Conspiracy!

I love conspiracy theories. I spend an embarrassing amount of my free time hanging out on Wikipedia and the weirder corners of youtube, watching people try to prove to me that everything I know is a lie. Honestly, it’s pretty fun, and so when I found out we were diving headfirst into the most iconic conspiracy theory in American history, I got really excited, and naturally did a bunch of research about Kennedy. Of course, people have dedicated dozens of years of their lives studying the assassination, and there’s a lot of theories and a lot of evidence, so my blog post condenses the most crucial/interesting info. Although Libra focuses mainly on one conspiracy, I believe that having a background in many will help me (and whoever reads this post) understand the book better as a whole, by putting these theories into context.

            So first off – what do we know? Well, what was made available to the public was the Warren Commission, an official public report done on the assassination. It contains a lot of information, but the critical points are: President Kennedy was parading down a street in Dallas when Oswald shot him. There were two shots that hit Kennedy: one right below his neck, which traveled through his body and hit Governor Connally, who was sitting in front of him, and another fatal one, which went through Kennedy’s skull. The shooter was identified as Oswald, who was shooting from the window of the Texas School Book Depository. Importantly, to quote the Commission “On the basis of the evidence before the Commission it concludes that Oswald acted alone”. In addition to all of this, there is the Zapruder film, a color video clip showing the assassination. You can find it here, but warning, there is a slightly graphic moment starting at frame 311. I also included a picture of the location (you can click on it to enlarge), with important points labeled, because the geography of this whole event is very important.

            So those are the facts, what’s not to like? Well, we can start from the very base: the witnesses. There are many accounts of witness intimidation – people claim to have been threatened by CIA agents if they told a narrative countering that of the Warren Commission. In addition, there are alternative accounts to what injuries Kennedy sustained – both by eyewitnesses and by the doctors that examined him. There is even a belief that the x-rays of Kennedy’s brain that are displayed are not his. In general, both with the attitude of the Warren Commission and with the agents involved in it, it is clear that something is being covered up, or at least some narrative not being told to the public.

             One of the most widely accepted theories is the challenge to the Oswald narrative. First off, many have pointed out the “magic bullet” which, to hit Governor Connally in the shoulder and then the leg after hitting Kennedy would have had to hit Kennedy, stop in midair for a second, turn, and then hit the governor at a completely different angle. In addition, the combination of Oswald’s slow rifle, bad aim, and the short time between shots has raised scrutiny over if Oswald was acting alone. Further evidence that Oswald was not acting alone comes from the fact that Kennedy’s head was allegedly shot at from the front (from the Grassy Knoll as it is now referred to), and the images of his brain in the National Archives are false.

            So, what are some specific theories? One is the New Orleans conspiracy. This involves a lot of the players we have already met in Libra, such as David Ferrie and Guy Banister. The theory is basically that Oswald planned this assassination with the help of other people from New Orleans. There is a significant amount of evidence linking Ferrie and Oswald, and incriminating Banister.

            Another conspiracy, and the one Libra will focus the most on, is the Cuba conspiracy. Kennedy was notoriously unpopular with Cuban exiles, especially after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. There is video footage of a group of angry Cubans meeting just months before the assassination, discussing their issues with Kennedy. Oswald is tied to the Cubans through Guillermo Novo, a weapons dealer who supposedly had interactions with Oswald, and shot a bazooka into the UN during a Che Guevara speech.

On a related note, organized crime is theorized to have been a part of the assassination. Specifically, leaders of various mafia organizations had ties with leaders of anti-Castro groups in the US, the same groups that were believed to have killed Kennedy. In addition, organized crime had ties to the CIA, further implying an undercover plot. The most prominent leader, Carlos Marcello, was traced to some incriminating phone calls and situations. In addition, one of his underlings claimed to have been offered a contract to kill Kennedy. Theorists claim that the organized crime narrative explains such a painstaking cover-up: the government did not want to be associated with organized crime, and the narrative had clear ties to the CIA.

            The next is the Lyndon B. Johnson conspiracy. As we know, after Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson rose to power as president. He notoriously disliked the Kennedys, and the Kennedys disliked him – JFK was planning to run for reelection with a different running mate. Theorists claim that Johnson orchestrated the entire assassination. People close to Johnson, such as his mistress Madeleine Brown, and his personal friends including Jim Marrs, Ralph D. Thomas, J. Gary Shaw, among others, were reported acting suspicious, and gathering nervously at parties and events for weeks before the assassination.

            Finally, the last theory I’ll mention is the CIA/Secret Government theory. Americans like to believe that our government is being run by some secret authority, and this case is no exception. First, there is evidence that the CIA tampered with Oswald’s files, both before and after the assassination. In addition, as we see in Libra, the CIA has the resource to pull off something of this scale. In addition, tied to this is the Secret Service conspiracy, which believes that there were intentionally few Secret Service agents surrounding Kennedy that day, and that removing the protective top of the car was their choice, not Kennedy’s.

            There are also a few more ridiculous and “fun” theories, such as the Israeli Government conspiracy (that the Israeli government orchestrated the whole thing basically out of spite), the Federal Reserve conspiracy (that the Federal Reserve was angry at Kennedy for cutting their power), and even that the driver of Kennedy’s car was the one who shot Kennedy, with a gas pressure device made by aliens (a real theory, written about in Behold a Pale Horse by M. W. Cooper).

Do you know any other theories? Do you believe any? Do these change your perception of Libra at all? Let me know in the comments what you think!