All language subtitles for infamous_assassinations_s01e20_robert_f_kennedy.org

June 5th, 1968.

Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles.

Fifteen minutes past midnight.

As presidential hopeful Robert F.
Kennedy, brother of John F. Kennedy, is

his way through the hotel kitchen
service tunnel,

eight shots ring out.

Six people are hit.

Has another Kennedy?

been assassinated.

June the 5th, Ambassador Hotel, Los
Angeles.

Stay back, everybody else, just please
stay back, just the doctor.

42 -years -old Robert Kennedy has just
been shot.

As he's rushed to hospital, no one knows
whether he will live or die.

But it's obvious that after being hit at
point -blank range by at least three

bullets, Kennedy is in a very bad way.

News of the attack spreads quickly.

with everyone asking the same question.

Who would want to harm one of the most
charismatic and popular politicians of

his generation?

And, perhaps more importantly, why?

During his political career, Kennedy has
won plenty of admirers and supporters,

but he's also made a number of dangerous
enemies.

High on the list are the mobsters and
racketeers he'd cracked down on as

Attorney General a few years earlier.

while serving under President John F.
Kennedy, his elder brother.

He's also despised by hardline right
-wing extremists in America's southern

states for his staunch support of the
growing civil rights movement,

by Dr. Martin Luther King.

And last, but by no means least, he's
attracted the baleful attention of a

shadowy group of men and women who hate
him for appearing to take Israel's side.

in the never -ending conflicts in the
Middle East.

By the time he's gunned down in the
Ambassador Hotel, 42 -year -old Kennedy

been on the campaign trail for three
months.

He's determined to become US president
and, as such, emerge from the long

cast by his elder brother.

Although he had been a highly effective
member of his brother's administration,

Kennedy now wants to make his own mark
on history.

When he enters the White House in
January 1961, one of John F. Kennedy's

acts is to appoint his younger brother,
then age 36, U .S. Attorney General.

Kennedy's unique access to the president
enables him to exercise more influence

over government policy than any other
previous Attorney General.

When faced with a difficult decision,
President Kennedy always turns to his

brother, by far his closest political
advisor.

As he once remarked, if I want something
done and done immediately, I rely on

the Attorney General.

He is very much the doer in this
administration and has an organizational

have rarely, if ever, seen surpassed.

Robert Francis Kennedy was born into a
political dynasty in Brookline,

Massachusetts, on November 20, 1925.

His father, Joseph, was a wealthy, self
-made businessman who served a term as U

.S. Ambassador to the U .K. from 1937
through to 1940.

The seventh of nine children, young
Robert enjoyed a comfortable upbringing.

In November 1944...

When his studies at Harvard University
are interrupted by World War II, Kennedy

joins the U .S. Navy.

But the war ends before he sees any
action, unlike his elder brother John,

commanded a PT boat in the Pacific.

Kennedy then returns to Harvard,
graduating in 1948, when he enrolls at

school.

Three years later, he joins the criminal
division of the U .S. Department of

Justice, resigning in 1952 to manage his
elder brother's campaign as he makes a

successful bid for the Senate.

By 1957, Kennedy, now a career lawyer,
is chief counsel for the Senate Labor

Rackets Committee.

They're investigating organized crime
and corruption within the labor unions.

Meanwhile... A 13 -year -old boy is
growing up on the other side of the U

Pasadena, California.

His name is Sirhan Sirhan, and one day
his path will collide with that of

Kennedy.

The U .S. Senate Rackets Committee is
after one person in particular, Jimmy

Hoffa, the notorious leader of the giant
U .S. trucking union, the Teamsters,

and accuses him of misappropriating
nearly $10 million in union funds.

Kennedy is also convinced that Hoffer is
linked to organized crime, especially

when he sets up phony local trade unions
run by known members of the mafia.

Hoffer is eventually exonerated, but
swears that one day he'll get even with

young tormentor.

But Kennedy is just as determined to
nail Hoffer, and when he's appointed U

Attorney General in January 1961,

He goes after the corrupt union leader
with a vengeance.

He sets up a special unit within the
Justice Department.

Charged with the sole purpose of
pursuing Hopper, the unit is soon

Get Hopper Squad.

Hopper is outraged.

He'd got away with so much for so long
that he now thinks he's untouchable.

By May 1962, the unit has gathered
enough evidence against Hoffa to accuse

of receiving illegal payments of $1
million to a trucking company he'd set

his wife's name.

Hoffa is so angered by Kennedy's
relentless pursuit that he now begins to

openly with his associates about having
him killed.

Although Kennedy would undoubtedly have
been told about Hoffa's violent threats,

it did nothing to put him off.

In fact, if anything, it merely hardened
his resolve to put him behind bars.

Their implacable enmity towards one
another is aired publicly in a number of

heated televised hearings.

But it would not be until March 1967
that Hoffer is eventually brought to

justice, as he's jailed for 13 years
after being found guilty of jury

As Attorney General, Kennedy finds he
has to work with the famous prickly and

paranoid head of the FBI, J. Edgar
Hoover.

And although they're supposed to be on
the same side, Hoover almost goes out of

his way to frustrate Kennedy in his
continuing campaign against organized

Hoover seems reluctant to admit that the
Mafia is a problem, and Kennedy finds

it difficult to make him face reality.

So far as Kennedy is concerned, the
Mafia is a cancer which has to be

eradicated. With him, it's all out war.

But in January 1959, when Fidel Castro
and his rebel army take over Cuba,

Kennedy, together with his brother, the
President, now find themselves thrust in

an unwitting alliance with the Mafia.

As Castro cracks down hard on their
casinos and other businesses on Cuba,

Mafia begins to draw up plans to have
him done away with.

At the same time, the U .S. Central
Intelligence Agency, the CIA, is also

plotting how to get rid of him.

The last thing the U .S. wants is a hard
-line communist state just 90 miles off

the coast of Florida.

So, on April 17, 1961,

the 1 ,300 -strong group of CIA -backed
Cuban exiles come ashore at the Bay of

Pigs on the island's south coast.

Their aim is to overthrow Castro.

But the expedition turns into a total
disaster.

The invaders are routed, the US is
humiliated, and the mafia thwarted in

ambition to take over Cuba's gambling
industry again.

They blame the Kennedys for the debacle.

Once again, the gloves are off.

Robert Kennedy knows he's in constant
danger, but refuses to let up.

He's just as determined as ever to stamp
out organized crime.

As well as continuing to tackle the
mafia, Kennedy also finds time to become

eloquent and committed advocate for the
growing civil rights movement.

And as such, he becomes a great
supporter of the charismatic civil

leader, Dr. Martin Luther King.

This earns him the contempt of a great
many southern state diehards.

who believe that Kennedy is selling them
out.

Kennedy is aware of their hatred for
him, but he will not be swayed.

He's making progress, but something is
about to happen which will affect the

rest of his life.

November the 22nd, 1963,

Dallas, Texas.

President John F. Kennedy is shot to
death while riding through the streets

an open car.

Robert Kennedy is devastated by the loss
of his brother.

And, as author and historian Arthur
Schlesinger recalls, he almost loses the

will to carry on.

Well, it was devastating. It was
shattering.

I mean, it was as if the bottom had
fallen out of his own life.

He went into a kind of...

weeks and weeks of reverie who felt like
someone's fighting to get back to the

surface.

Despite their hitherto wary relationship
with each other, the new president,

Lyndon B. Johnson, insists that Kennedy
remain as Attorney General.

But it's obvious the two men would never
become close.

Kennedy's decision to stay on appalls
the mafia.

They had been convinced that he would
now stand down and leave them alone.

It also upsets his old adversary, Jimmy
Hopper.

But Kennedy would remain in government
only for another nine months, working

with Johnson until the signing of the
groundbreaking Civil Rights Bill in July

1964, which finally outlawed racial
segregation in schools and other public

places.

The following month, much to the delight
of his many supporters, Kennedy

announces that he's standing down from
government and intends running for a New

York Senate seat.

Despite doubts in some quarters about
his political integrity, Kennedy wins

convincingly.

But, as one of his advisers, Charles
Guggenheim, recalls, it could just as

easily have gone the other way.

He was a carpetbagger.

in the minds of a lot of people.

He was arrogant in the minds of a lot of
people.

And he fundamentally had trouble with,
for those two reasons, with a

large sector of the vote in New York.

As a U .S. senator, Kennedy now feels
free to criticize U .S. involvement in

Vietnam. And it's not long before he's
calling for troop withdrawal.

He's joined in his protests against the
war by Martin Luther King.

FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who was
never like the ambitious young senator,

informs President Johnson that Kennedy
is using King to stir up trouble.

This incensed Johnson, who already
believes that Kennedy is leaking

information to the press about the
conduct of the war.

Determined to come down hard on him, he
calls Kennedy in for a showdown on

February 6, 1967.

And according to Adam Walensky, one of
Kennedy's aides, Johnson didn't exactly

mince his words.

In 1967, in which President Johnson said
flatly and openly, in six months, you

and all the people who think like you
are going to be destroyed.

And I'm sure that when a sitting
president and one as powerful as Lyndon

makes such a threat, you pay attention.
And you're right to pay attention when

you represent what Robert Kennedy did.

But Johnson's threats don't bother
Kennedy.

He now has his sights set on higher
things.

On March the 16th the following year,
following Johnson's surprise decision

to try for a second term, Kennedy
announces that he's running for

This alarms Jackie Kennedy, his
brother's widow.

She's terrified he will now be the
target of an assassin.

A month later, the civil rights leader,
Dr. Martin Luther King, is shot dead

while visiting Memphis, Tennessee.

Kennedy is shocked.

He knows he's also a target for the hard
men in the South.

But he won't be swayed from his
determination to become president.

However, as Kennedy's campaign gets
underway, the FBI picks up rumors that

old enemy, Jimmy Hoffa, has been
overheard having a conversation with a

prisoner in Lewisburg Penitentiary about
a mafia contract to kill him.

But although he doesn't realize it at
the time, Kennedy is making enemies

elsewhere.

Enemies who are far more implacable than
either the mafia or the southern white

diehard.

And as far as they are concerned, he has
just signed his own death warrant.

May 27, 1968, Portland, Oregon.

Wearing a traditional Jewish skullcap, a
yarmulke, Kennedy is addressing the

Neve Shalom congregation.

The packed synagogue hears him make an
impassioned plea for continued U .S.

support of Israel.

He argues that as a democracy, Israel is
far worthier of support than Vietnam.

He demands that the U .S. immediately
fulfill its long -held promise to supply

the Israeli Air Force with 50 Phantom
jet fighters.

This, says Kennedy, will help offset the
military aid which the Soviet Union is

pouring into Israel's hostile Arab
neighbors.

He also calls for a halt in U .S. aid to
these same countries and finishes by

indicating that he believes Israel
should be given complete control of that

holy of cities, Jerusalem.

When reports of Kennedy's speech hit the
press the following day, they're

greeted with dismay in the Arab world.

And as Israel's enemies realize that
there's now a very good chance that

will become the next president of the
United States, They become extremely

alarmed.

One young Palestinian immigrant is
particularly appalled at the prospect.

He decides that something has to be
done.

Scribbling in his diary, Robert F.
Kennedy must be assassinated before June

1968.

24 -year -old Sirhan Sirhan was born in
Jerusalem and moved with his family to

Pasadena, California.

in January 1957, just two weeks short of
his 13th birthday.

A quiet and deeply religious youth,
Sirhan graduates from high school in

1963 and goes on to Pasadena City
College.

Kennedy has now been U .S. Attorney
General for two and a half years and is

president to his brother John in all but
name.

In May 1964,

Sirhan is dismissed from college for
poor attendance, and he's forced to take

series of low -paid jobs.

However, Sirhan never forgets his roots
and reads as much as he can on Middle

East politics and history.

He becomes obsessed with the situation
in Palestine, especially now that

President Johnson appears anti -Arab and
pro -Israel.

But he reserves his special ire for the
Democratic presidential candidate,

Robert Kennedy.

Now Sirhan begins tracking his campaign
movements, noting in particular that

Kennedy will be visiting Los Angeles
early in June.

A deadly plan begins to take shape in
his mind.

June 5th, 1968.

The Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles.

A few minutes after midnight.

After hearing that he's won in two state
primaries, Robert Kennedy is in the

Hotel Baldwin making a light -hearted
victory speech to hundreds of cheering

supporters.

On finishing, he leaves the stage via a
corridor being used as a kitchen pantry.

It's lined with people all eager to
shake his hand.

Fearhound has infiltrated this group.

He's armed with an 8 -shot .22 Ivor
Johnson revolver.

Suddenly the corridor is filled with the
sound of excited chatter, and everyone

presses forward.

Kennedy has appeared.

Fearhound pushes his way to the front of
the crowd.

It's now 15 minutes after midnight.

Kennedy is halfway along the corridor.

Just as he's about to shake hands with
yet another kitchen worker, Sirhan pulls

out his gun and opens fire.

He's only two or three feet from his
gun.

Kennedy is hit three times and slumps to
the floor.

But Sirhan keeps firing, hitting five
more people.

At the same time, he's shouting, I can
explain. Let me explain. I did it for my

country. I love my country.

Now there's complete chaos.

Kennedy lies motionless as people
immediately rush to his aid.

Others grab Sirhan and, after a frantic
struggle, manage to subdue him.

The police bundle Sirhan out of the
hotel before he's attacked by the angry

crowd.

A few minutes later, Kennedy is rushed
to hospital.

He's terribly injured.

His former press secretary, Frank
Mankiewicz, recalls his shock as the

unfolded.

We had stayed behind to help Ethel down
off that podium because...

She was pregnant at the time, and there
was about a four -foot jump, so we

helped her down, and by that time, the
senator had moved off, and we were sort

of walking along, trying to catch up
with him when we heard the shots.

I didn't really know where he had been
wounded or how serious it was until we

got to the hospital and talked to the
doctors. They did the surgery.

Despite the best efforts of a team of
medics, Kennedy died from his wounds.

His body is then flown back to New York,
accompanied by grieving members of his

family.

The death of a charismatic and popular
politician sends shockwaves around the

world.

Even the Arab press expresses polite
regret.

Although some make the point that as 24
-year -old Sirhan has been living in the

US since he was 12, he can scarcely be
described as a true Arab.

Instead, they suggest he's no more than
yet another product of America's violent

society.

June the 8th, 1968, New York.

Edward Kennedy leads the tribute during
a service at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

My brother need not be idealized or
enlarged in death beyond what he was in

life.

To be remembered simply as a good and
decent man.

who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw
suffering and tried to heal it,

saw war and tried to stop it.

April 17th, 1969, Los Angeles.

Following a month -long trial, Sirhan
Sirhan is found guilty of first -degree

murder and condemned to death.

He will spend the next three years on
death row.

before his sentence is eventually
commuted to life imprisonment when the

California Supreme Court abolishes the
death penalty.

Sirhan is now held in the Corcoran State
Prison, California, where he's been

refused parole no fewer than 13 times.

He was due for review in 2011.

Meanwhile, although Sirhan willingly
admitted to Kennedy's murder, and he was

clearly seen firing his gun, there are
still those who doubt that he acted

alone.

This is given credence by the fact that
several witnesses to the attack say that

Sirhan was actually facing Kennedy when
he fired.

However, if this is the case, it doesn't
stack up with the fact that the first

bullet to strike Kennedy apparently hit
him in the head behind his left ear.

So the question has to be asked, Was
there another assassin in the kitchen

corridor at the same time?

And if so, was he working with Sirhan
but managed to get away in the confusion

and panic?

Conspiracy theorists have suggested that
Kennedy's assassination had been

carried out on behalf of his sworn
enemy, Jimmy Hoffa.

There is no doubt that Kennedy's
activities, whilst Attorney General,

him many enemies amongst organized crime
members.

However, unlike the exhaustive and
seemingly endless official inquiries and

investigations into President Kennedy's
death, nothing more than a Los Angeles

Police Department summary report on the
killing of the younger Kennedy was ever

issued. And this didn't appear until
1986.

18 years after the event.

Because the continuing official view is
that Sirhan Sirhan is the killer and

that he acted alone, the U .S. House
Select Committee on Assassinations has

never investigated the death of Robert
Kennedy.

So the world will probably never know
the full truth behind that fateful night

in Los Angeles when Robert Kennedy was
assassinated and the dream of another

Kennedy in the White House was over.