THE THEORIES / RFK
Was Robert Kennedy’s killer hypnotized?
RECORD / AT A GLANCE
UNPROVEN
The CIA did study hypnosis. No released record ties Sirhan to MKULTRA or shows he was programmed. California’s governor called the innocence claims “conclusively disproved.”
THE EVENTS / THE CLAIM / THE RECORD
5 June 1968
Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles and dies the next day.
13 January 2022
Governor Newsom reverses the parole board’s grant.
18 April 2025
The National Archives begins releasing more than 80,000 pages.
READ THE FILE
A Manchurian Candidate in Los Angeles.
Shifting accounts and a large 2025 release.
Open an article for its evidence, labeled AI assessment and numbered sources. Read the complete static edition ↗
WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE
2 claims people make about this file, each rated documented, partly true, disputed, unproven or false. Think a rating is wrong? Use Dispute or Support, or join the Discussion.
His memory claims were found shifting; no record shows programming.
Who says it: Sirhan’s defenders.
Over 84,000 pages released; this file found no such link.
Who says it: Online posts.
OPEN THE RECORD
Numbered citations in each article identify the relevant sources. These records have different purposes and evidentiary weight.
Reverses the 2021 parole grant and summarizes the record of the case.
Contemporary federal record. It documents the author’s statements and institutional actions; objectives and reported results must still be evaluated separately.
Contemporary federal record. It documents the author’s statements and institutional actions; objectives and reported results must still be evaluated separately.
Lists the 2025 releases under Executive Order 14176: 10,185 pages on 18 April, 64,686 on 7 May and 9,653 on 12 June 2025.
Describes the CIA’s own June 2025 release.
← The MKUltra File hub: the history, the full timeline and every file
Comment, dispute or support a claim, submit a source or rate this page through a short Google Form. It asks you to sign in with Google so we know you are a real person; your email is never shown. Nothing appears here until it has been reviewed. Conversation on X tagged #AIFiles #AIFilesMKUltra shows up below after the daily refresh.
Reader comments
On X
Posts from the daily snapshot appear here when JavaScript is on. You can read this subject’s threads on the forum: Forum: #AIFilesMKUltra.
Reader comments are shown only after review, and rows removed from the form’s sheet disappear at the next refresh. X posts are a read-only daily snapshot; posts deleted or made private there are removed at the next refresh. Inclusion is not endorsement. A submitted source stays pending review until a page update says otherwise.
A Manchurian Candidate in Los Angeles.
Sirhan has said he cannot remember the shooting. [1] The CIA spent years studying whether drugs and hypnosis could make a person act and then forget. [2][3] Supporters argue that the combination, plus questions about the number of shots, points to a programmed killer.
Reverses the 2021 parole grant and summarizes the record of the case.
Contemporary federal record. It documents the author’s statements and institutional actions; objectives and reported results must still be evaluated separately.
Contemporary federal record. It documents the author’s statements and institutional actions; objectives and reported results must still be evaluated separately.
Shifting accounts and a large 2025 release.
Newsom’s 2022 decision says Sirhan “claimed shifting memory lapses”, told police he did it, testified that he was drunk and could not remember, and later denied guilt. It calls the innocence claims “investigated and conclusively disproved.” [1]
The National Archives released 10,185 pages on 18 April 2025, 64,686 on 7 May and 9,653 on 12 June. [2] The CIA separately released 54 documents. CBS reported that Sirhan said he killed Kennedy over his support for Israel in the 1967 war. [3] This file found nothing in those releases tying Sirhan to MKULTRA or to hypnosis.
What we can’t tell you. The releases are large and not fully indexed. A future find could change this.
Reverses the 2021 parole grant and summarizes the record of the case.
Lists the 2025 releases under Executive Order 14176: 10,185 pages on 18 April, 64,686 on 7 May and 9,653 on 12 June 2025.
Describes the CIA’s own June 2025 release.
Approved reader comments and ratings appear here when JavaScript is on.