LOS ANGELES (Diya TV) — Nearly six decades after Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, the federal government has released more than 10,000 pages of documents related to its investigation into his 1968 killing. The newly declassified records offer Americans their most comprehensive look yet at the events surrounding the senator’s death and could reignite long-standing debates and conspiracy theories.
The document release follows an executive order initiated by former President Donald Trump aimed at increasing public access to government records related to major historical events, including the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The first tranche of files became available online last week, with additional records expected in the coming months.
“This marks the first time the American people will have the opportunity to review the federal government’s full investigation into the RFK assassination,” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in a statement posted on X. Gabbard is overseeing the release process and emphasized the administration’s “commitment to maximum transparency.”
The files include FBI reports, State Department correspondence, and trial documents involving Sirhan Sirhan, the 24-year-old convicted of shooting Kennedy in the kitchen pantry of Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968. The senator had just delivered a victory speech after winning the California Democratic primary and was widely seen as a frontrunner for the presidency.
Kennedy, then the Democratic Senator from New York and brother of the late President John F. Kennedy, was shot multiple times and later died from his injuries. Five others were wounded during the attack.
Sirhan, a Palestinian-Jordanian immigrant, admitted to the shooting during his trial and said he was angered by Kennedy’s support for Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. He was convicted of first-degree murder and initially sentenced to death. However, California later commuted the sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Sirhan, now 81, has unsuccessfully sought parole at least 17 times, most recently in August 2024.
While some of the investigative records have long been available through California archives, many of the federal documents had remained classified or undigitized until now. Gabbard revealed that an additional 50,000 pages were recently located in FBI and CIA storage and will undergo review before public release.
Among the newly released materials are FBI witness statements from the night of the shooting, reports detailing physical evidence collected at the scene, and letters from world leaders expressing condolences. The files also include internal government discussions about Sirhan’s prosecution and trial proceedings.
The release has been welcomed by Kennedy’s son, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long questioned the official account of his father’s death. RFK Jr. has supported previous efforts to review the evidence and, in 2021, controversially advocated for Sirhan’s parole, diverging from his siblings’ positions.
“I’m very grateful,” Kennedy Jr. said of the new release.
As with the aftermath of JFK’s assassination, RFK’s death has sparked decades of conspiracy theories, including claims of a second gunman and CIA involvement. Some researchers point to forensic inconsistencies and conflicting witness accounts. Others maintain that Sirhan acted alone and that the evidence supports his conviction.
The newly released files may not resolve every question, but they mark a significant milestone in the government’s effort to make its historical investigations more transparent. Whether the documents clarify or complicate the narrative, they provide researchers, journalists, and the public with a deeper well of information from which to conclude. The full cache is accessible through government archives, and officials say the next batch could arrive within the year.
