Who REALLY Killed RFK? Part 1 (With Journalist Craig Colgan)

“Tuesday night, I was in ecstasy with joy,” a young man — his name lost to history — who’d been at RFK’s Los Angeles victory party told an ABC TV special on June 6, 1968. “Wednesday morning, sorrow. And this morning, utter despair — because now I’m lost, I’m desperate, and I don’t know where we’re going from here.”

This month marks 56 years since the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy on the presidential campaign trail in Los Angeles.

Throughout June, I’ll be premiering new episodes in my ongoing investigative series “Who Killed Bobby Kennedy?” — exploring the case evidence, witness testimony, and the repeated confessions of RFK’s convicted assassin Sirhan Bishara Sirhan.

Tonight my guest is Craig Colgan, an award-winning journalist who has studied and written about the RFK assassination for 25 years. He has contributed to The Washington Post, The Washington Examiner, Quillette, National Journal, The Miami Herald, Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Charlotte Observer, The Columbia State, among many other respected publications. His reporting is referenced in two books of note: Thurston Clarke’s The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America, and in Freedom Riders, by Raymond Arsenault.

In Part 1 of our conversation we discuss events leading up to the murder of Senator Kennedy, and Sirhan’s plans — detailed at length in his notebooks — to murder pro-Israel politicians, premeditated a year before the murder of RFK. His targets included U.N. Ambassador Goldberg, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and President Lyndon Johnson.

Craig explains why Sirhan ultimately chose Sen. Kennedy as his target, describes his motives for the murder, and addresses questions about a possible second gunman — a security guard named Thane Eugene Cesar.

2024 Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says he believes that Gene Cesar was the one who actually shot and killed his father, not Sirhan.

@RobertKennedyJr tried to arrange an on-camera interview with the security guard he believes murdered his father — Thane Eugene Cesar — in 2018.

This thread reveals the inside story of those negotiations, and why the meeting ultimately didn’t happen. 🧵

(Cesar photo, 2018) pic.twitter.com/S5EhN6bR99

— Lori Spencer (@RealLoriSpencer) June 19, 2024

Don’t miss Part 1 of this incredible conversation tonight at 9 PM Eastern.

It will change everything you think you know about the RFK assassination.

Part 2 closes out the month next Sunday night, June 30th.

Check out all episodes of the “Who Killed Bobby Kennedy” podcast series in this playlist.

DISCLOSURE: I am a volunteer on the RFK Jr. presidential campaign. Join the RFK Army and help us reclaim what Sirhan took from us in 1968 here.

http://Kennedy24.com/LoriSpencer

RFK Murder: The Motive (Strange Bedfellows, Ep. 38 w/ Author Mel Ayton)

“Do you think I’ll go to hell when I die?
Wouldn’t it be something if that son-of-a-bitch (RFK) were waiting for me?”

— Sirhan Sirhan to L.A. County Jail Deputy Dyson

56 years ago this month, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down in a kitchen pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

My ongoing investigative series on the RFK assassination continues on Episode 38 of “Strange Bedfellows” with tonight’s guest, historian Mel Ayton (author of “Sirhan Sirhan: The Forgotten Terrorist”) — who will tell us what motivated Kennedy’s killer.

Researchers have spent the past 56 years bogged down in ballistics and bullet trajectories, all the while overlooking the most important aspect of the crime: motive.

We are all guilty of focusing too much on the HOW, and not enough on the WHY.

So, why did he do it? Sirhan told us why. Many times.

Minutes after shooting Sen. Kennedy, Sirhan told arresting officers:

“I can explain! I did it for my country! I love my country.”

After being convicted of Kennedy’s murder, Sirhan told his jailer:

“It’s not very many people my age who is considered a martyr by his people.
Just think, I’ll go down in history as a martyr and will always be remembered, at least by my countrymen.”

He told us, over and over again, why he killed Kennedy. He did it for his country; for Palestine.

Sirhan envisioned himself as a revolutionary, committing a revolutionary act. And it’s true that he did put the Palestinian liberation movement on the front pages of newspapers for the very first time. Assassinating RFK brought attention to the plight of Palestinians — and that’s exactly what Sirhan intended to do.

In addition, Sirhan’s anti-Zionism was the primary motivating emotion that drove him to target high-profile political leaders for assassination. More than a year before he shot RFK, Sirhan was already naming the pro-Israel politicians he wanted to kill in his notebook, starting at the top: President Lyndon Baines Johnson,

RFK's convicted killer Sirhan Sirhan's original target was actually President Lyndon Johnson.

Sirhan was furious with LBJ for supporting Israel in the 1967 Six Day War and planned to do him in.

This thread reveals what Sirhan wrote in his notebooks about LBJ. pic.twitter.com/d1k8LINudM

— Lori Spencer (@RealLoriSpencer) June 8, 2024

Sirhan also wanted to murder U.N. Ambassador Arthur Goldberg.

He then focused his homicidal anger on U.N. Ambassador Arthur Goldberg.

Sirhan later testified:

“At the time I would have killed (U.S.
Ambassador to the United Nations, Arthur Goldberg) if I had a gun.”

He wrote in his notebooks, “Ambassador Goldberg must die…die…die”.

— Lori Spencer (@RealLoriSpencer) June 8, 2024

Even after he was locked up awaiting trial for killing RFK, Sirhan was wishing death upon Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

Sirhan was mad at Humphrey because, “…even after the assassination (of RFK) Humphrey said he
would send bombers to Israel – just to spite me! He said that just to spite me! Humphrey, you better have a million guards around you, because you’re gonna get it, you goddamn bastard.”

— Lori Spencer (@RealLoriSpencer) June 11, 2024

Clearly, Sirhan had no shame or remorse for what he did. He was quite proud of himself.

When asked by a police sergeant if he was ashamed of what he did, Sirhan replied, “Hell, No!”

In fact, he was so proud of his act that the morning following the shooting Sirhan asked jail guards for a newspaper so he could see what had been written about him.

— Lori Spencer (@RealLoriSpencer) June 11, 2024

While behind bars, Sirhan constantly asked for newspapers from the Arab world, eager to read what was being written about his “heroic act” by those who — unlike Americans — understood his motives.

Indeed, Sirhan was hailed a hero in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, and back home in Palestine. Even the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin Al-Husseini instructed his fellow Arabs to give Sirhan all possible aid after his arrest. The Grand Mufti’s call was answered by Arab lawyers who came to assist Sirhan, and Arab Americans who held fundraisers for his legal defense fund and provided financial support for the Sirhan family.

In 1968, Sirhan’s motives were lost on most Americans, who rationalized the assassination of Robert Kennedy as the senseless act of a madman. We, as a nation, did not yet understand the complexities or history of the Middle East conflict. This was before the era of Palestinian skyjackings, hostage-takings, the Munich Olympics massacre, terrorist attacks, and 9/11.

In 2003, The Los Angeles Times wrote that Sirhan “fired the first shot in the War on Terror.”

Indeed, he did. Sirhan’s name will be recorded in the history books as the first Palestinian terrorist to strike at the heart of America, on American soil.

Tonight on Episode 38 of “Strange Bedfellows” British author and historian Mel Ayton will give us a sneak preview of his upcoming biography of Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (his second book about Sirhan).

Ayton’s previous book “The Forgotten Terrorist: Sirhan Sirhan and the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy” is highly recommended reading for anyone seeking to understand Sirhan’s Arab nationalism, his antisemitism, his past in Palestine, his deep-rooted hatred of Israel, and his motives for the crime. The 2019 edition features a Foreword by Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz.

Mel Ayton says that Kennedy’s son RFK Jr. (currently running for president as an Independent) is wrong about a conspiracy in his father’s murder, and tonight he will explain why.

Sirhan is as guilty as sin, Ayton argues — and he makes a very compelling case.

Don’t miss this interview tonight at 9 PM Eastern on “Strange Bedfellows!”

Campuses In Crisis: Where Does RFK Stand? (Kennedy Americans, Ep. 30)

Protesters clash with police on the UCLA campus, Los Angeles

2024 Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. #Kennedy Jr. has been strangely silent the past few weeks about the #antisemitic, pro-#Hamas protests happening on college campuses.

Although #RFKJr has been asked about it in recent interviews, and answers briefly in a lawyerly manner about the difference between demonstrations on public vs. private property, he has otherwise completely avoided talking about the issue.

While every other candidate in the presidential race issued statements on this national crisis immediately, Kennedy waited nearly three weeks before speaking up.

Kennedy finally posted a tweet about the campus unrest Saturday outlining what he would do as president to ensure fairness to all students on campus, but said nothing about what he would do to stop the lawlessness and violence we are witnessing on campuses across America.

American universities can be part of the solution in the Middle East. We should welcome protest, yes — but also foster debate and dialogue to reach common ground. We should be producing leaders and innovations to help build a new, peaceful future for the region.

Instead, we see…

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 5, 2024

Kennedy has proclaimed himself to be strongly pro-Israel, and supports #Israel’s war against Hamas. At the same time, he says he is “very pro-Palestinian,” and supports the two-state solution that would establish #Palestine as an independent sovereign nation.

Is Kennedy doing the same “both sides” dance as President #Biden, afraid of losing progressive Democrats and Gen Z voters? Are his campaign advisers telling Bobby to tone down his pro-Israel rhetoric in order to appease the woke mob?

At a time when #antisemitism escalating to frightening levels, #Jews are being assaulted in the streets, and some protesters are issuing calls to “kill all the Zionists,” it feels like open season on Jews.

The exclusion of Jewish “#Zionists” from campuses, establishment of “Zionist-free zones,” Jewish students not being allowed to attend class, acts of harassment, intimidation and violence, hate speech and symbols of Jew hatred on campus property are all flagrant violations of the 1964 Civil Rights Act — which is not being enforced by campus administrators, state governments, or the federal government.

On this edition of Maverick News we ask why President #Biden isn’t doing what President John F. #Kennedy did: send in the National Guard to protect the rights of ALL students, stop the violence, enforce the law of the land, and restore order on campus.

The Kennedy legacy is civil rights. It is time for #RFK to pick up the mantle of #JFK and his father, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, on this divisive issue that is tearing our nation apart, and undoing 60 years of racial progress started by his ancestors.

His uncle Jack’s campaign slogans during the 1960 were “a time for greatness,” and “leadership for the 60s.” Can his nephew meet that high standard now? Because this is a time for greatness, not timidity. We need moral clarity and leadership for the 20s, right now.

Now is the time for Kennedy to shine; to lead; to do something bold.

I’ll tell you what that is tonight on Maverick News. Join us at 9 PM Eastern.

Who REALLY Shot RFK?

This week marks 55 years since Senator Robert F. #Kennedy was shot and killed in Los Angeles while running for president.

The anniversary seems especially poignant and newsworthy this year now that his namesake son, #RFKJr, is also running for president.

On this special edition of Maverick News, we talked to Lisa Pease, author of the book “A Lie Too Big To Fail” — an exploration of the evidence in this case.

After three decades of research, Pease has come to the conclusion that Sirhan Sirhan (who has been imprisoned since 1968) is innocent of the crime, and that someone else shot #RFK.

But who? Who murdered #JFK’s brother, and most importantly, WHY?

Watch this interview and find out!

FLASHBACK: June 5, 1968

OTD: presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot in the early morning hours of June 5, 1968 following a California primary election victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

Kennedy lingered on, brain-damaged beyond hope, for 26 more hours before he died.

During that horrible long, long day of June 5, Americans once again kept vigil in front of television screens, waiting for some word on RFK’s condition; maybe some kind of explanation for WHY. And why another Kennedy, again? Why, so soon after MLK two months before?

As they had done 5 years earlier after the assassination of President Kennedy, the networks went to 24 news coverage. Here’s a three-hour sample of Harry Reasoner’s prime time special on the tragedy the day after RFK was shot: when the whole world held its collective breath and prayed for a miracle.

FLASHBACK: RFK visits D.C. Ghetto, 1968

His brother, the president, was assassinated during a presidential campaign motorcade in a convertible car — which really makes you wonder sometimes what Robert Kennedy was thinking when he campaigned for president in an open car motorcade with virtually no security.

RFK was either courageous or crazy; I’m not quite sure which when I see footage like this.