View source for Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy

{{For|the assassination of Robert's brother, John|John F. Kennedy assassination}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title      = Robert F. Kennedy assassination
| image      = Robert F Kennedy crop.jpg
| caption    = Robert F. Kennedy
| location   = [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|Ambassador Hotel]], [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], [[USA]]
| target     = [[Robert F. Kennedy]]
| coordinates =
| date       = June 5, 1968
| time       = 12:15 a.m.
| timezone   = [[Pacific Time Zone]]
| type       =
| fatalities = 1
| injuries   = 5
| victim     =
| perps      =
| perp       = [[Sirhan Sirhan]]
| susperps   =
| susperp    =
| weapons    =  [[.22 caliber]] [[Iver-Johnson]]
| numparts   =
| numpart    =
| dfens      =
| dfen       =
| Footage    =
}}

The '''assassination of Robert F. Kennedy''', a [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] and brother of [[John F. Kennedy assassination|assassinated]] [[President of the United States|President]] [[John F. Kennedy]], took place shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968 in Los Angeles, California. After winning the California [[primary election]] for the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nomination for President of the United States, [[Robert F. Kennedy]] was shot as he walked through the kitchen of the [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|Ambassador Hotel]] and died in the [[Good Samaritan Hospital (Los Angeles)|Good Samaritan Hospital]] twenty-six hours later. [[Sirhan Sirhan]], a twenty-four year old [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] [[Immigration|immigrant]], was convicted of Kennedy's murder and is serving a life sentence for the crime. The shooting was recorded on audio tape by a freelance newspaper reporter, and the aftermath was captured on film. 

Kennedy's body [[lying in repose|lay in repose]] at [[St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York|St. Patrick's Cathedral]] in New York for two days before a funeral mass was held on June 8. His body was interred near his brother John at [[Arlington National Cemetery]]. His death prompted the protection of presidential candidates by the [[United States Secret Service]]. [[Hubert Humphrey]] went on to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency, but ultimately narrowly lost the election to [[Richard Nixon]].

As with his [[John F Kennedy|brother's]] death, Robert Kennedy's assassination and the circumstances surrounding it have spawned a variety of [[Robert F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories|conspiracy theories]].

==Background==
Kennedy was [[United States Attorney General]] from January 1961 until September 3, 1964, when he resigned to run for election to the [[United States Senate]]. He took office as [[List of United States Senators from New York|Senator from New York]] on January 3, 1965.<ref name=congressbio>{{cite web| url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=k000114 |title= Kennedy, Robert Francis&nbsp;— Biographical information|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=2008-07-26}}</ref>

The approach of the [[United States presidential election, 1968|1968 presidential election]] saw the incumbent president, [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], 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 [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]].<ref name=BBCJohnson>{{cite news| title = 1964: Election triumph for Lyndon B Johnson| work = On this Day| publisher = [[BBC]]|year= 2005 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/3/newsid_3641000/3641464.stm | accessdate = 2008-04-24  | date=1964-11-03}}</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 [[Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination|assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.]] in April 1968 led to further riots in 100&nbsp;cities.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news | title = 1968: Martin Luther King shot dead| work = On this Day| publisher = [[BBC]] |year= 2006| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/4/newsid_2453000/2453987.stm | accessdate = 2006-09-17  | date=1968-04-04}}</ref>
Kennedy entered the race for the Democratic Party's nomination for president on March 16, 1968&mdash;four days after Senator [[Eugene McCarthy]] received a large percentage of the vote in the [[New Hampshire]] 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 of the United States|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 [[Delegate#Politics|delegates]]. Following the California primary, Kennedy was in second place with 393&nbsp;delegates compared to Humphrey's 561.<ref>Moldea 1995, p. 26n.</ref>

==Assassination==
[[Image:Rfk assasination.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Boris Yaro]]'s photograph of Robert F. Kennedy lying wounded on the floor immediately after the shooting]]
Four hours after the polls closed in California, Kennedy claimed victory in the state's Democratic presidential primary. At approximately 12:15&nbsp;a.m. [[Pacific time zone|PDT]], he addressed his campaign supporters in the [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|Ambassador Hotel]]'s Embassy Room ballroom, in the [[Mid-Wilshire]] district of [[Los Angeles]].<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 [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] protection for incumbent presidents but not for presidential candidates. Kennedy's only security was provided by former [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] 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>

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 [[News conference|press conference]]. Campaign aide [[Fred Dutton]] 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 [[maître d']] Karl Uecker through a back exit.<ref name="w2645">Witcover 1969, pp. 264–265.</ref>

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 passageway 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 [[busboy]] Juan Romero as [[Sirhan Sirhan]] stepped down from a low tray-stacker beside the ice machine, rushed past Uecker, and repeatedly fired what was later identified as a [[.22 caliber]] [[Iver Johnson#Robert Kennedy assassination|Iver-Johnson Cadet]] revolver.<ref>Witcover 1969, p. 266.</ref>

After Kennedy had fallen to the floor, security man Bill Barry hit Sirhan twice in the face while others, including maître d's Uecker and Edward Minasian, writer [[George Plimpton]], [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] gold medal [[decathlon|decathlete]] [[Rafer Johnson]] and [[American football|professional football]] player [[Rosey Grier]], forced Sirhan against the steam table and disarmed him.<ref name=EventAccount>{{cite news |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 laid 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 [[rosary]] in his hand.<ref>{{cite news | 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, 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 [[iconic]] 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 = [[National Museum of American History]]| 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 news |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 | first=Christopher | last=Reynolds | date=2007-01-05}}</ref>

[[Ethel Skakel Kennedy|Ethel Kennedy]] 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 whisper, "Don't lift me".<ref>Heymann 1998, p. 500.</ref><ref>Clarke 2008, p. 275.</ref> He lost consciousness shortly thereafter.<ref name="w273">Witcover 1969, p. 273.</ref> 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 news |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 [[stethoscope]] 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&nbsp;minutes, Kennedy was transferred several [[city block|blocks]] to [[Good Samaritan Hospital (Los Angeles)|the Hospital of the Good Samaritan]] for surgery.  Surgery began at 3:12&nbsp;a.m. PDT and lasted three hours and 40&nbsp;minutes.<ref>Witcover 1969, pp. 281–282.</ref> Ten and a half hours later, at 5:30&nbsp;p.m. PDT on Wednesday, spokesman [[Frank Mankiewicz]] 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>

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 news | 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 [[neurosurgery]] at the Good Samaritan Hospital to remove the bullet and bone fragments from his brain, Kennedy died at 1:44&nbsp;a.m. PDT on June 6, nearly 26&nbsp;hours after the shooting.<ref name = everything />
Five other people were also wounded: William Weisel of [[ABC News]], Paul Schrade of the [[United Auto Workers]] 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 [[Rosemary Clooney]], a strong Kennedy supporter, was present in the ballroom during the shooting in the pantry and suffered a [[nervous breakdown]] 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>

==Sirhan Sirhan==
{{Main|Sirhan Sirhan}}
{{wikisource|Sirhan Sirhan's diary}}

Sirhan Sirhan was strongly anti-[[Zionism|Zionist]].<ref name=BST>{{cite news|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 news |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 68." It has been suggested that the date of the assassination is significant, because it was the first anniversary of the first day of the [[Six Day War]] 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 [[Israel]], 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>

During his trial, Sirhan's lawyers attempted to use a defense of [[diminished responsibility]],<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 news| 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=[[Associated Press]]|publisher=www.signonsandiego.com|accessdate=2008-04-26|date=2003-03-06|last=Skoloff|first=Brian}}</ref>

Sirhan was convicted on April 17, 1969, and six days later was sentenced to death.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/07/national/main543105.shtml|title=Sirhan Sirhan Kept Behind Bars|publisher=CBS|date=2003-03-06|accessdate=2008-05-18}}</ref> The sentence was [[clemency|commuted]] to [[life in prison]] in 1972 after the [[California Supreme Court]], in its decision in ''[[California v. Anderson]]'', 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 Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, CA.<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>

==Media coverage==
As the shooting took place, ABC News was signing off from its electoral broadcast, while the [[CBS]] broadcast was already over.<ref name=mediaaccount>{{cite news|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 [[NBC]], all of ABC's coverage from the Ambassador was in black and white.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Video/playerIndex?id=3247549 "June 5, 1968: Robert F. Kennedy Dying"] ABC News Time Tunnel.</ref> 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 />

Reporter Andrew West of [[KTLK (AM)|KRKD]], a [[Mutual Broadcasting System]] radio affiliate in [[Los Angeles]], 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 [Sirhan's] thumb and break it, if you have to! Get his thumb!"{{Dead link|date=May 2010}}<ref name="Audio">{{Dead link|date=May 2010}}{{cite web |date= 1968-06-05|url = http://hearitnow.umd.edu/1968.htm|title = 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 [[CBS radio]] affiliate [[KNX (AM)]] made available for streaming and download a 45-minute unedited [http://www.knx1070.com/RFK/2313745 aircheck of its live coverage] of the assassination, including audio from its sister station KNXT-TV (now [[KCBS-TV]]).</ref>

Over the following week, NBC devoted 55&nbsp;hours to the shooting and aftermath, ABC 43, and CBS 42, with all three networks preempting their regular coverage and advertisements to cover the story.<ref name=mediaaccount />

==Conspiracy theories==
{{Main|Robert F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories}}
As with the [[John F. Kennedy assassination|assassination of President John F. Kennedy]], Robert Kennedy's brother, 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.<ref>William Turner and John Christian. ''The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy''. New York: Random House, 1978.</ref>

===CIA involvement theory===
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.<ref name=beebprog>{{cite news|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 films 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 [[JMWAVE]], the CIA's main anti-Castro station based in Miami.  They were JMWAVE Chief of Operations [[David Sánchez Morales|David Morales]], Chief of Maritime Operations Gordon Campbell and Chief of Psychological Warfare Operations George Joannides.<ref name=beebprog />

The program 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 [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]].<ref name="OSullivanGuardian">{{cite news |title=Did the CIA kill Bobby Kennedy? |work=The Guardian |date=2006-11-20 |url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1952379,00.html |last=O'Sullivan |first=Shane |accessdate=2006-11-21 | location=London}}</ref>

After further investigation, O'Sullivan produced the feature documentary, ''[[RFK Must Die]]''. The film casts doubt on the earlier identifications and ultimately reveals that the man previously identified as Gordon Campbell may, in fact, have been 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 |date=2007-11-20  |title=RFK Must Die |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1047517/ |medium=DVD |publisher=Dokument Films}}</ref>

===Second gunman theory===
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 news| 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 | location=London}}</ref> This has led to the suggestion that a second gunman actually fired the fatal shot, a possibility supported by coroner [[Thomas Noguchi]] who stated that the fatal shot was behind Kennedy's right ear and had been fired at a distance of approximately one inch.<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=[[PDF]]|publisher=FBI}}</ref> As recently as 2008, eyewitness [[John Pilger]] 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 Los Angeles Superior 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 2007, analysis of an audio tape recording of the shooting made 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 /><ref>[http://rfkmustdie.blip.tv/file/1362352 Pruszynski recording & analysis by acoustic expert Philip Van Praag]</ref> Van Praag states that the recording also reveals at least two cases where the timing between shots was shorter than humanly possible. The presence of more than eight shots on the tape was corroborated by forensic audio specialists Wes Dooley and Paul Pegas of Audio Engineering Associates in Pasadena, California, forensic audio and ballistics expert Eddy B. Brixen in Copenhagen, Denmark,<ref>O'Sullivan, Shane (2008) ''Who Killed Bobby?: The Unsolved Murder of Robert Kennedy.'' New York: Sterling Publishing. p. 478.</ref><ref>[http://www.maryferrell.org/wiki/index.php/RFK_Video Discovery Times (now Investigation Discovery) presents "Conspiracy Test: The RFK Assassination" (2007)]</ref> and audio specialist Phil Spencer Whitehead of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2009/06/08/bs.rfkennedy.audio.johnson.cnn?iref=videosearch CNN's BackStory reports on the Pruszynski recording & analysis (2009)]</ref> Some other acoustic experts, however, have stated that no more than eight shots were recorded on the audio 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>

==Aftermath and legacy==
===Memorial===
[[Image:Robert Kennedy grave.jpg|thumb|right|Robert Kennedy's Grave in [[Arlington National Cemetery]]]]

Following the [[autopsy]] 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 | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071202163137/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20070121/ai_n17145367/pg_2| archivedate = December 2, 2007}}</ref>

Kennedy's younger brother, U.S. Senator [[Ted Kennedy|Edward "Ted" Kennedy]], eulogized him<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ekennedytributetorfk.html |title=American Rhetoric: Edward Kennedy&nbsp;— Eulogy for Robert F. Kennedy|publisher=americanrhetoric.com|accessdate=2008-05-12}}</ref> with the words:
{{quote|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. Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world. 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.'}}

Immediately following the mass, Kennedy's body was transported by a slow-moving train to [[Washington, D.C.]] 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 older brother John, in Arlington National Cemetery, in the first burial ever to take place there at night; the second being the burial of his younger brother Ted.<ref name=indy2007 /><ref name=arlington />

After the assassination, Congress altered the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]]'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&nbsp;— Deadlines Past|first=Terence |last=Smith|date=2003-10-29|publisher = PBS |accessdate=2008-05-18}}</ref>

===1968 election===
At the time of his death, Kennedy was significantly behind Humphrey in convention delegate support,<ref>{{cite news |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=2007-01-27|accessdate=2007-11-26 | location=London}}</ref> but many believe 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.{{Dead link|date=May 2010}}<ref>{{Dead link|date=May 2010}}{{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 [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.]] and others have argued that Kennedy's broad appeal and [[charisma]] would have been sufficiently convincing at the [[1968 Democratic National Convention]] to give him the nomination.<ref>Schlesinger 1996</ref> Historian [[Michael Beschloss]] believed, 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 marred by [[1968 Democratic National Convention protest activity|violence in the streets]], was far behind in opinion polls but gained ground. He ultimately lost the general election to Republican [[Richard Nixon]] by a narrow margin.

==See also==
*[[Bobby (2006 film)|''Bobby'' (2006 film)]]
*[[Kennedy Curse]]
*[[Kennedy family]]
*[[List of assassinated American politicians]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Ref begin}}
*{{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}}
*{{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}}
{{Ref end}}

==Further reading==
[http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/05/pete_hamills_ey.php Two Minutes to Midnight: The Very Last Hurrah] Account of the assassination and observations by [[Pete Hamill]] for the [[Village Voice]] June 13, 1968

==External links==
* [http://www.maryferrell.org/wiki/index.php/RFK_Assassination_Documents Mary Ferrell Foundation - RFK Assassination Documents]&nbsp;– LAPD and FBI investigation files and the trial transcript at the Mary Ferrell Foundation

{{Coord|34.0597|N|118.2971|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark|display=title}}
{{John F. Kennedy}}
{{Conspiracy theories}}
{{featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assassination, Robert F. Kennedy}}
[[Category:1968 crimes]]
[[Category:1968 in the United States]]
[[Category:Assassinations|Kennedy, Robert F., assassination]]
[[Category:History of Los Angeles, California]]
[[Category:Robert F. Kennedy]]
[[Category:United States presidential election, 1968]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in the United States]]

{{Link GA|fr}}
{{Link FA|cs}}
[[cs:Atentát na Roberta Francise Kennedyho]]
[[da:Attentatet på Robert F. Kennedy]]
[[es:Asesinato de Robert F. Kennedy]]
[[fr:Assassinat de Robert F. Kennedy]]
[[Category:2Fix]]