986}} Kennedy planned to walk through the ballroom after speaking on his way to another gathering of supporters, but reporters wanted a press conference. Campaign aide ] decided that Kennedy would forgo the second gathering and instead go through the hotel's kitchen and pantry area behind the ballroom to the press area.{{Sfn|Witcover|1988|pp=264–265}} Kennedy had welcomed contact with the public during the campaign, and people had often tried to touch him in excitement.{{Sfn|Witcover|1988|pp=113–114}} Soon after Kennedy concluded the speech, he started to exit through the ballroom when Barry stopped him and said, "No, it's been changed. We're going this way."{{Sfn|Witcover|1988|pp=264–265}} Barry and Dutton began clearing a way for Kennedy to go left, through swinging doors, to the kitchen corridor, but he was hemmed in by the crowd and followed '']'' Karl Uecker through a back exit.{{Sfn|Witcover|1988|pp=264–265}} Uecker led Kennedy through the kitchen area, holding his right wrist, but frequently releasing it as Kennedy shook hands with people whom he encountered.{{Sfn|Moldea|1995|p=33}} Uecker and Kennedy started down a passageway narrowed by an ice machine and a steam table to the north.{{Sfn|Moldea|1995|p=33}} | |||
Sirhan Sirhan was strongly anti-].<ref name=BST>{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,838860,00.html|title=Behind Steel Doors| publisher=''TIME'' |date=1969-01-17 |accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,841578,00.html |title=Selectivity In Los Angeles|publisher=''TIME''|date=1969-01-31|accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> A diary found during a search of Sirhan's home stated, "My determination to eliminate RFK is becoming more and more of an unshakable obsession. RFK must die. RFK must be killed. Robert F. Kennedy must be assassinated...Robert F. Kennedy must be assassinated before 5 June 1968." It has been suggested that the date of the assassination is significant, because it was the first anniversary of the first day of the ] between Israel and its Arab neighbors.<ref>Coleman 2004.</ref> When Sirhan was booked by police, they found in his pocket a newspaper article that discussed Kennedy's support for ], and at his trial, Sirhan testified that he began to hate Kennedy after learning of this support.<ref>The article was from the June 2 edition of the ''Pasadena Independent Star News''. Moldea 1995, p. 52n.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=99533&relPageId=221 |title=Trial transcript, vol. 18, p. 5244 |publisher=Mary Ferrell Foundation|accessdate=2008-07-26}}</ref> This interpretation of his motives has, however, been criticized as an oversimplification that ignores Sirhan's deeper psychological problems.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Clarke |first=James W. |year=1981 |month=January |title=American Assassins: An Alternative Typology |journal=British Journal of Political Science |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=81–104 |url=http://www.jstor.org/pss/193462 |accessdate= 2008-07-26}}</ref> | |||
Kennedy turned to his left and shook hands with Juan Romero,{{Sfn|Melanson|1994|p=18}}{{Sfn|Moldea|1995|p=96}} just as ] stepped down from a low tray-stacker beside the ice machine, rushed past Uecker, and repeatedly fired an eight-shot ] caliber ]{{Sfn|Witcover|1988|pp=266, 269}} at point-blank range.{{Sfn|Hodak|2012|p=72}} Kennedy fell to the floor; others, including writer ] and Grier, tried to disarm Sirhan, as he continued firing his gun in random directions. Five other people were wounded: William Weisel of ], ] of the ] union, Democratic Party activist Elizabeth Evans, Ira Goldstein of the Continental News Service, and Kennedy campaign volunteer Irwin Stroll.{{Sfn|Moldea|1995|p=85}}{{Sfn|''Time'' (a)|1968}}{{Sfn|''Los Angeles Times''|1995}} A minute later, Sirhan wrestled free and grabbed the revolver again, but others grabbed him.{{Sfn|Witcover|1988|p=269}} Barry went to Kennedy and placed his jacket under Kennedy's head.{{Sfn|Witcover|1988|p=269}} As Kennedy lay wounded, Romero cradled his head and placed a rosary in his hand.{{Sfn|''Time''|1998}} Kennedy asked Romero, "Is everybody OK?"; Romero responded, "Yes, everybody's OK." Kennedy then turned away and said, "Everything's going to be OK."{{Sfn|Allen|2015}} The moment was captured by Boris Yaro of the '']'' and became the iconic image of the assassination.{{Sfn|Reynolds|2007}} | |||
During his trial, Sirhan's lawyers attempted to use a defense of ],<ref name=BST /> while their client tried to confess to the crime and change his plea to guilty on several occasions.<ref name=ADI>{{cite web| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839767-2,00.html|title=A Deadly Iteration|publisher=''TIME''|date=1969-03-07|accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Sirhan testified that he had killed Kennedy "with 20 years of malice aforethought", although he has maintained since being convicted that he has no memory of the crime. The judge did not accept this confession and it was later withdrawn.<ref name=ADI /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20030306-2018-ca-sirhanparole.html|title=Sirhan Sirhan denied parole for 12th time|work=]|publisher=www.signonsandiego.com|accessdate=2008-04-26|date=2003-03-06|last=Skoloff|first=Brian}}</ref> | |||
=== Immediate aftermath and death === | |||
Sirhan was convicted on April 17, 1969 and six days later was sentenced to death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/07/national/main543105.shtml|title=Sirhan Sirhan Kept Behind Bars|publisher = ]|date=2003-03-06|accessdate=2008-05-18}}</ref> The sentence was ] to ] in 1972 after the ], in its decision in '']'', invalidated all pending death sentences imposed in California prior to 1972. In 2006, he was denied parole for the thirteenth time and is currently confined at the ] in ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.nysun.com/article/29356 |title=One Common Link|first=Warren |last=Kozak |publisher=NY Sun |date=2006-03-17|accessdate=2008-07-26}}</ref> | |||
As the shooting took place, ABC News was signing off from its election-night broadcast, while the CBS coverage had been concluded. CBS went back on the air with coverage of the shooting 21 minutes after it had taken place. ABC's associate news director Weisel, who had been wounded during the shooting, reported from his stretcher.{{Sfn|''Time'' (c)|1968}} ABC was able to show scant live footage from the kitchen after Kennedy had been transported, but all of ABC's coverage from the hotel was in black-and-white.{{Sfn|ABC}} Approximately three hours after the incident, television networks began their morning broadcast schedule. About six million Western American households viewed the live reporting.{{Sfn|''Time'' (c)|1968}} | |||
Kennedy's wife, ], who was three months pregnant,{{Sfn|Segalov|2018}} had been away from the shooting scene.{{Sfn|''Newsweek''|1968|p=29}} She was soon led to Kennedy and knelt beside him. Kennedy turned his head seeming to recognize her.{{Sfn|Witcover|1988|p=272}} Kennedy's campaign manager, his brother-in-law ], promptly appeared on television and asked for a doctor.{{Sfn|Newfield|1988|pp=299–300}} After several minutes, medical attendants arrived and lifted Kennedy onto a stretcher, prompting him to whisper, "Don't lift me", which were his last words;{{Sfn|Heymann|1998|p=500}}{{Sfn|Clarke|2008|p=275}} he lost consciousness shortly after.{{Sfn|Witcover|1988|p=273}} He was taken to Central Receiving Hospital. A doctor slapped his face, calling, "Bob! Bob! Bob!" while another doctor massaged his heart.{{Sfn|''Time'' (b)|1968}} After obtaining a good heartbeat, doctors handed a stethoscope to Ethel so that she could hear Kennedy's heart beating.{{Sfn|''Newsweek''|1968|p=30}} After about 30 minutes, Kennedy was transferred several blocks to the ] to undergo surgery. A gymnasium near the hospital was set up as temporary headquarters for the press and news media to receive updates on his condition. Surgery began at 3:12 a.m. and lasted approximately 3 hours and 40 minutes.{{Sfn|Witcover|1988|pp=281–282, 286}} At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, spokesman ] announced that Kennedy's doctors were "concerned over his continuing failure to show improvement"; his condition was critical.{{Sfn|Witcover|1988|p=289}} | |||
==Media coverage== | |||
As the shooting took place, ABC News was signing off from its electoral broadcast, while the ] broadcast was already over.<ref name=mediaaccount>{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,900149,00.html|title=What Was Going On?|publisher=''TIME''|date=1968-06-14|accessdate=2008-04-28}}</ref> It was not until 21 minutes after the shots that CBS's coverage of the shooting would begin. The reporters who had been present to report on Kennedy's win in the primary ended up crowding into the kitchen where he had been shot and the immediate aftermath was captured only by audio recording and cameras that had no live transmission capability.<ref name=EventAccount /> ABC was able to show scant live footage from the kitchen after Kennedy had been transported but unlike CBS and ], all of ABC's coverage from the Ambassador was in black and white. CBS and NBC shot footage in the kitchen of the shooting's aftermath on color film, which could not be broadcast until it was developed two hours after the incident.<ref name=mediaaccount /> | |||
Kennedy had been shot multiple times.{{Sfn|''Time'' (b)|1968}} The fatal shot was fired at a range of {{convert|1|in|cm|0}},{{Sfn|''Time'' (a)|1969}} entering behind his right ear.{{Sfn|Moldea|1995|p=85}} The other two shots entered at the rear of his right armpit; one exited from his chest and the other lodged in the back of his neck.{{Sfn|Moldea|1995|p=85}} Despite extensive neurosurgery to remove the bullet and bone fragments from his brain, he was pronounced dead at 1:44 a.m. on June 6, nearly 25 hours after the shooting.{{Sfn|''Time'' (b)|1968}} Mankiewicz left the hospital and walked to the gymnasium where the press and news media were set up for continuous updates on the situation. At 2 a.m. on June 6, Mankiewicz announced Kennedy's death.{{Sfn|Gabler|2020|pp=383–384}} The following week, NBC devoted 55 hours to the shooting and its aftermath, ABC 43 hours, and CBS 42 hours, with all three networks initially pre-empting their regular coverage and advertisements to cover the story.{{Sfn|''Time'' (c)|1968}} | |||
Reporter Andrew West of ], a ] radio affiliate in ], captured on audio tape the sounds of the immediate aftermath of the shooting but not the actual shooting itself. Using a reel-to-reel tape recorder and attached microphone, West also provided an on-the-spot account of the struggle with Sirhan in the hotel kitchen pantry, shouting at Rafer Johnson to "Get the gun, Rafer, get the gun!" and telling others to "get a hold of thumb and break it, if you have to! Get his thumb!"<ref name="Audio">{{cite web |date= ]|url = http://hearitnow.umd.edu/1968.htm|title = Hear it Now! RFK ASSASSINATED|format = AUDIO|publisher = University of Maryland/Library of American Broadcasting| accessdate = 2007-08-19 | first=Andrew |last=West}}</ref><ref>Other stations also provided coverage. In 2008, on the 40th anniversary of the assassination, local ] affiliate ] made available for streaming and download a 45-minute unedited of the assassination, including audio from its sister station KNXT-TV (now ]).</ref> | |||
=== Funeral and aftermath === | |||
Over the following week, NBC devoted 55 hours to the shooting and aftermath, ABC 43, and CBS 42, with all three networks pre-empting their regular coverage and advertisements to cover the story.<ref name=mediaaccount /> | |||
]|alt=Grave of Robert F. Kennedy. A cross with few flowers can be seen.]] | |||
Senator Kennedy's casket was taken, via a jet emblazoned with "United States of America" and sent by President Lyndon B. Johnson,{{Sfn|Shapell|Willen|2018}} to New York City, where his casket was viewed by thousands ].{{Sfn|''The Independent''|2007}} The funeral mass was held on the morning of June 8.{{Sfn|Mossman|Stark|1972|p=332}} Kennedy's younger brother, Senator ], delivered the eulogy, saying: | |||
==Alternative theories== | |||
<blockquote>My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it ... As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."{{Sfn|Wells|2018|p=5}}</blockquote> | |||
As with the ], President John F. Kennedy, in 1963, the senator's death has been the subject of widespread analysis. Some individuals involved in the original investigation and some researchers have suggested alternative scenarios for the crime, or have argued that there are serious problems with the official case. | |||
Kennedy's body was transported via train to Washington, D.C.; many mourners lined the route, paying their respects.{{Sfn|ANC}} On the way to the cemetery, the funeral procession passed through ], a shantytown protest site.{{Sfn|Kotz|2005|p=422}} The procession stopped in front of the ], where residents of Resurrection City joined the group, and the "]" was sung.{{Sfn|Mossman|Stark|1972|pp=335–336}} ] near his older brother John in ]. This was the first burial to have ever taken place there at night.{{Sfn|''The Independent''|2007}}{{Sfn|ANC}} After the assassination, ] altered the Secret Service's mandate to include protection for major presidential and vice-presidential nominees.{{Sfn|Secret Service}} | |||
===CIA involvement=== | |||
In November 2006, the ]'s '']'' programme presented research by filmmaker Shane O'Sullivan alleging that several ] officers were present on the night of the assassination.<ref name=beebprog>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/6169006.stm|title=CIA role claim in Kennedy killing|publisher=BBC|date=2006-11-21|accessdate=2008-04-27}}</ref> Three men who appear in video and photographs from the night of the assassination were positively identified by former colleagues and associates as former senior CIA officers who had worked together in 1963 at ], the CIA's main anti-Castro station based in Miami. They were JMWAVE Chief of Operations ], Chief of Maritime Operations ] and Chief of Psychological Warfare Operations George Joannides.<ref name=beebprog /> | |||
At the time of his death, Kennedy was substantially behind Humphrey in convention delegate support,{{Sfn|''The Guardian''|2007}} but many believe that, following his victory in the California primary, he would have ultimately secured the nomination.{{Sfn|Newfield|1988|p=293}} Humphrey won the nomination at the convention in Chicago, at which ] occurred. He ultimately lost the general election to Republican candidate ] by a narrow popular vote margin of 0.7 percent. Nixon won by a more decisive 301–191 margin in ].{{Sfn|''Guide to U.S. Elections''|2010|pp=329–331}} | |||
The programme featured an interview with Morales's former attorney Robert Walton, who quoted him as having said, "I was in Dallas when we got the son of a bitch and I was in Los Angeles when we got the little bastard".<ref name=beebprog /> O'Sullivan reported that the CIA declined to comment on the officers in question. It was also alleged that Morales was known for his deep anger toward the Kennedys for what he saw as their betrayal during the ].<ref name="OSullivanGuardian">{{cite news |title=Did the CIA kill Bobby Kennedy? |work=The Guardian |date=] |url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1952379,00.html |last=O'Sullivan |first=Shane |accessdate=2006-11-21}}</ref> | |||
== Perpetrator == | |||
After further investigation, O'Sullivan produced the feature documentary, '']''. The film casts doubt on the earlier identifications and ultimately reveals that the man previously identified as Gordon Campbell was in fact Michael D. Roman, a now-deceased Bulova Watch Company employee, who was at the Ambassador Hotel for a company convention.<ref>{{cite video |first=Shane |last=O'Sullivan |date2=2007-11-20 |title=RFK Must Die |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1047517/ |medium=DVD |publisher=Dokument Films |accessyear=2008}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
{{Main|Sirhan Sirhan}} | |||
Sirhan Sirhan was born on March 19, 1944, in ], ], to an ] family.{{Sfn|Ayton|2007|p=49}} At the age of four, he and his father narrowly escaped a bomb explosion during the ].{{Sfn|Ayton|2007|p=50}} This incident, according to author ], "had a psychological effect on young Sirhan".{{Sfn|Ayton|2007|p=51}} He witnessed various other violent incidents during his childhood, including physical abuse by his father and the death of his older brother at the hands of a military truck that was trying to avoid sniper fire. In late 1956, Sirhan, along with his family, immigrated to the United States.{{Sfn|Meloy|2010|p=563}} He was unhappy with immigrating to the United States, later saying that "the U.S. was against the Arabs and was friendly with Israel, and a friend of my enemy is my enemy".{{Sfn|Ayton|2007|p=53}} Once in the United States, Sirhan received above-average grades and joined an ].{{Sfn|Meloy|2010|p=563}} During his late-teenage years, Sirhan's father abandoned the family,{{Sfn|Ayton|2007|p=54}} his sister died, two of his brothers were arrested, and he was expelled from ].{{Sfn|Meloy|2010|p=563}} Sirhan held strongly ] and ] beliefs.{{Sfn|Socarides|1979|p=449}} | |||
===Second gunman=== | |||
The location of Kennedy's wounds suggested that his assailant had stood behind him, but some witnesses said that Sirhan faced west as Kennedy moved through the pantry facing east.<ref name=guardian>{{cite web| url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/feb/22/kennedy.assassination| title=New evidence challenges official picture of Kennedy shooting |date=2008-02-22 |accessdate=2008-04-28|publisher=''The Guardian''|first=James |last=Randerson}}</ref> This has led to the suggestion that a second gunman actually fired the fatal shot, a possibility supported by coroner ].<ref name="NoguchiBook">Noguchi 1985</ref> Other witnesses, though, said that as Sirhan approached, Kennedy was turning to his left shaking hands, facing north and so exposing his right side.<ref name=FBISum1b>{{cite web|url=http://foia.fbi.gov/rfkasumm/rfksumm1b.pdf|title=Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Summary, Part 1(b), p. 35|accessdate=2008-07-25|format=]|publisher=FBI}}</ref> As recently as 2008, eyewitness ] asserted his belief that there must have been a second gunman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://i1.democracynow.org/2008/6/5/democracy_now_special_robert_f_kennedy |title=Democracy Now! Special: Robert F. Kennedy’s Life and Legacy 40 Years After His Assassination|publisher=democracynow.org|accessdate=2008-07-25}}</ref> During a re-examination of the case in 1975, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered expert examination of the possibility of a second gun having been used, and the conclusion of the experts was that there was little or no evidence to support this theory.<ref name=FBISum1b /> | |||
In 1966, while pursuing a career as a jockey, Sirhan fell from a running horse,{{Sfn|Meloy|2010|p=563}} suffering minor injuries. A friend of Sirhan said that after this incident, Sirhan was "impatient, nervous, emotional and always in a hurry".{{Sfn|Socarides|1979|p=450}} A diary was found during a search of his home, where he wrote on May 18: "Robert Kennedy must be assassinated ... My determination to eliminate RFK is becoming more and more of an unshakable obsession. RFK must die. RFK must be killed."{{Sfn|Ayton|2007|p=x}}{{Sfn|Sanders|2000|p=267}}{{Sfn|Kaiser|2008|ps=§3}} | |||
In 2007, analysis of an audio recording of the shooting taken by freelance reporter Stanislaw Pruszynski appeared to indicate, according to forensic expert Philip van Praag, that thirteen shots were fired, even though Sirhan's gun held only eight rounds.<ref name=guardian /> While this would strongly indicate a second gunman, independent analysis by other experts indicated that there are only eight shots recorded on the tape.<ref> Harrison, P. (2007) ‘Analysis of “The Pruszynski Tape”’ (report on recording of gunshots). In Ayton, M., ''The Forgotten Terrorist: Sirhan Sirhan and the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.'' Washington: Potomac Books.</ref> | |||
== |
== Investigation and trial == | ||
Due to Sirhan being a non-citizen, it was illegal under California law for him to purchase firearms.{{Sfn|Ayton|2007|pp=109–110}} He violated three California laws by possessing the pistol he used to kill Kennedy.{{Sfn|Ayton|2007|pp=109–110}} ] suggested that the date of the assassination is significant because it was the first anniversary of the start of the ] between Israel and its Arab neighbors.{{Sfn|Coleman|2004|pp=27–28}} | |||
]]] | |||
===Memorial=== | |||
Following the ] on June 6, Kennedy's body was returned to New York City, where he lay in repose at St. Patrick's Cathedral, viewed by thousands, until a funeral mass on the morning of June 8.<ref name=indy2007>{{cite news |first=Liz |last=Hoggard |title=The night Bobby Kennedy was shot |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20070121/ai_n17145367/pg_2 |work=The Independent on Sunday |date=2007-01-21 |accessdate=2008-05-12 }}</ref> | |||
]|upright=0.8]] | |||
His brother, Senator ], eulogized him with the words: "My brother need not be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ekennedytributetorfk.html |title=American Rhetoric: Edward Kennedy - Eulogy for Robert F. Kennedy|publisher=americanrhetoric.com|accessdate=2008-05-12}}</ref> Immediately following the mass, Kennedy's body was transported by a slow-moving train to ] and thousands of mourners lined the tracks and stations, paying their respects as the train passed by.<ref name=arlington>{{cite web |url= http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/Visitor_information/Robert_F_Kennedy.html|title=Arlington National Cemetery: Visitor Information|publisher=Arlington Cemetery|accessdate=2008-05-12}}</ref> Kennedy was buried near his brother John, in Arlington National Cemetery, in the only burial ever to take place there at night.<ref name=indy2007 /><ref name=arlington /> | |||
When Sirhan was booked by police, they found in his pocket a newspaper article that discussed Kennedy's support for Israel;{{Sfn|Moldea|1995|p=52n}} Sirhan later said that he began to hate Kennedy after learning of this support.{{Sfn|''The New York Times''|1989}} Sirhan was convicted of Kennedy's murder in April 1969,{{Sfn|Hodak|2012|p=72}} and was sentenced to death.{{Sfn|CBS|2003}} In 1972, the sentence was commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole, after the ], in its ruling in '']'', invalidated as unconstitutional all pending death sentences that were imposed before 1972.{{Sfn|Dershowitz |1972}}{{Sfn|Lovett|2011}} In 1975, it was decided that Sirhan would be freed on parole in 1984. In 1982, however, the California Board of Prison Term rescinded the parole date, citing death threats made by Sirhan from prison.{{Sfn|Turner|1982}} In 1989, Sirhan told ] in prison that his sole connection with Kennedy was " support of Israel and his deliberate attempt to send those 50 bombers to Israel to obviously do harm to the Palestinians."{{Sfn|Ayton|2021|p=80}} Although a study published in the '']'' referred to Sirhan as a "withdrawn fanatic with multiple identity problems", the author James W. Clarke stated that Sirhan was more motivated by political issues than by his personal temperament.{{Sfn|Clarke|1981|pp=83, 99}} During the trial, Sirhan's lawyers attempted to use a defense of diminished responsibility,{{Sfn|''Time'' (b)|1969}} while Sirhan tried to confess to the crime and change his plea to guilty on several occasions.{{Sfn|''Time'' (c)|1969}} He testified that he had killed Kennedy "with 20 years of malice aforethought".{{Sfn|''Time'' (c)|1969}} As of 2023, Sirhan has been denied parole 17 times.{{Sfn|Romine|Almasy|2023}} His lawyers have claimed that he was framed, and he claims to have no memory of his crime.{{Sfn|Lovett|2011}}{{Sfn|''Daily Record''|2011}} | |||
After the assassination, Congress altered the ]'s mandate to include protection for presidential candidates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secretservice.gov/history.shtml|title=United States Secret Service History|publisher=United States Secret Service|accessdate=2008-05-12}}</ref> The remaining candidates were immediately protected under an executive order issued by Lyndon Johnson, putting a strain on the poorly resourced Secret Service.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec03/mears_10-29.html|title=Transcript:Online NewsHour - Deadlines Past|first=Terence |last=Smith|date=2003-10-29|publisher = PBS |accessdate=2008-05-18}}</ref> | |||
In February 2012, Sirhan's lawyers ] and Laurie Dusek filed a court brief in District Court in Los Angeles, claiming that a second gunman fired the shots that killed Kennedy. It was the fourth in a series of federal briefs filed under ] by Pepper and Dusek, beginning in October 2010.{{Sfn|CNN|2012}} In 2015, Judge ] denied the petition.{{Sfn|Reuters|2015}} During Sirhan's 2016 parole hearing, Paul Schrade, who was shot and wounded on the assassination night, asserted that the fatal shot to Kennedy was by a different shooter. He claimed that the ] (LAPD) destroyed evidence, "hid ballistic evidence exonerating Sirhan, and covered up conclusive evidence that a second gunman fatally wounded Robert Kennedy."{{Sfn|Holley|2016}} In August 2021, the California state parole panel recommended Sirhan's parole.{{Sfn|Willon|2022}} Two of Kennedy's children, ] and ], supported the decision, while six others opposed it.{{Sfn|''The Guardian''|2021}} ], the governor of California, denied the parole in January 2022, asserting that "Sirhan has not developed the accountability and insight required to support his safe release into the community."{{Sfn|Newsom|2022}} | |||
===1968 election=== | |||
At the time of his death, Kennedy was significantly behind Humphrey in convention delegate support,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1999999,00.html |title=Would Robert Kennedy have been president?|publisher= ''The Guardian''|author=Kerridge, Steven |date=]|accessdate=2007-11-26}}</ref> but this has not deterred many from the belief that Kennedy would have ultimately secured the nomination following his victory in the California primary.<ref>Thomas 2000, p. 24.</ref> Only thirteen states held primaries that year, meaning that most delegates at the Democratic convention could choose a candidate based on their personal preference.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/historynow/|title=History Now|publisher=Chicago Reader|author=J. R. Jones|date=2008-02-28|accessdate=2008-05-18}}</ref> Historian ] and others have argued that Kennedy's broad appeal and ] would have been sufficiently convincing at the ] to give him the nomination.<ref>Schlesinger 1996</ref> Historian ] and ''The New York Times'' political writer ] believe, however, that Kennedy would not have secured the nomination.<ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Beschloss |title= Let's Have Conventions With Cliffhangers |url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B04E2D6103EF932A2575BC0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |publisher=''The New York Times'' |date=1996-08-11 |accessdate=2008-05-13 }}</ref> Humphrey, after a ] National Convention in Chicago, was hopelessly behind in the polls but gained ground. Humphrey ultimately went on to lose the general election to Republican ] by a narrow margin. | |||
== Conspiracy theories == | |||
==See also== | |||
{{Main|Robert F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories}} | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
=== CIA involvement hypothesis === | |||
* ] | |||
In November 2006, the ]'s '']'' program presented research by filmmaker ] alleging that several ] (CIA) officers were present on the night of the assassination.{{Sfn|BBC News|2006}} The three men who appear in films and photographs from the night of the assassination were identified by former colleagues and associates as former senior CIA officers who had worked together in 1963 at ], the CIA's ] station based in Miami. They were JMWAVE Chief of Operations ], Chief of Maritime Operations Gordon Campbell, and Chief of Psychological Warfare Operations ].{{Sfn|BBC News|2006}}{{Sfn|''The Guardian''|2006}} Several people who had known Morales were sure that he was not the man claimed by O'Sullivan. After O'Sullivan published his book, assassination researchers ] and ] discovered that Campbell had died of a heart attack in 1962, six years before Kennedy's assassination. In response, O'Sullivan stated that the man on the video may have used Campbell's name as an alias.{{Sfn|Aaronovitch|2009|pp=320–324}} | |||
=== Second gunman hypothesis === | |||
The location of Kennedy's wounds suggested that his assailant had stood behind him, while some witnesses assert that Sirhan faced west as Kennedy moved through the pantry.{{Sfn|''The Guardian''|2008}} This has led to the suggestion that a second gunman fired the fatal shot, a possibility supported by ], the Chief Medical Examiner and Coroner for the County of Los Angeles, who stated that the fatal shot was behind Kennedy's right ear and had been fired at a distance of approximately {{Convert|1|inch|cm|abbr=off|sp=us}} to {{Convert|3|inch|cm|abbr=off|sp=us}}.{{Sfn|Noguchi|1983|pp=102–103}} Other witnesses said that Kennedy was turning to his left shaking hands as Sirhan approached, from the east.{{Sfn|FBI|1977|p=35}} | |||
In 1975, during a re-examination of the case, experts looked into the possibility of a second gunman, and concluded that there was little or no evidence to support this hypothesis.{{Sfn|FBI|1977|p=35–36}} In 2004, CNN's senior writer Brad Johnson discovered a recording of Kennedy's victory speech, recorded by the Polish journalist {{ill|Stanisław Pruszyński|pl}}. Johnson gave the tapes to the audio engineer Philip Van Praag, who analyzed and found 13 shots fired even though Sirhan's gun held only eight rounds.{{Sfn|Jackman|2018}}{{Sfn|''The Guardian''|2008}} He also stated the recording revealed at least two cases where the timing between shots was shorter than physically possible from Sirhan's gun alone.{{Sfn|''The Guardian''|2008}} Forensic audio specialists Wes Dooley and Paul Pegas of Audio Engineering Associates in Pasadena examined the findings and corroborated the presence of at least 10 shots on the tape along with an over-lapping shot. {{Sfn|O'Sullivan|2008|p=477–478}} Other acoustic experts have claimed that they could find no more than eight shots recorded on the audiotape.{{Sfn|Ayton|2007|pp=137–139}} Critics claim that Van Praag misidentified the noise impulses of the recording as gun shots.{{Sfn|Jackman|2018}} | |||
In 2008, eyewitness ] asserted his belief that there must have been a second gunman.{{Sfn|''Democracy Now!''|2008}} | |||
In a 2023 episode of '']'', Kennedy Jr. asserted that Sirhan was not the shooter who killed his father. Kennedy Jr. named Eugene Thane Cesar{{efn|Kennedy Jr. inverted the first two names of Cesar, whose correct name was Thane Eugene Cesar.<ref name="McBride 2022"/>}}<ref name="McBride 2022">{{Cite news |last=McBride |first=Jessica |date=May 2018 |url=https://heavy.com/news/2018/05/thane-eugene-cesar/ |title=Thane Eugene Cesar: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know |work=] |access-date=October 1, 2023}}</ref>{{bsn|date=November 2023}}—a security guard at the time—as the man who fired four shots from behind, one of which killed Kennedy: "Sirhan was a distractor, and the real shooter was behind my father".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rane |first=Jordan |date=June 25, 2023 |title=Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Civil {{as written|Disobediance}}, Strange Camping Trips, and Why He's Running for President |url=https://www.mensjournal.com/podcasts/club-random/robert-f-kennedy-jr |work=] |access-date=June 27, 2023}}</ref>{{bsn|date=November 2023}} Kennedy Jr. further cited the Noguchi autopsy which noted that his father suffered four contact wounds from the discharge of a gun and that all four shots came from behind him. Kennedy Jr. described his father's departure from the stage towards the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel, which was a route that had not previously been cleared. According to Kennedy Jr., Cesar was holding his father's arm as they walked towards the kitchen.<ref>{{Cite video |people=Club Random Podcast |date=June 25, 2023 |title=Robert F. Kennedy Jr. |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0dQD1Z6j60 |access-date=June 27, 2023 |via=YouTube}}</ref>{{bsn|date=November 2023}} | |||
== Legacy == | |||
{{Quote box|"It made me realize that no matter how much hope you have it can be taken away in a second."|Juan Romero{{Sfn|Allen|2015}} | |||
| align = right | |||
| width = 300px | |||
}} | |||
Kennedy's assassination was one of the four major ], the others being those of John F. Kennedy (1963), ] (1965), and Martin Luther King Jr. (1968).{{Sfn|Shahidullah|2008|p=64}} Some scholars view the assassination as one of the first major incidents of political violence in the United States stemming from the ] in the Middle East.{{Sfn|Issenberg|2008}} | |||
Until 1987, the LAPD retained the original files, reports, transcripts, fragments of the bullets that struck Kennedy and the four other bystanders in the kitchen pantry, the .22 caliber Iver-Johnson handgun used by Sirhan, Kennedy's blood-stained clothes, and other artifacts related to the assassination. In 1987, the LAPD donated the entire evidence collection (except for Kennedy's clothes) to the ] in Sacramento, for permanent preservation.{{Sfn|California Secretary of State}}{{Sfn|Physical Evidence|p=5}} Kennedy's blood-stained shirt, tie, and jacket are in the possession of the ].{{Sfn|Physical Evidence|p=5}} In 2010, controversy arose when Kennedy's clothing was transported to the California Homicide Investigators Association conference in Las Vegas, where they were included in a temporary public display. ] called it a "cheap bid for attention". The items and Kennedy's clothing were removed from the exhibit, with the LAPD apologizing to the Kennedy family.{{Sfn|Hayes|2010}}{{Sfn|Blankstein|2010}} | |||
The ] of the ] contains a large collection of materials on the assassination.{{Sfn|Claire T. Carney Library}} In 2006, American filmmaker ] wrote and directed the film '']''. He attempted to recreate the scene of the assassination through a fictional account. According to the author Ron Briley, "the history in ''Bobby'' is often misleading".{{Sfn|Briley|2007|pp=1041–1042}} | |||
In 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s wife, Cheryl Hines, called for President ] to grant her husband Secret Service protection for ], citing his family's history of successful assassinations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 24, 2023 |title=Cheryl Hines to Pres. Biden: My Husband RFK Jr. Needs Secret Service Now ... Consider His Family History |url=https://www.tmz.com/2023/08/24/cheryl-hines-husband-rfk-jr-denied-secret-service-protection-campaign-president/ |publisher=] |access-date=August 24, 2023}}</ref>{{bsn|date=November 2023}}. Robert F. Kennedy Jr's request for Secret Service protection would not be granted until July 15, 2024; two days after former President and Republican presidential nominee ] was ] during a speech in ].<ref>{{cite web |last=Saric |first=Ivana |date=July 15, 2024 |title=RFK Jr. to get Secret Service protection after Trump rally shooting |url=https://www.axios.com/2024/07/15/rfk-jr-secret-service-trump |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715211514/https://www.axios.com/2024/07/15/rfk-jr-secret-service-trump |archive-date=July 15, 2024 |access-date=July 15, 2024 |website=Axios}}</ref> | |||
== See also == | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | * ] | ||
== |
== References == | ||
{{ |
{{Reflist|18em}} | ||
== |
== Notes == | ||
{{notelist}} | |||
== Works cited == | |||
* {{cite book |last=Coleman |first=Loren |title=The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines|location= New York |publisher=Paraview Pocket |year= 2004 |isbn= 978-0743482233}} | |||
<!-- Ordered by (#1) author's last name. If not mentioned, then by (#2) publisher/website/media outlet, then by (#3) date. --> | |||
* {{cite book | last=Moldea |first= Dan E. |title=The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means, and Opportunity |location=New York |publisher=Norton |year=1995 |isbn=978-0393037913}} | |||
* {{cite book |title=Robert Kennedy and His Times |last=Schlesinger, Jr. |first=Arthur M. |authorlink=Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. |year=1996 |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=0345410610 }} | |||
* {{cite book | first= Thomas |last=Noguchi | title = Coroner | year = 1985| location=New York| publisher = Simon & Schuster| isbn= 978-0671467722}} | |||
* {{cite book|last=Thomas |first= Evan |title=Robert Kennedy: His Life |location=New York |publisher= Simon & Schuster |year= 2000|isbn=978-0684834801}} | |||
* {{cite book| last=Witcover |first=Jules |title=85 Days: The Last Campaign of Robert Kennedy |location=New York |publisher=Putnam |year=1969 |oclc=452367}} | |||
== |
=== Books === | ||
{{Refbegin|2}} | |||
* – LAPD and FBI investigation files and the trial transcript at the Mary Ferrell Foundation | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Aaronovitch |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/voodoohistoriesr0000aaro_l2s1/mode/2up?q=Morales |title=Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History |publisher=] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-224-07470-4 |access-date=December 24, 2021 |url-access=registration |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Ayton |first=Mel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mwhydb-MLeMC |title=The Forgotten Terrorist: Sirhan Sirhan and the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy |publisher=] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-59797-079-2 |access-date=December 23, 2021 |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Ayton |first=Mel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PLNFEAAAQBAJ |title=Protecting the Presidential Candidates: From JFK To Biden |publisher=] |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-3990-1411-3 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Bass |first=Warren |url=https://archive.org/details/supportanyfriend00bass/mode/2up |title=Support Any Friend |publisher=] |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-516580-7 |access-date=December 27, 2021 |url-access=registration |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Clarke |first=Thurston |access-date=February 27, 2022 |url-access=registration |via=] |title=The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America |url=https://archive.org/details/lastcampaignrobe00clar/mode/2up |publisher=] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8050-7792-6}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Coleman |first=Loren |author-link=Loren Coleman |title=The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem In Tomorrow's Headlines |title-link=The Copycat Effect |publisher=] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7434-8223-3 |language=en}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Davis |first=John H.|url=https://archive.org/details/kennedysdynastyd0000davi/mode/2up|title=The Kennedys: Dynasty and Disaster|publisher=]|year=1992|isbn=978-1-56171-060-7|access-date=December 27, 2021|url-access=registration|via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Gabler |first=Neal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p-DTDwAAQBAJ |title=Catching the Wind : Edward Kennedy and the Liberal Hour |isbn=978-0-307-40544-9 |publisher=] |year=2020 |access-date=February 27, 2022 |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |title=Guide to U.S. Elections |publisher=] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-60426-536-1 |ref={{sfnRef|Guide to U.S. Elections|2010}}}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Heymann |first=C. David |url=https://archive.org/details/rfkcandidbiograp00heym/mode/2up |title=RFK: A Candid Biography of Robert F. Kennedy |publisher=] |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-525-94217-7 |access-date=December 23, 2021 |url-access=registration |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Kaiser |first=Robert Blair |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vcyXDwAAQBAJ |title='R.F.K. Must Die!': Chasing the Mystery of the Robert Kennedy Assassination |publisher=] |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4683-0868-6 |edition=E-Book |access-date=March 2, 2022 |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Kotz |first=Nick |url=https://archive.org/details/judgmentdayslynd00kotz/mode/2up |title=Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Laws That Changed America |publisher=] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-618-08825-6 |access-date=December 24, 2021 |url-access=registration |via=]}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Melanson |first=Philip H. |title=The Robert F. Kennedy Assassination: New Revelations on the Conspiracy and Cover-Up, 1968–1991 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9Ex5XwDE4IC |publisher=Shapolsky Publishers |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-56171-324-0 |access-date=February 27, 2022 |via=]}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Moldea |first=Dan E. |access-date=February 27, 2022 |url-access=registration |via=] |title=The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means, and Opportunity |publisher=] |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-393-03791-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/killingofrobertf00mold/mode/2up}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last1=Mossman |first1=Billy C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mnu1AAAAIAAJ |title=The Last Salute: Civil and Military Funerals, 1921–1969 |last2=Stark |first2=M. W. |publisher=] |year=1972 |lccn=77-606843 |access-date=December 24, 2021 |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Newfield |first=Jack |url=https://archive.org/details/robertkennedyme000newf/mode/2up |title=Robert Kennedy: A Memoir |publisher=] |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-452-26064-1 |access-date=December 23, 2021 |url-access=registration |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Noguchi |first=Thomas T. |url=https://archive.org/details/coronernogu00nogu/mode/2up |title=Coroner |publisher=] |year=1983 |isbn=978-0-671-46772-2 |access-date=December 24, 2021 |url-access=registration |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=O'Sullivan |first=Shane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bxt1a2N6E4gC |title=Who Killed Bobby? The Unsolved Murder of Robert F. Kennedy |publisher=] |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4027-5444-9 |access-date=December 24, 2021 |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Palermo |first=Joseph A. |url=https://archive.org/details/inhisownrightpol00pale/mode/2up |title=In His Own Right: The Political Odyssey of Senator Robert F. Kennedy |publisher=] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-231-12068-5 |access-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=registration |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Sanders |first=Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yp74VJ2TlBEC |title=America: 1962–1970 |publisher=] |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-57423-189-2 |access-date=December 23, 2021 |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Shahidullah |first=Shahid M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=whWL6D83FBUC |title=Crime Policy in America: Laws, Institutions, and Programs |publisher=] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7618-4098-5 |access-date=December 23, 2021 |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Evan |url=https://archive.org/details/robertkennedy00thom/mode/2up |title=Robert Kennedy: His Life |publisher=] |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7432-0329-6 |access-date=December 23, 2021 |url-access=registration |via=]}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Witcover |first=Jules |url=https://archive.org/details/85dayslastcampai0000witc/mode/2up |title=85 Days: The Last Campaign of Robert Kennedy |publisher=] |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-688-07859-1 |access-date=February 27, 2022 |url-access=registration |via=]}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Vaughn |first=Robert |url=https://archive.org/details/fortunatelife00vaug_0/page/256/mode/2up?q=amnesia |title=A Fortunate Life: Behind-the-Scenes Stories from a Hollywood Legend |publisher=] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0312590437 |access-date=November 12, 2023 |url-access=registration |via=]}} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
=== Scholarly articles === | |||
{{coord|34.0597|N|118.2971|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark|display=title}} | |||
{{Refbegin|2}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Briley |first=Ron |date=2007 |title=''Bobby'' (Review) |journal=] |volume=94 |issue=3 |doi=10.2307/25095304 |jstor=25095304}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Clarke |first=James W. |date=1981 |title=American Assassins: An Alternative Typology |journal=] |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=81–104 |jstor=193462 |doi=10.1017/s0007123400002465 |pmid=11620349 |s2cid=41008730 |issn=0007-1234}} | |||
* {{Cite web |last=Curtin |first=Mary T. |date=2000 |orig-date=1999 |title=Humphrey, Hubert Horatio |url=https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0700365 |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 2, 2022 |website=] |publisher=] |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0700365 |isbn=978-0-19-860669-7 |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102172141/https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0700365 |url-status=live}} | |||
* {{Cite web |last=Gardner |first=Lloyd |date=2000 |orig-date=1999 |title=Johnson, Lyndon Baines |url=https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0700147 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 31, 2021 |website=] |publisher=] |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0700147 |isbn=978-0-19-860669-7 |archive-date=December 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220215528/https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0700147 |url-status=live}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Goldzwig |first=Steven R. |date=2003 |title=LBJ, the Rhetoric of Transcendence, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 |journal=Rhetoric and Public Affairs |publisher=] |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=25–53 |doi=10.1353/rap.2003.0029 |jstor=41939808 |s2cid=143697074 |url=https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1173&context=comm_fac |access-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814164130/https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1173&context=comm_fac |url-status=live}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last1=Hayes |first1=Matthew A. |title=Robert Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis: A Reassertion of Robert Kennedy's Role as the President's 'Indispensable Partner' in the Successful Resolution of the Crisis |journal=] |publisher=] |date=May 7, 2019 |volume=104 |issue=361 |pages=473–503 |access-date=December 27, 2021 |doi=10.1111/1468-229x.12815 |s2cid=164907501 |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10075581/1/Hayes_%20Robert%20Kennedy%20and%20the%20Cuban%20Missile%20Crisis%20Final%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf |archive-date=December 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227173632/https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10075581/1/Hayes_%20Robert%20Kennedy%20and%20the%20Cuban%20Missile%20Crisis%20Final%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf |url-status=live |issn=0018-2648}} | |||
* {{Cite web |last=Hoogenboom |first=Olive |date=2000 |orig-date=1999 |title=Lowenstein, Allard Kenneth |url=https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0700674|url-access=subscription |access-date=December 31, 2021 |website=] |publisher=] |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0700674|isbn=978-0-19-860669-7 |archive-date=December 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231102758/https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0700674 |url-status=live}} | |||
* {{Cite web |last=Keene |first=Ann T. |date=2013 |title=McCarthy, Eugene |url=https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1501341 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 31, 2021 |website=] |publisher=] |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1501341 |isbn=978-0-19-860669-7 |archive-date=December 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231182551/https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1501341 |url-status=live}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Kurtz |first=Michael L. |date=1982 |title=The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: A Historical Perspective |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6563.1982.tb01568.x |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1111/j.1540-6563.1982.tb01568.x |jstor=24445228 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2021 |via=] |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228163008/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6563.1982.tb01568.x |url-status=live |issn=0018-2370 }} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Meloy |first=J. Reid |date=2010 |orig-date=1992 |title=Revisiting the Rorschach of Sirhan Sirhan |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327752jpa5803_10 |journal=] |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=548–570 |doi=10.1207/s15327752jpa5803_10 |pmid=1613657 |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 27, 2022 |via=] |issn=0022-3891 }} | |||
* {{Cite web |last=O'Neill |first=William L. |url=https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0700153 |title=Kennedy, Robert Francis |publisher=] |date=2000 |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0700153 |access-date=December 25, 2021 |website=] |isbn=978-0-19-860669-7 |orig-date=1999 |chapter-url= |url-access=subscription |archive-date=November 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104211807/https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0700153 |url-status=live}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Sieg |first=Kent G. |date=1996 |title=The 1968 Presidential Election and Peace in Vietnam |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27551671 |journal=] |publisher=] |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=1062–1080 |jstor=27551671 |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 27, 2022 |archive-date=December 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231095749/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27551671 |url-status=live |issn=0360-4918 }} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Socarides |first=Charles W. |date=1979 |title=Why Sirhan Killed Kennedy: Psychoanalytic Speculations on an Assassination |journal=] |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=447–460 |pmid=11610505 |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/7d5f7ce3cca8de4e680607d112b0a690/1?cbl=1816657&pq-origsite=gscholar |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 27, 2022 |issn=0145-3378 }} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
=== Magazines === | |||
{{Conspiracy theories}} | |||
{{Refbegin|2}} | |||
{{featured article}} | |||
* {{Cite magazine |last=Hodak |first=George |date=2012 |title=Precedents: April 17, 1969, Sirhan Sirhan Convicted |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/23207729 |magazine=] |publisher=] |volume=98 |issue=4 |access-date=February 27, 2022 |url-access=subscription |jstor=23207729 |issn=0747-0088 }} | |||
* {{Cite magazine |date=June 17, 1968 |title=Once Again ... |url=http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/K%20Disk/Kennedy%20Robert%20F%20Assassination%20Clips/Item%20054.pdf |magazine=] |access-date=February 27, 2022 |via=] |ref={{sfnRef|''Newsweek''|1968}} |issn=0028-9604 |archive-date=March 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304192157/http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/K%20Disk/Kennedy%20Robert%20F%20Assassination%20Clips/Item%20054.pdf |url-status=live }} | |||
* {{Cite magazine|date=June 14, 1968|title=A Life on the Way to Death|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,900110,00.html|magazine=]|access-date=February 17, 2022|ref={{sfnRef|''Time'' (a)|1968}}|archive-date=February 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217164935/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,900110,00.html|url-status=live |issn=0040-781X }} | |||
* {{Cite magazine |date=June 14, 1968 |title=Everything Was Not Enough |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,900131,00.html |magazine=] |access-date=February 27, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''Time'' (b)|1968}} |archive-date=September 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910073527/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,900131,00.html |url-status=live |issn=0040-781X }} | |||
* {{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,900149,00.html |title=What Was Going On? |magazine=] |date=June 14, 1968 |access-date=February 27, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''Time'' (c)|1968}} |archive-date=September 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910073634/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,900149,00.html |url-status=live |issn=0040-781X }} | |||
* {{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,838974,00.html |title=The Man Who Loved Kennedy |magazine=] |date=February 21, 1969 |access-date=February 27, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''Time'' (a)|1969}} |archive-date=September 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910073531/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,838974,00.html |url-status=live |issn=0040-781X }} | |||
* {{Cite magazine |date=January 17, 1969 |title=Trials: Behind Steel Doors |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,838860,00.html |magazine=] |access-date=April 2, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''Time'' (b)|1969}} |issn=0040-781X }} | |||
* {{Cite magazine |date=March 7, 1969 |title=Trials: A Deadly Iteration |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,839767,00.html |magazine=] |access-date=April 2, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''Time'' (c)|1969}} |issn=0040-781X }} | |||
* {{Cite magazine |last=Lopez |first=Steve |date=June 8, 1998 |title=Guarding The Dream {{endash}} Thirty Years Later, Juan Romero Honors R.F.K. |url=http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,988470,00.html |magazine=] |access-date=February 17, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''Time''|1998}} |archive-date=September 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910073505/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,988470,00.html |url-status=live |issn=0040-781X }} | |||
* {{cite magazine |url=http://www.crimemagazine.com/jfk-and-rfk-assassinations-and-manchurian-candidate-theory |title=The JFK and RFK Assassinations and the "Manchurian Candidate" Theory |magazine=Crime Magazine |date=October 1, 2008 |access-date=November 12, 2023 |ref={{sfnRef|''Crime''|1998}} |archive-date=January 3, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103080352/http://www.crimemagazine.com/jfk-and-rfk-assassinations-and-manchurian-candidate-theory |url-status=live }} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
=== News sources === | |||
] | |||
{{Refbegin|2}} | |||
] | |||
* {{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/june-1968-robert-kennedy-assassinated-55585478 |title=Video: June 5, 1968: Robert F. Kennedy is Assassinated |publisher=] |access-date=February 27, 2022 |url-status=live |ref={{sfnRef|ABC}} |archive-date=September 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904041353/https://abcnews.go.com/politics/video/june-1968-robert-kennedy-assassinated-55585478 }} | |||
] | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Allen |first=Nick |date=August 30, 2015 |title=Busboy Describes Bobby Kennedy's Final Moments |work=] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11834126/Busboy-describes-Bobby-Kennedys-final-moments.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 3, 2022 |issn=0307-1235 }} | |||
] | |||
* {{Cite news |date=November 21, 2006 |title=CIA Role Claim in Kennedy Killing |publisher=] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/6169006.stm |access-date=April 2, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|BBC News|2006}}}} | |||
] | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Blankstein |first=Andrew |date=March 3, 2010 |title=LAPD Apologizes to Robert Kennedy's Family |work=] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-03-la-me-lapd-exhibit3-2010mar03-story.html |access-date=April 3, 2022 |issn=0458-3035 }} | |||
] | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Jarrett |date=March 7, 2003 |title=Sirhan Sirhan Kept Behind Bars |publisher=] |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sirhan-sirhan-kept-behind-bars/ |access-date=April 2, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|CBS|2003}}}} | |||
* {{Cite news |last1=Martinez |first1=Michael |last2=Johnson |first2=Brad |date=March 13, 2012 |title=Attorneys for RFK convicted killer Sirhan push 'second gunman' argument |publisher=] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/04/justice/california-rfk-second-gun/index.html |access-date=April 2, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|CNN|2012}}}} | |||
* {{Cite news |date=November 30, 2011 |title=Bullet Switch Proves Sirhan Sirhan Innocent of Robert F Kennedy Assassination, Claim Lawyers |work=] |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/bullet-switch-proves-sirhan-sirhan-1088273 |access-date=April 2, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''Daily Record''|2011}} |issn=0956-8069 }} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Dershowitz |first=Alan M. |date=February 20, 1972 |title=The Nation |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/20/archives/a-decision-that-may-reach-far-beyond-california-death-penalty.html |access-date=March 26, 2022|issn=0362-4331}} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Esty-Kendall |first=Jud |date=June 1, 2018 |title=The Busboy Who Cradled A Dying RFK Recalls Those Final Moments |publisher=] |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/06/01/615534723/the-busboy-who-cradled-a-dying-rfk-recalls-those-final-moments |access-date=June 27, 2022}} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Hayes |first=Ashley |date=March 4, 2010 |title=After Criticism, LAPD Pulls RFK Clothing from Homicide Exhibit |publisher=] |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/04/rfk.exhibit/index.html |access-date=April 3, 2022}} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Holley |first=Peter |date=February 10, 2016 |title=This Kennedy Confidant has Spent Decades Calling for the Release of RFK's Killer |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/10/this-kennedy-confidant-has-spent-decades-calling-for-the-release-of-rfks-killer/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160211011302/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/10/this-kennedy-confidant-has-spent-decades-calling-for-the-release-of-rfks-killer/ |archive-date=February 11, 2016}} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Issenberg |first=Sasha |date=June 8, 2008 |title=RFK's Death Now Viewed as First Case of Mideast Violence Exported to U.S. |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080608/news_1n8rfk.html |url-status=dead |access-date=June 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611204140/http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080608/news_1n8rfk.html |archive-date=June 11, 2008 |work=] |issn=1063-102X }} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Jackman |first=Tom |date=June 6, 2018 |title=The Bobby Kennedy assassination tape: Were 13 shots fired or only 8? |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/06/06/the-bobby-kennedy-assassination-tape-were-13-shots-fired-or-only-8/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 7, 2022}} | |||
* {{Cite news |date=March 5, 1986 |title=A Moment of Victory, Then the Dream Died |work=] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-05-mn-15382-story.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008042442/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-03-05-mn-15382-story.html |archive-date=October 8, 2019 |ref={{sfnRef|''Los Angeles Times''|1986}}}} | |||
* {{Cite news |date=February 20, 1995 |title=Irwin N. Stroll; Wounded in RFK Slaying, He Became Famed Designer |work=] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-20-mn-33997-story.html |access-date=September 2, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''Los Angeles Times''|1995}}}} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Lovett |first=Ian |date=March 2, 2011 |title=California: Sirhan Sirhan Denied Parole |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/us/03brfs-SIRHANSIRHAN_BRF.html?_r=1 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325194632/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/us/03brfs-SIRHANSIRHAN_BRF.html?_r=1 |archive-date=March 25, 2022}} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Newsom |first=Gavin |date=January 13, 2022 |title=Newsom: Why I will not release Sirhan Sirhan on parole |work=] |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-01-13/sirhan-gavin-newsom-parole-decision |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 25, 2022}} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Turner |first=Wallace |date=May 22, 1982 |title=Panel in California Cancels Sirhan's 1984 Parole Date |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/22/us/panel-in-california-cancels-sirhan-s-1984-parole-date.html |access-date=April 25, 2022}} | |||
* {{cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Christopher |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-05-et-artphotos5-story.html |title=Double Exposure of History and Art, in a Shutter's Click |newspaper=] |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 27, 2022 |date=January 5, 2007 |archive-date=February 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218232320/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-05-et-artphotos5-story.html |url-status=live |issn=0458-3035 }} | |||
* {{Cite news |last1=Romine |first1=Taylor |last2=Almasy |first2=Steve |title=Sirhan Sirhan, RFK's assassin, denied parole by board whose members had recommended it in 2021 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/01/us/sirhan-sirhan-parole-decision/index.html |date=March 1, 2023 |publisher=CNN |access-date=April 17, 2023}} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Segalov |first=Michael |date=October 6, 2018 |title=Rory Kennedy: 'In our family there was no tolerance for being a victim' |work=] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/oct/06/rory-kennedy-film-space-race-father-assassination |access-date=May 5, 2022|issn=0261-3077 }} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Stempel |first=Jonathan |date=January 6, 2015 |title=Sirhan Sirhan Loses Bid for Freedom Over RFK Death |publisher=] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-crime-sirhansirhan-rfk-idUKKBN0KF1N120150106?edition-redirect=uk |access-date=April 2, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|Reuters|2015}}}} | |||
* {{Cite news |date=November 20, 2006 |title=Did the CIA kill Bobby Kennedy? |work=] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/nov/20/usa.features11 |access-date=April 2, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''The Guardian''|2006}} |issn=0261-3077 }} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Randerson |first=James |date=January 27, 2007 |title=Would Robert Kennedy Have Been President? |work=] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jan/27/mainsection.comment |access-date=March 15, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''The Guardian''|2007}} |issn=0261-3077 }} | |||
* {{Cite news |date=February 22, 2008 |title=New Evidence Challenges Official Picture of Kennedy Shooting |work=] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/feb/22/kennedy.assassination |access-date=April 2, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''The Guardian''|2008}} |issn=0261-3077 }} | |||
* {{Cite news |date=August 28, 2021 |title=Sirhan Sirhan: Six Kennedy Children Condemn Secision to Grant Killer Parole |work=] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/aug/28/sirhan-sirhan-parole-robert-f-kennedy-children-california |access-date=April 25, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''The Guardian''|2021}} |issn=0261-3077 }} | |||
* {{Cite news |date=January 21, 2007 |title=Assassination: The Night Bobby Kennedy Was Shot |work=] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/assassination-the-night-bobby-kennedy-was-shot-432970.html |access-date=April 3, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''The Independent''|2007}} |issn=1741-9743 }} | |||
* {{Cite news |date=June 6, 1968 |title=Transcript of Kennedy Primary Victory Speech |work=] |url=http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/White%20Materials/White%20Assassination%20Clippings%20Folders/Kennedy%20Family%20Folders/Kennedy%20Robert%20F/RFK%200391.pdf |access-date=January 10, 2021 |via=] |ref={{sfnRef|''The New York Times''|1968}} |archive-date=January 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109184659/http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/White%20Materials/White%20Assassination%20Clippings%20Folders/Kennedy%20Family%20Folders/Kennedy%20Robert%20F/RFK%200391.pdf |url-status=live |issn=0362-4331}} | |||
* {{Cite news |date=February 20, 1989 |title = Sirhan Felt Betrayed by Kennedy |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/20/us/sirhan-felt-betrayed-by-kennedy.html| access-date=August 19, 2021 |ref={{sfnRef|''The New York Times''|1989}} |issn=0362-4331}} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Willon |first=Phil |date=January 13, 2022 |title=Gov. Gavin Newsom Rejects Parole for Sirhan Sirhan, Convicted of Killing Robert F. Kennedy |work=] |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-13/sirhan-sirhan-kennedy-assassination-parole-denied-gavin-newsom |access-date=April 25, 2022}} | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Teeter |first=Lawrence |date=February 5, 2005 |title=Hypnosis in the Case of Sirhan Sirhan |publisher=] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-feb-05-le-textbooks5.3-story.html |access-date=November 12, 2023 |ref={{sfnRef|L.A. Times|2005}} |archive-date=November 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116042952/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-feb-05-le-textbooks5.3-story.html }} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
=== Web sources === | |||
] | |||
{{Refbegin|2}} | |||
] | |||
* {{Cite web |title=Robert F. Kennedy Memorial |url=http://arlingtoncemetery.org/visitor_information/Robert_F_Kennedy.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511202012/http://arlingtoncemetery.org/visitor_information/Robert_F_Kennedy.html |archive-date=May 11, 2008 |access-date=May 11, 2008 |publisher=] |ref={{sfnRef|ANC}}}} | |||
* {{Cite web |title=RFK Assassination Archives |url=https://www.lib.umassd.edu/archives/swain/rfk-assassination-archives |access-date=April 3, 2022 |publisher=] |ref={{sfnRef|Claire T. Carney Library}}}} | |||
* {{Cite web |date=June 5, 2008 |title=Democracy Now! Special: Robert F. Kennedy's Life and Legacy 40 Years After His Assassination |url=https://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/5/democracy_now_special_robert_f_kennedy |access-date=April 2, 2022 |website=] |ref={{sfnRef|''Democracy Now!''|2008}}}} | |||
* {{Cite web |date=April 5, 1977 |title=Robert F. Kennedy Assassination (b) |url=https://vault.fbi.gov/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20%28Assassination%29%20/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20%28Assassination%29%20Part%202%20of%203/view |url-status=live |access-date=February 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227114938/https://vault.fbi.gov/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20%28Assassination%29%20/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20%28Assassination%29%20Part%202%20of%203/view |archive-date=February 27, 2022 |publisher=] |ref={{sfnRef|FBI|1977}}}} | |||
* {{Cite web |title=Secret Service History |url=http://www.secretservice.gov/history.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513185826/http://www.secretservice.gov/history.shtml |archive-date=May 13, 2008 |access-date=May 13, 2008 |publisher=] |ref={{sfnRef|Secret Service}}}} | |||
* {{Cite web |last1=Shapell |first1=Benjamin |last2=Willen |first2=Sara |date=June 5, 2018 |title=The Assassination & Funeral of Robert F. Kennedy |url=https://www.shapell.org/historical-perspectives/between-the-lines/the-assassination-funeral-of-robert-f-kennedy/ |access-date=June 19, 2023 |publisher=]}} | |||
* {{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Leslie |date=2018 |title=RFK's Assassination: 'We Lost a Chance' |url=https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/21825/Wells2018RFK.pdf?sequence=1 |access-date=April 3, 2022 |publisher=]}} | |||
* {{Cite web |title=Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Investigation Records |url=https://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/collections/rfk |access-date=April 3, 2022 |publisher=] |ref={{sfnRef|California Secretary of State}}}} | |||
* {{Cite web |title=List of Physical Evidence |url=https://archives.cdn.sos.ca.gov/collections/rfk/appendix-a.pdf |access-date=September 2, 2022 |publisher=] |ref={{sfnRef|Physical Evidence}}}} | |||
* {{Cite web |date=January 13, 2022 |title=Indeterminate Sentence Parole Release Review: Sirhan Sirhan, B-21014 |url=https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1.13.22-Sirhan-Reverse-Decision.pdf |access-date=November 12, 2022 |publisher=State of California |ref={{sfnRef|State of California|2022}}}} | |||
* by Donald E. Wilkes, Jr. Flagpole.com, June 9, 2019. | |||
* by Jessica McBride. Heavy.com, updated November 10, 2022. | |||
* from Moldea's book, ''The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive Means, and Opportunity''. | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
== Further reading == | |||
{{Refbegin|2}} | |||
* {{Cite web |date=April 5, 1977 |title=Robert F. Kennedy Assassination (a) |url=https://vault.fbi.gov/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20%28Assassination%29%20/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20%28Assassination%29%20Part%201%20of%203/view |url-status=live |access-date=February 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227114941/https://vault.fbi.gov/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20%28Assassination%29%20/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20%28Assassination%29%20Part%201%20of%203/view |archive-date=February 27, 2022 |publisher=] |ref=none}} | |||
* {{Cite web|date=April 5, 1977|title=Robert F. Kennedy Assassination (c)|url=https://vault.fbi.gov/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20%28Assassination%29%20/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20%28Assassination%29%20Part%203%20of%203/view|url-status=live|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227114942/https://vault.fbi.gov/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20(Assassination)%20/Robert%20F%20Kennedy%20(Assassination)%20Part%203%20of%203/view|archive-date=February 27, 2022|publisher=]|ref=none}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last1=Klaber |first1=William |url=https://archive.org/details/shadowplaymurder00klab/mode/2up |title=Shadow Play: The Murder of Robert F. Kennedy, the Trial of Sirhan Sirhan, and the Failure of American Justice |last2=Melanson |first2=Philip |publisher=] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-312-15398-4 |access-date=February 27, 2022 |url-access=registration |ref=none}} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
== External links == | |||
* – via the ] | |||
* – via ] | |||
* – via ] | |||
* , an eyewitness account by ] of the assassination, ], ] | |||
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Latest revision as of 07:38, 15 December 2024
1968 murder in Los Angeles, California
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy | |
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Robert F. Kennedy lies mortally wounded on the floor immediately after the shooting. Kneeling beside him is 17-year-old busboy Juan Romero, who was shaking Kennedy's hand when Sirhan Sirhan fired the shots. | |
Location | Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Coordinates | 34°03′35″N 118°17′50″W / 34.0597°N 118.2971°W / 34.0597; -118.2971 |
Date | June 5, 1968; 56 years ago (1968-06-05) 12:15 a.m. (UTC−7) |
Target | Robert F. Kennedy |
Attack type | Political assassination, mass shooting |
Weapons | Iver Johnson .22 LR revolver |
Deaths | 1 (Kennedy died on June 6, 1968, from his injuries) |
Injured | 5 |
Perpetrator | Sirhan Sirhan |
Verdict | Guilty on all counts |
Convictions | First-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to commit murder (5 counts) |
Sentence | Death in 1969; commuted in 1972 to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole |
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Personal
U.S. Attorney General U.S. Senator from New York Presidential campaign Assassination and legacy
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On June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, and pronounced dead the following day.
Kennedy, a United States senator and candidate in the 1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries, won the California and South Dakota primaries on June 4. He addressed his campaign supporters in the Ambassador Hotel's Embassy Ballroom. After leaving the podium, and exiting through a kitchen hallway, he was mortally wounded by multiple shots fired by Sirhan. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital nearly 25 hours later. His body was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Sirhan, a Palestinian who held strong anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian beliefs, testified in 1969 that he killed Kennedy "with 20 years of malice aforethought"; he was convicted and sentenced to death. Due to People v. Anderson, his sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1972 with a possibility of parole. His parole request has been denied numerous times. Kennedy's assassination prompted the Secret Service to protect presidential candidates. Additionally, it led to several conspiracy theories.
The assassination was one of four major assassinations of the 1960s in the United States, coming several years after the assassination of Kennedy's brother John in 1963 and the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, and two months after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
Background
Robert F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1925. In 1948, he visited Palestine and wrote six dispatches for The Boston Post. He dismissed the possibility of the Jewish state becoming communist as "fantastically absurd", and called it the "only stabilizing factor remaining in the near and middle East". In 1960, John F. Kennedy, Robert's elder brother, was elected the president of the United States and appointed Robert as U.S. attorney general. During his tenure, Robert served as John's close advisor and was associated with various decisions during the Kennedy administration. According to author Matthew A. Hayes, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Robert acted as a "de-facto Chief of Staff, Presidential Agent and Intermediary for his brother" and was an "indispensable partner" in its successful resolution. In November 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated, and Robert was deeply affected by it. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the presidency and retained almost all prominent Kennedy advisors, including Robert as attorney general.
In 1964, polls showed that various Democrats wanted Kennedy to be Johnson's running mate in that year's presidential election. Kennedy instead organized his senatorial campaign in New York, challenging Kenneth Keating, an incumbent Republican senator. During a campaign speech, Kennedy declared his support for Israel, stating that in the event of an attack, "we will stand by Israel and come to her assistance". He won the election; during his congressional career, he supported civil rights and opposed Johnson's policies regarding the Vietnam War.
The 1968 presidential campaign has been referred to as one of the most volatile campaigns in American history. There was strong opposition to the ongoing Vietnam War; and it was a period of social unrest, with riots in major cities. Allard K. Lowenstein, a Democratic politician, organized a "Dump Johnson" movement to prevent Johnson's nomination as the presidential candidate, and asked Kennedy to run instead. Kennedy refused, asserting that he did not want to split the Democratic Party. Eugene McCarthy, a U.S. senator from Minnesota, then emerged as the leader of the "Dump Johnson" movement and entered several state presidential primaries. In late January 1968, the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, in the view of historian Lloyd Gardner, "shattered hopes that the war could be won within a reasonable period of time—if ever—and broke open the cracks in the Democratic coalition".
On March 12, 1968, in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, McCarthy nearly defeated Johnson with 42 percent to Johnson's 49 percent of the votes. Four days later, Kennedy announced his presidential campaign. On March 31, Johnson announced that he would not seek the presidency. Four days later, civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, leading to further riots in several cities. The same day, Kennedy gave a speech in Indianapolis, saying:
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black. ... let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.
In April, Vice President Hubert Humphrey announced his candidacy for the presidency. He mostly avoided primaries and focused on states which held caucuses. Contrary to Kennedy, Humphrey did not publicly oppose the Vietnam War.
Assassination
California primary and shooting
The California presidential primary elections were held on June 4, 1968. Polls by CBS showed Kennedy leading by 7 percent. The statewide results gave Kennedy 46 percent to McCarthy's 42 percent. Kennedy also won the South Dakota primary, winning approximately 50 percent of the vote. Author Joseph Palermo referred to the victory as Kennedy's "greatest". He was now in second place with 393+1⁄2 total delegates, against Humphrey's 561+1⁄2 delegates.
At approximately 12:02 a.m. PDT the next day, Kennedy addressed his campaign supporters in the Embassy Ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel, in the Mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles. At the time, the government did not provide Secret Service protection for presidential candidates. Kennedy's only security personnel were former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent William Barry and two unofficial bodyguards: Olympic decathlon gold medalist Rafer Johnson and former football player Rosey Grier. At approximately 12:10 am, concluding his victory speech, Kennedy said: "So my thanks to all of you and on to Chicago and let's win there." Kennedy planned to walk through the ballroom after speaking on his way to another gathering of supporters, but reporters wanted a press conference. Campaign aide Fred Dutton decided that Kennedy would forgo the second gathering and instead go through the hotel's kitchen and pantry area behind the ballroom to the press area. Kennedy had welcomed contact with the public during the campaign, and people had often tried to touch him in excitement. Soon after Kennedy concluded the speech, he started to exit through the ballroom when Barry stopped him and said, "No, it's been changed. We're going this way." Barry and Dutton began clearing a way for Kennedy to go left, through swinging doors, to the kitchen corridor, but he was hemmed in by the crowd and followed maître d'hôtel Karl Uecker through a back exit. Uecker led Kennedy through the kitchen area, holding his right wrist, but frequently releasing it as Kennedy shook hands with people whom he encountered. Uecker and Kennedy started down a passageway narrowed by an ice machine and a steam table to the north.
Kennedy turned to his left and shook hands with Juan Romero, just as Sirhan Sirhan stepped down from a low tray-stacker beside the ice machine, rushed past Uecker, and repeatedly fired an eight-shot .22 Long Rifle caliber Iver Johnson Cadet 55-A revolver at point-blank range. Kennedy fell to the floor; others, including writer George Plimpton and Grier, tried to disarm Sirhan, as he continued firing his gun in random directions. Five other people were wounded: William Weisel of ABC News, Paul Schrade of the United Automobile Workers union, Democratic Party activist Elizabeth Evans, Ira Goldstein of the Continental News Service, and Kennedy campaign volunteer Irwin Stroll. A minute later, Sirhan wrestled free and grabbed the revolver again, but others grabbed him. Barry went to Kennedy and placed his jacket under Kennedy's head. As Kennedy lay wounded, Romero cradled his head and placed a rosary in his hand. Kennedy asked Romero, "Is everybody OK?"; Romero responded, "Yes, everybody's OK." Kennedy then turned away and said, "Everything's going to be OK." The moment was captured by Boris Yaro of the Los Angeles Times and became the iconic image of the assassination.
Immediate aftermath and death
As the shooting took place, ABC News was signing off from its election-night broadcast, while the CBS coverage had been concluded. CBS went back on the air with coverage of the shooting 21 minutes after it had taken place. ABC's associate news director Weisel, who had been wounded during the shooting, reported from his stretcher. ABC was able to show scant live footage from the kitchen after Kennedy had been transported, but all of ABC's coverage from the hotel was in black-and-white. Approximately three hours after the incident, television networks began their morning broadcast schedule. About six million Western American households viewed the live reporting.
Kennedy's wife, Ethel, who was three months pregnant, had been away from the shooting scene. She was soon led to Kennedy and knelt beside him. Kennedy turned his head seeming to recognize her. Kennedy's campaign manager, his brother-in-law Stephen Edward Smith, promptly appeared on television and asked for a doctor. After several minutes, medical attendants arrived and lifted Kennedy onto a stretcher, prompting him to whisper, "Don't lift me", which were his last words; he lost consciousness shortly after. He was taken to Central Receiving Hospital. A doctor slapped his face, calling, "Bob! Bob! Bob!" while another doctor massaged his heart. After obtaining a good heartbeat, doctors handed a stethoscope to Ethel so that she could hear Kennedy's heart beating. After about 30 minutes, Kennedy was transferred several blocks to the Good Samaritan Hospital to undergo surgery. A gymnasium near the hospital was set up as temporary headquarters for the press and news media to receive updates on his condition. Surgery began at 3:12 a.m. and lasted approximately 3 hours and 40 minutes. At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, spokesman Frank Mankiewicz announced that Kennedy's doctors were "concerned over his continuing failure to show improvement"; his condition was critical.
Kennedy had been shot multiple times. The fatal shot was fired at a range of 1 inch (3 cm), entering behind his right ear. The other two shots entered at the rear of his right armpit; one exited from his chest and the other lodged in the back of his neck. Despite extensive neurosurgery to remove the bullet and bone fragments from his brain, he was pronounced dead at 1:44 a.m. on June 6, nearly 25 hours after the shooting. Mankiewicz left the hospital and walked to the gymnasium where the press and news media were set up for continuous updates on the situation. At 2 a.m. on June 6, Mankiewicz announced Kennedy's death. The following week, NBC devoted 55 hours to the shooting and its aftermath, ABC 43 hours, and CBS 42 hours, with all three networks initially pre-empting their regular coverage and advertisements to cover the story.
Funeral and aftermath
Senator Kennedy's casket was taken, via a jet emblazoned with "United States of America" and sent by President Lyndon B. Johnson, to New York City, where his casket was viewed by thousands at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The funeral mass was held on the morning of June 8. Kennedy's younger brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, delivered the eulogy, saying:
My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it ... As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."
Kennedy's body was transported via train to Washington, D.C.; many mourners lined the route, paying their respects. On the way to the cemetery, the funeral procession passed through Resurrection City, a shantytown protest site. The procession stopped in front of the Lincoln Memorial, where residents of Resurrection City joined the group, and the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was sung. Kennedy was buried near his older brother John in Arlington National Cemetery. This was the first burial to have ever taken place there at night. After the assassination, Congress altered the Secret Service's mandate to include protection for major presidential and vice-presidential nominees.
At the time of his death, Kennedy was substantially behind Humphrey in convention delegate support, but many believe that, following his victory in the California primary, he would have ultimately secured the nomination. Humphrey won the nomination at the convention in Chicago, at which violence in the streets occurred. He ultimately lost the general election to Republican candidate Richard Nixon by a narrow popular vote margin of 0.7 percent. Nixon won by a more decisive 301–191 margin in the Electoral College.
Perpetrator
Main article: Sirhan SirhanSirhan Sirhan was born on March 19, 1944, in Jerusalem, Palestine, to an Arab Christian family. At the age of four, he and his father narrowly escaped a bomb explosion during the 1948 Palestine war. This incident, according to author Mel Ayton, "had a psychological effect on young Sirhan". He witnessed various other violent incidents during his childhood, including physical abuse by his father and the death of his older brother at the hands of a military truck that was trying to avoid sniper fire. In late 1956, Sirhan, along with his family, immigrated to the United States. He was unhappy with immigrating to the United States, later saying that "the U.S. was against the Arabs and was friendly with Israel, and a friend of my enemy is my enemy". Once in the United States, Sirhan received above-average grades and joined an officer candidate school. During his late-teenage years, Sirhan's father abandoned the family, his sister died, two of his brothers were arrested, and he was expelled from Pasadena City College. Sirhan held strongly anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian beliefs.
In 1966, while pursuing a career as a jockey, Sirhan fell from a running horse, suffering minor injuries. A friend of Sirhan said that after this incident, Sirhan was "impatient, nervous, emotional and always in a hurry". A diary was found during a search of his home, where he wrote on May 18: "Robert Kennedy must be assassinated ... My determination to eliminate RFK is becoming more and more of an unshakable obsession. RFK must die. RFK must be killed."
Investigation and trial
Due to Sirhan being a non-citizen, it was illegal under California law for him to purchase firearms. He violated three California laws by possessing the pistol he used to kill Kennedy. Loren Coleman suggested that the date of the assassination is significant because it was the first anniversary of the start of the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
When Sirhan was booked by police, they found in his pocket a newspaper article that discussed Kennedy's support for Israel; Sirhan later said that he began to hate Kennedy after learning of this support. Sirhan was convicted of Kennedy's murder in April 1969, and was sentenced to death. In 1972, the sentence was commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole, after the California Supreme Court, in its ruling in California v. Anderson, invalidated as unconstitutional all pending death sentences that were imposed before 1972. In 1975, it was decided that Sirhan would be freed on parole in 1984. In 1982, however, the California Board of Prison Term rescinded the parole date, citing death threats made by Sirhan from prison. In 1989, Sirhan told David Frost in prison that his sole connection with Kennedy was " support of Israel and his deliberate attempt to send those 50 bombers to Israel to obviously do harm to the Palestinians." Although a study published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists referred to Sirhan as a "withdrawn fanatic with multiple identity problems", the author James W. Clarke stated that Sirhan was more motivated by political issues than by his personal temperament. During the trial, Sirhan's lawyers attempted to use a defense of diminished responsibility, while Sirhan tried to confess to the crime and change his plea to guilty on several occasions. He testified that he had killed Kennedy "with 20 years of malice aforethought". As of 2023, Sirhan has been denied parole 17 times. His lawyers have claimed that he was framed, and he claims to have no memory of his crime.
In February 2012, Sirhan's lawyers William F. Pepper and Laurie Dusek filed a court brief in District Court in Los Angeles, claiming that a second gunman fired the shots that killed Kennedy. It was the fourth in a series of federal briefs filed under habeas corpus by Pepper and Dusek, beginning in October 2010. In 2015, Judge Beverly Reid O'Connell denied the petition. During Sirhan's 2016 parole hearing, Paul Schrade, who was shot and wounded on the assassination night, asserted that the fatal shot to Kennedy was by a different shooter. He claimed that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) destroyed evidence, "hid ballistic evidence exonerating Sirhan, and covered up conclusive evidence that a second gunman fatally wounded Robert Kennedy." In August 2021, the California state parole panel recommended Sirhan's parole. Two of Kennedy's children, Robert Jr. and Douglas, supported the decision, while six others opposed it. Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, denied the parole in January 2022, asserting that "Sirhan has not developed the accountability and insight required to support his safe release into the community."
Conspiracy theories
Main article: Robert F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theoriesCIA involvement hypothesis
In November 2006, the BBC's Newsnight program presented research by filmmaker Shane O'Sullivan alleging that several Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officers were present on the night of the assassination. The three men who appear in films and photographs from the night of the assassination were identified by former colleagues and associates as former senior CIA officers who had worked together in 1963 at JMWAVE, the CIA's anti-Castro station based in Miami. They were JMWAVE Chief of Operations David Morales, Chief of Maritime Operations Gordon Campbell, and Chief of Psychological Warfare Operations George Joannides. Several people who had known Morales were sure that he was not the man claimed by O'Sullivan. After O'Sullivan published his book, assassination researchers Jefferson Morley and David Talbot discovered that Campbell had died of a heart attack in 1962, six years before Kennedy's assassination. In response, O'Sullivan stated that the man on the video may have used Campbell's name as an alias.
Second gunman hypothesis
The location of Kennedy's wounds suggested that his assailant had stood behind him, while some witnesses assert that Sirhan faced west as Kennedy moved through the pantry. This has led to the suggestion that a second gunman fired the fatal shot, a possibility supported by Thomas Noguchi, the Chief Medical Examiner and Coroner for the County of Los Angeles, who stated that the fatal shot was behind Kennedy's right ear and had been fired at a distance of approximately 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) to 3 inches (7.6 centimeters). Other witnesses said that Kennedy was turning to his left shaking hands as Sirhan approached, from the east.
In 1975, during a re-examination of the case, experts looked into the possibility of a second gunman, and concluded that there was little or no evidence to support this hypothesis. In 2004, CNN's senior writer Brad Johnson discovered a recording of Kennedy's victory speech, recorded by the Polish journalist Stanisław Pruszyński [pl]. Johnson gave the tapes to the audio engineer Philip Van Praag, who analyzed and found 13 shots fired even though Sirhan's gun held only eight rounds. He also stated the recording revealed at least two cases where the timing between shots was shorter than physically possible from Sirhan's gun alone. Forensic audio specialists Wes Dooley and Paul Pegas of Audio Engineering Associates in Pasadena examined the findings and corroborated the presence of at least 10 shots on the tape along with an over-lapping shot. Other acoustic experts have claimed that they could find no more than eight shots recorded on the audiotape. Critics claim that Van Praag misidentified the noise impulses of the recording as gun shots.
In 2008, eyewitness John Pilger asserted his belief that there must have been a second gunman.
In a 2023 episode of Club Random, Kennedy Jr. asserted that Sirhan was not the shooter who killed his father. Kennedy Jr. named Eugene Thane Cesar—a security guard at the time—as the man who fired four shots from behind, one of which killed Kennedy: "Sirhan was a distractor, and the real shooter was behind my father". Kennedy Jr. further cited the Noguchi autopsy which noted that his father suffered four contact wounds from the discharge of a gun and that all four shots came from behind him. Kennedy Jr. described his father's departure from the stage towards the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel, which was a route that had not previously been cleared. According to Kennedy Jr., Cesar was holding his father's arm as they walked towards the kitchen.
Legacy
Juan Romero"It made me realize that no matter how much hope you have it can be taken away in a second."
Kennedy's assassination was one of the four major assassinations in the United States in the 1960s, the others being those of John F. Kennedy (1963), Malcolm X (1965), and Martin Luther King Jr. (1968). Some scholars view the assassination as one of the first major incidents of political violence in the United States stemming from the Arab–Israeli conflict in the Middle East.
Until 1987, the LAPD retained the original files, reports, transcripts, fragments of the bullets that struck Kennedy and the four other bystanders in the kitchen pantry, the .22 caliber Iver-Johnson handgun used by Sirhan, Kennedy's blood-stained clothes, and other artifacts related to the assassination. In 1987, the LAPD donated the entire evidence collection (except for Kennedy's clothes) to the California State Archives in Sacramento, for permanent preservation. Kennedy's blood-stained shirt, tie, and jacket are in the possession of the Los Angeles County District Attorney. In 2010, controversy arose when Kennedy's clothing was transported to the California Homicide Investigators Association conference in Las Vegas, where they were included in a temporary public display. Max Kennedy called it a "cheap bid for attention". The items and Kennedy's clothing were removed from the exhibit, with the LAPD apologizing to the Kennedy family.
The Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Archives of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth contains a large collection of materials on the assassination. In 2006, American filmmaker Emilio Estevez wrote and directed the film Bobby. He attempted to recreate the scene of the assassination through a fictional account. According to the author Ron Briley, "the history in Bobby is often misleading".
In 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s wife, Cheryl Hines, called for President Joe Biden to grant her husband Secret Service protection for his presidential campaign, citing his family's history of successful assassinations.. Robert F. Kennedy Jr's request for Secret Service protection would not be granted until July 15, 2024; two days after former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt during a speech in Butler, Pennsylvania.
See also
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Notes
- Paul Schrade, William Weisel, Elizabeth Evans, Ira Goldstein, Irwin Stroll
- Kennedy Jr. inverted the first two names of Cesar, whose correct name was Thane Eugene Cesar.
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- "Assassination: The Night Bobby Kennedy Was Shot". The Independent. January 21, 2007. ISSN 1741-9743. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- "Transcript of Kennedy Primary Victory Speech" (PDF). The New York Times. June 6, 1968. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2021 – via Harold Weisberg Archive.
- "Sirhan Felt Betrayed by Kennedy". The New York Times. February 20, 1989. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
- Willon, Phil (January 13, 2022). "Gov. Gavin Newsom Rejects Parole for Sirhan Sirhan, Convicted of Killing Robert F. Kennedy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
- Teeter, Lawrence (February 5, 2005). "Hypnosis in the Case of Sirhan Sirhan". L.A. Times. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
Web sources
- "Robert F. Kennedy Memorial". Arlington National Cemetery. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
- "RFK Assassination Archives". Claire T. Carney Library. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- "Democracy Now! Special: Robert F. Kennedy's Life and Legacy 40 Years After His Assassination". Democracy Now!. June 5, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- "Robert F. Kennedy Assassination (b)". Federal Bureau of Investigation. April 5, 1977. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- "Secret Service History". United States Secret Service. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
- Shapell, Benjamin; Willen, Sara (June 5, 2018). "The Assassination & Funeral of Robert F. Kennedy". Shapell Manuscript Foundation. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- Wells, Leslie (2018). "RFK's Assassination: 'We Lost a Chance'" (PDF). Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- "Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Investigation Records". Secretary of State of California. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- "List of Physical Evidence" (PDF). Secretary of State of California. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
- "Indeterminate Sentence Parole Release Review: Sirhan Sirhan, B-21014" (PDF). State of California. January 13, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- "The Real Story of the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy" by Donald E. Wilkes, Jr. Flagpole.com, June 9, 2019.
- "Thane Eugene Cesar: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know" by Jessica McBride. Heavy.com, updated November 10, 2022.
- "Dan Moldea on the polygraph test he arranged for Thane Eugene Cesar" from Moldea's book, The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive Means, and Opportunity.
Further reading
- "Robert F. Kennedy Assassination (a)". Federal Bureau of Investigation. April 5, 1977. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- "Robert F. Kennedy Assassination (c)". Federal Bureau of Investigation. April 5, 1977. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- Klaber, William; Melanson, Philip (1997). Shadow Play: The Murder of Robert F. Kennedy, the Trial of Sirhan Sirhan, and the Failure of American Justice. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-15398-4. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
External links
- List of physical evidences at the assassination site – via the California State Archives
- Robert F. Kennedy Assassination 50th Anniversary – via C-SPAN
- Public Law 90-331 – via Govinfo.gov
- Bobby Kennedy's assassination, 1968, an eyewitness account by Alistair Cooke of the assassination, Letter from America, BBC
- Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
- 1968 murders in the United States
- Assassinations in the United States
- Filmed assassinations
- 1968 United States presidential election
- Deaths by firearm in California
- Deaths by person in Los Angeles
- Murder in Los Angeles
- June 1968 events in the United States
- 1968 in Los Angeles
- Political violence in the United States
- Palestinian political violence
- Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson
- Robert F. Kennedy
- Lyndon B. Johnson administration controversies
- Anti-Zionism in the United States
- Anti-Israeli sentiment in the United States
- Palestinian-American history