Decades Later, Most Americans Doubt Lone Gunman Killed JFK

Sixty years after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, a broad majority of Americans continue to believe that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone but rather, that others were involved in a conspiracy to kill the president. The 65% of U.S. adults who think Oswald worked in concert with others and the 29% who say he was solely responsible are roughly in line with the previous readings from 10 years ago. Belief in a conspiracy was higher between 1976 and 2003.

Gallup first asked Americans about culpability in Kennedy’s assassination immediately after the Nov. 22, 1963, murder in Dallas, Texas, and found a slim 52% majority believed there was “some group or element” other than the gunman involved, while 29% thought he acted on his own and 19% were unsure.