The country was tearing itself apart in 1968.
Something happened to divide the nation.
And Robert F Kennedy was gunned down 57 years ago today in a horrible moment for America and RFK Jr let loose about it.
America was coming apart at the seams in 1968
The year 1968 stands as one of the most turbulent in American history.
The Vietnam War was raging with no end in sight.
Anti-war protests were erupting on college campuses across the country.
In April, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
Cities burned as riots broke out from coast to coast.
President Lyndon B. Johnson shocked the nation when he announced he wouldn’t seek re-election.
America desperately needed someone who could bring the country together.
Robert F. Kennedy seemed to be that person.
The younger brother of the slain President John F. Kennedy had served as Attorney General during his brother’s administration.
RFK was beloved by minority communities for his unwavering commitment to civil rights.
He had the Kennedy name recognition and charisma that could unite a fractured nation.
Kennedy was on the verge of the Democratic nomination
Robert Kennedy entered the 1968 Presidential race late but quickly gained momentum.
He was seen as the only politician capable of bridging America’s racial and generational divides.
Kennedy connected with working-class voters, minorities, and young people in a way no other candidate could match.
On June 4, 1968, Kennedy scored a crucial victory in the California Democratic primary.
The win put him in prime position to secure the Democratic nomination for President.
That night at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Kennedy addressed his cheering supporters.
Kennedy told his cheering supporters that the country was ready to end its fractious divisions.
The victory speech marked a pivotal moment in what had become an uphill battle for the Democratic nomination.
Those would be among his final public words.
A 24-year-old Palestinian immigrant changed the course of history
As Kennedy left the ballroom through a kitchen corridor, tragedy struck.
24-year-old Sirhan Sirhan stepped forward with a campaign poster hiding a .22 caliber revolver.
Standing just one foot away, Sirhan fired multiple shots at Kennedy.
Former NFL player Roosevelt Grier and Olympic decathlete Rafer Johnson tackled Sirhan to the ground.
But it was too late.
Kennedy lay on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood.
Five bystanders were also wounded in the attack.
Kennedy was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital where he underwent emergency brain surgery.
For 26 agonizing hours, the nation held its breath and prayed for Kennedy’s recovery.
Robert F. Kennedy was pronounced dead on June 6, 1968, at the age of 42.
The death came nearly 25 hours after the shooting.
The assassin’s motive shocked investigators
Sirhan Sirhan was born in Palestine and had immigrated to the United States as a child.
During his trial, Sirhan confessed to the murder and explained his twisted reasoning.
According to The New York Times, Sirhan later claimed he believed Kennedy was "instrumental" in the oppression of Palestinians.
Kennedy’s support for Israel had apparently enraged Sirhan enough to commit murder.
Sirhan was sentenced to death on March 3, 1969.
When the California State Supreme Court struck down all death penalty sentences in 1972, Sirhan’s sentence was reduced to life in prison.
He remains incarcerated to this day, more than 55 years after the assassination.
Sirhan has consistently maintained that he does not recall the events that took place on the day of the assassination.
But recently released files revealed the depth of his obsession with killing Kennedy.
Handwritten notes found in Sirhan’s bedroom showed his growing fixation with the Senator.
"My determination to remove RFK is becoming more the more of an unshakeable obsession," read one of the scribbled notes reportedly.
America lost its best hope for unity
Robert Kennedy’s assassination robbed America of a leader who might have changed the course of history.
Roosevelt Grier, who helped tackle the assassin, was haunted by guilt for the rest of his life.
He blamed himself for not preventing the shooting.
Vice President Hubert Humphrey became the Democratic nominee after Kennedy’s death.
But Humphrey lacked Kennedy’s charisma and ability to unite diverse groups of Americans.
Nixon defeated Humphrey in the November election, ushering in an era of political division.
Nixon’s victory ushered in an era of political cynicism and division that some argue continues today.
Kennedy’s death marked the end of an era of idealism in American politics.
Many historians believe that if Kennedy had lived to become President, he could have ended the Vietnam War sooner and healed America’s racial wounds.
Instead, the country endured years of continued conflict and division.
The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy stands as one of the great "what if" moments in American history.
A single gunman’s bullets changed the trajectory of a nation and snuffed out what many believed was America’s last best hope for unity.
The Kennedy legacy endures despite tragedy
Despite the tragic end to his life, Robert Kennedy’s message of hope and reconciliation continues to inspire Americans today.
His speeches about bringing people together across racial and class lines remain as relevant now as they were in 1968.
Kennedy’s son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has carried on his father’s legacy of challenging the establishment and fighting for what he believes is right.
The younger Kennedy recently served as President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Like his father, RFK Jr. has shown a willingness to take on powerful interests and fight for the American people.
But RFK Jr. has also stirred controversy within his own family over his father’s assassination.
For years, Kennedy Jr. has maintained that Sirhan Sirhan was not the gunman who killed his father.
"I believe Cesar killed my father," Kennedy Jr. wrote in a 2021 San Francisco Chronicle op-ed, referring to security guard Thane Eugene Cesar.
Kennedy Jr. believes there was a second gunman involved in the assassination.
"While Sirhan clearly fired shots at my father, overwhelming evidence suggests that these were not the shots that took his life," Kennedy Jr. wrote in 2021.
More recently he went even further, alleging the CIA was responsible.
This belief has divided the Kennedy family for decades.
In 2021, when Sirhan was up for parole, Kennedy Jr. supported his release.
Six of his siblings, led by their late mother Ethel Kennedy, strongly opposed letting Sirhan go free.
"Our family and our country suffered an unspeakable loss due to the inhumanity of one man," Ethel Kennedy said in 2021. "He should not have the opportunity to terrorize again."
The family split became so bitter that some members accused others of "double-crossing" them during the parole hearing process.
Kennedy Jr. even sent a letter to then-Attorney General Eric Holder in 2012 requesting a new investigation into his father’s death.
The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy remains one of the darkest chapters in American political history.
But his vision of a united America where all people are treated with dignity and respect lives on.
Even as his family remains divided over the truth of his death, RFK’s message of hope continues to resonate with Americans seeking unity in troubled times.
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