November 22, 1963: Dallas, Texas
7:23 a.m.
Lee Harvey Oswald arrives at the Book Depository, carrying a long package.
11:37 a.m.
John F. Kennedy and his first lady Jacqueline, arrive at Love Field, Dallas, and begin a motorcade through the city in support of his campaign for the 1964 presidential election.
12:29 p.m.
The motorcade rolls into Dealey Plaza. The crowd goes wild as the president, John F. Kennedy, passes by.
12:30 p.m.
The president’s limousine now passes the School Book Depository.
12:30 p.m.
3 gunshots are fired.
1:00 p.m.
President Kennedy is pronounced dead.
Now that we have some context on the killing of J.F.K, here is where the events following the killing get a little twisted. In the hours and days that followed, the nation struggled to process what had happened. Suspect Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the double homicide of Kennedy, along with Dallas Patrolman J.D. Tippit. Lee Harvey Oswald was interrogated for nearly two days, yet no formal confession was ever obtained. He continuously denied involvement, claiming he was “just a patsy.”
Then, things began to take a darker turn. Later on November 22, 1963—just two days after the assassination—Oswald was being transferred from the city jail to the county jail. As police escorted him through the basement of the Dallas Police Department, a man named Jack Ruby, with motives still in question, shot him instantly in the abdomen without warning. Oswald was immediately rushed to the hospital where John F. Kennedy had been pronounced dead, and in less than two hours, he too was declared dead.
With the prime suspect now silenced before being able to stand trial, speculation began to stir. In 1964, the Warren Committee concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, firing three shots from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.
But for many Americans, these conclusions created more questions than answers. Was Oswald really working alone? What was Jack Ruby’s motive? Was Oswald acting on vengeance or was there something more…calculated behind it?
Many began posting alternative conclusions to the event, with Cuba as a central cause of many of these conspiracy theories. While there are countless conspiracies still theorized today, a leading theory involves the participation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). “After the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (the Church Committee) revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had made several attempts to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro,” many began to debate whether the Cuban government was behind the shooting. While Castro has denied the allegations claiming that “such an action would have posed too great a risk of retaliation by the United States.”(https://www.britannica.com) speculation began to grow. Others theorize that the CIA may have collaborated with the Cuban Mafia as a part of a larger organized crime effort. The conspiracy theories of the suspected assassination of John F. Kennedy continue to remain a hot topic of discussion as people continue to discover a complex web of possible hidden motives and operations.
In the end, the assassination of John F. Kennedy still remains as one of the most debated events in American history, despite countless investigations and reports, unanswered questions, and loose ends in conclusions have continued to fuel mistrust and speculation. The sudden death of Lee Harvey Oswald has only deepened that mystery, leaving many to wonder whether the full truth has ever been uncovered. This story continues to live on through continuing theorists, to find the truth that still might remain undiscovered to this day…