JFK Files Declassified: Five Conspiracy Theories Behind His Assassination

President Donald Trump ordered the release of files related to the assassination of former president John F. Kennedy, potentially revealing any truths behind the conspiracy theories about his death.

Why It Matters

Trump, who returned to the White House this week, campaigned on releasing the files related to the Kennedy assassination, a question that has captivated millions of Americans for decades.

“I’m going to release them immediately,” the president said on Wednesday. “We’re going to see the information. We are looking at it right now.”

What to Know

Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade through Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, launching widespread government investigations.

The government concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, but conspiracy theories about the assassination have endured more than 60 years later and calls for more transparency into his murder persist.

People have pondered whether a foreign government—or perhaps even the U.S. government—was responsible for the assassination. A 2023 Gallup poll found that 65 percent of all Americans doubt the single-shooter theory and believe someone else was involved.

Here is a look at five conspiracy theories, which have not been proven, into the Kennedy assassination following Trump’s executive order.

Inside Job

Perhaps the most infamous conspiracy theory about the JFK assassination is that it was an inside job led by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) or Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Proponents of this theory point to Kennedy’s strained relationship with the CIA after the Bay of Pigs blunder, as well as differences over how the U.S. should have approached Vietnam. Theorists believe Kennedy’s firing of CIA Director Allen W. Dulles sparked plans for the assassination.

The CIA has denied all involvement in the assassination, and a 1979 House Select Committee report concluded that no federal agencies were involved in the assassination.

Thirty-eight percent of Americans said the U.S. government was the most likely co-conspirator in the assassination, according to an October 2023 Gallup poll.

Soviet Involvement

The U.S. was locked in a tense relationship with the Soviet Union and Cuba during the Kennedy administration, leading some to believe the Soviet Union may have played a role in his assassination. Oswald’s ties to Russia have also fueled the theory.

Documents have shown that Oswald met with a Soviet agent in Mexico about two months before the assassination, according to a CIA memo. During that phone conversation, Oswald allegedly asked in broken Russian if there was “anything new concerning the telegram to Washington,” but it didn’t provide more details on that memo.

In that same memo, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover made references to Oswald’s contact with the Soviet Union and Cuba

Cuba

Washington’s tense relationship with Cuba has also led to conspiracy theories about whether Cuban President Fidel Castro may have been involved in the assassination. During the Bay of Pigs operation, the U.S. tried, but failed, to overthrow him.

President Lyndon B. Johnson had expressed that Cuba may have been responsible, according to a 1976 New York Times report. Castro, however, dismissed this theory as “absolute insanity,” raising concerns about the risk of U.S. retaliation, reported NBC News.

Mafia

Others have questioned whether the Mafia may have been responsible for Kennedy’s murder. Kennedy tasked his brother, U.S. Attorney Robert F. Kennedy, with taking on organized crime, thus targeting the mafia.

Conspiracy theorists point to Carlos Marcello, a New Orleans mobster who was deported to Guatemala during the Kennedy era, as a potential figure involved in the assassination, as he did reportedly make threats against Kennedy.

Oswald had also traveled to New Orleans prior to the assassination, adding to the conspiracy theory.

The KKK

Others theorize the Ku Klux Klan may have had a role in Kennedy’s assassination due to his support of civil rights. Support for this theory, however, has declined in recent years. Only 1 percent of Americans believed it in 2023, down from 3 percent in 2013, Gallup found.

What People Are Saying

Cenk Uygur, the host of The Young Turks and a left-wing political commentator, wrote on X: “Trump ordering the release of government files on JFK, RFK and MLK assassinations is a great thing. I don’t know how much of the real evidence is in there, but I’ll take it. And I’d like to remind my friends on the left, releasing the files was originally a left-wing position.”

Trump, in his executive order: “More than 50 years after the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Federal Government has not released to the public all of its records related to those events. Their families and the American people deserve transparency and truth. It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay.”

What Happens Next

Trump’s order didn’t make clear when the files would be released but ordered the director of national intelligence and attorney general to present a plan within 15 days for the “full and complete” release of the records.