WASHINGTON – Approximately 10,000 pages of records linked to the 1968 assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy were made public on Friday. Among the contents are handwritten notes by Sirhan Sirhan, the gunman, who wrote that the Democratic presidential contender “must be disposed of” and confessed to having an obsession with ending his life.
Some of these documents had previously been available, but others remained undigitized, stored for decades in federal facilities. The release of these records aligns with the broader initiative ordered by former President Donald Trump to unveil historical investigation documents.
Robert F. Kennedy was fatally shot on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, just after delivering a speech that celebrated his California primary win. Sirhan, the assassin, was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder and is currently serving a life sentence. The newly released files include notations by Sirhan, including a scribbled note on an empty envelope mentioning that “RFK must be disposed of like his brother was.” This refers to Kennedy’s elder sibling, President John F. Kennedy, who was murdered in 1963. The envelope apparently had a return address connected to a Los Angeles IRS district director.
The National Archives and Records Administration has uploaded 229 files totaling about 10,000 pages to its public site. This release comes just a month after files related to President Kennedy’s assassination were unveiled, providing additional insight into Cold War-era covert U.S. operations but offering no new validation to conspiracy theories about who orchestrated JFK’s demise.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of the late senator and currently the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, praised the release, asserting that unveiling the RFK documents is crucial to restoring public trust in the American government.
The files also encompass interviews with acquaintances of the assassin, ranging from classmates and coworkers to neighbors. Some described Sirhan as “friendly, kind, and generous,” whereas others viewed him as a pensive and impressionable individual who harbored strong political convictions and briefly pursued mysticism. Notably, Sirhan allegedly informed his garbage collector of his intent to assassinate Kennedy following Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death on April 4, 1968.
Larry Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics and author of “The Kennedy Half-Century,” commented on the conspiracy theories perpetually surrounding Robert Kennedy’s assassination. He anticipated the document release would unfold similarly to the JFK records made available earlier this year, urging a meticulous review of the materials for any revealing insights or anecdotes.
Some redactions remain, including names and birth dates, mirroring last month’s controversies stemming from the unredacted personal data – including Social Security numbers – revealed in JFK’s assassination files. Trump, a Republican, has been an advocate, under the transparency banner, for unveiling documentation on high-profile assassinations. Yet, he remains deeply skeptical about government intelligence agencies, with his administration’s unveiling of formerly concealed documents inviting increased scrutiny of entities like the CIA and FBI.
Trump signed an executive order in January prompting the release of government files pertaining to the assassinations of RFK and Martin Luther King Jr., both of whom were killed within two months of each other. Lawyers representing Kennedy’s killer have consistently argued for his release, citing little threat posed to society, though a parole board determined otherwise in 2021. Following Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2022 decision to deny parole, a different board upheld this stance in 2023, emphasizing Sirhan’s ongoing lack of insight into his crime.
Despite his polarizing stature during his life, with critics pointing to his delayed opposition to the Vietnam War, Robert Kennedy is still revered by many American liberals for his advocacy of human rights and tackling poverty and social injustice. Many see his assassination as a pivotal tragedy marking a shift toward a darker political era in the United States. Son to a political dynasty, Kennedy’s background included a tenure as U.S. Attorney General under his brother, JFK, and later as a New York Senator until his death marked an irreplaceable loss to the Kennedy legacy.