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Jun 5, 2013

June 5 45th Anniversary Robert Kennedy’s Death

June 5 45th Anniversary Robert Kennedy’s Death
The assassination of Robert Francis “Bobby” Kennedy, a United States Senator and brother of assassinated President John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy, took place shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles, California, during the campaign season for the United States Presidential election, 1968. 

After winning the California and South Dakota primary elections for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, Kennedy was shot as he walked through the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel and died in the Good Samaritan Hospital twenty-six hours later. Sirhan Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian/Jordanian immigrant, was convicted of Kennedy’s murder and is serving a life sentence for the crime. Sirhan’s lawyers have released statements claiming evidence that he was framed. The shooting was recorded on audio tape by a freelance newspaper reporter, and the aftermath was captured on film.

Kennedy’s body lay in repose at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York for two days before a funeral mass was held on June 8. His body was interred near his brother John at Arlington National Cemetery. His death prompted the protection of presidential candidates by the United States Secret Service. Hubert Humphrey went on to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency, but ultimately lost the election to Richard Nixon.

As with his brother Jack’s death, Bobby’s assassination and the circumstances surrounding it have spawned a variety of conspiracy theories. As of 2013 Kennedy remains one of only two sitting United States Senators to be assassinated, the other being Huey Long.