For the unrelated Palestinian militant, see 2002 Metzer attack.
"Sirhan" redirects here. For the Saudi Arabian poet, see Husain Sirhan.
Sirhan Sirhan
سرحان سرحان
Mugshot of Sirhan in 1969
Born
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan
(1944-03-19) March 19, 1944 (age 80)
Jerusalem, British Mandate for Palestine
Citizenship
Jordanian
Known for
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
Criminal status
Incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (as of 2024)
Motive
Anti-Zionism
Conviction(s)
First-degree murder
assault with a deadly weapon with intent to commit murder (5 counts)[1]
Criminal penalty
Death by gas chamber in 1969; commuted to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 1972
Details
Date
June 5, 1968 12:15 a.m.
Location(s)
Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California, United States
Killed
1 (Robert F. Kennedy)
Injured
5
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (/sɪərˈhɑːn/;[2] Arabic: سرحان بشارة سرحانSirḥān Bišāra Sirḥān; born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian-Jordanian accused of assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy Sr., a younger brother of American president John F. Kennedy and a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 1968 United States presidential election. On June 5, 1968, Sirhan supposedly shot and mortally wounded Robert Kennedy shortly after midnight at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles; Kennedy died the next day at Good Samaritan Hospital. The circumstances surrounding the attack, which took place five years after John's assassination, have led to numerous conspiracy theories.
In 1989, Sirhan told British journalist David Frost: "My only connection with Robert Kennedy was his sole support of Israel and his deliberate attempt to send those 50 fighter jets to Israel to obviously do harm to the Palestinians."[3] Some scholars believe that the assassination was the first major incident of political violence in the United States stemming from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict (Sirhan carried out the attack on the first anniversary of the 1967 Arab–Israeli War), though it occurred at a time when the American public was overwhelmingly focused on the Vietnam War.[4]
On April 17, 1969, Sirhan was convicted of first-degree murder, among other charges, and subsequently sentenced to death by gas chamber. In 1972, this was commuted to a life sentence in the aftermath of Furman v. Georgia. He is incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego. On August 27, 2021, after 15 years of being denied parole by the local state board, Sirhan was granted parole by a two-person panel.[5][6] Prosecutors declined to participate or to oppose his release under a policy by American lawyer George Gascón, the Los Angeles County District Attorney.[7] On January 13, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom blocked Sirhan's release on parole.[8] He was denied parole again on March 1, 2023.[9]
^Newsom, Gavin (January 13, 2022), "SIRHAN SIRHAN, B-21014" (PDF), Indeterminate sentence parole decision review (Penal Code Section 3041.2), Government of California.
^Interview with Sirhan Sirhan. Sidrah Zaheer (from LiveLeak.com). Event occurs at 1:13. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013 – via YouTube.
^"Sirhan Felt Betrayed by Kennedy". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 20, 1989. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
^Issenberg, Sasha (June 8, 2008). "RFK's death now viewed as first case of Mideast violence exported to U.S." San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008.
First published as: Issenberg, Sasha (June 5, 2008). "Slaying gave US a first taste of Mideast terror: Analysts call Robert Kennedy's death a prelude to kidnappings and attacks". Boston Globe. p. 1.
^"RFK's children speak out on Sirhan Sirhan". CBS Sunday Morning. December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
^Cite error: The named reference parole was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"RFK assassin Sirhan wins parole with support of 2 Kennedys". Politico. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
^"Gov. Gavin Newsom rejects parole for Sirhan Sirhan, convicted assassin of Robert F. Kennedy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^"RFK killer Sirhan Sirhan denied parole by California board". The Associated Press. March 1, 2023.
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (/sɪərˈhɑːn/; Arabic: سرحان بشارة سرحان Sirḥān Bišāra Sirḥān; born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian-Jordanian accused of assassinating...
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Husain Sirhan (1913/1916? – 1993) was a Saudi Arabian poet. Born in Mecca, he had limited schooling and was largely self-taught. His writing was full of...
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Khamis Sirhan Bashar Al-Muhammadi (Arabic: خميس سرحان بشير المحمدي; ? 1954 – 11 January 2013) was an Iraqi politician and leader of the Arab Socialist...
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Northern Moonforest Insult Post Mortem Satan's Warriors Shit Scum Siege SirhanSirhan The Death's Head Quartet Upsidedown Cross Vaginal Jesus You're Fired...
Cardinal Augustin Bea and with the encouragement of Pope Paul VI. Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was convicted of the first-degree murder of U.S. Senator Robert...
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of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Freed was present when SirhanSirhan shot Kennedy. Evan Freed was born in Los Angeles, California. He graduated...
murdered five Israeli civilians, including a mother and her two children. Sirhan entered the Kibbutz of Metzer on November 10 and fatally shot 5 residents...
Records began working on new releases from Open Hand, The BellRays, SirhanSirhan and The Vox Jaguars. Meat Puppets Open Hand Dirtnap The Hearers Roman...
he tried to do with his life." In 2021, after his father's assassin, SirhanSirhan, was recommended for parole, Kennedy was one of six surviving Kennedy...
org. Archived from the original on 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2022-09-22. "SirhanSirhan Kept Behind Bars". CBS. 2003-03-06. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05...
midnight on June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was mortally wounded by SirhanSirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and died the following day at...
imprisoned at several facilities for numerous crimes, including CTF SirhanSirhan (born 1944), the assassin of Robert F. Kennedy; held at CTF until 1992...
for representing SirhanSirhan, the man convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy, from 1994–2005. Teeter signed on as Sirhan's lawyer in 1994 and...
Okay with Parole for SirhanSirhan — and He Still Questions What Happened". People. Kaste, Martin (August 28, 2021). "SirhanSirhan Has Served 53 Years...