Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan, a 24‑year‑old Palestinian immigrant, who said he acted out of anger at Kennedy’s support for Israel during and after the Six‑Day War and saw the killing as political revenge.

Quick Scoop: Why was Robert Kennedy assassinated?

The basic facts

  • Robert F. Kennedy was shot just after midnight on June 5, 1968, in the kitchen pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, shortly after winning the California Democratic presidential primary.
  • He died of his wounds on June 6, 1968; five other people were also injured in the shooting.
  • Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was arrested at the scene, later convicted of first‑degree murder and multiple counts of assault with intent to murder.

Sirhan Sirhan’s stated motive

Historical records describe Sirhan’s act as a political assassination, rooted in Middle East tensions.

Key elements often cited:

  • Sirhan was angered by Kennedy’s strong support for Israel, especially his stance during the 1967 Six‑Day War and promises to supply Israel with military aircraft.
  • In a diary found at his home, Sirhan wrote in May 1968: “Robert Kennedy must be assassinated… RFK must die. RFK must be killed,” showing an escalating obsession.
  • Testimony and later commentary suggest he wanted to act before the June 5 anniversary of the Six‑Day War, linking his action to Palestine and the founding of the state of Israel.
  • During legal proceedings, he was described as driven more by political issues than personal temperament; he even referred to acting with “20 years of malice aforethought,” interpreted by some as dating back to Israel’s creation in 1948.

So, the mainstream historical view is that the assassination was a politically motivated attack tied to Sirhan’s opposition to Kennedy’s pro‑Israel stance.

Trial, sentence, and later life

  • Sirhan was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death in 1969; after California briefly abolished the death penalty, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.
  • As of the early 2020s he had been denied parole many times; he has sometimes claimed he does not remember the shooting, and his lawyers have argued he was framed or influenced.

What about conspiracy theories?

Like his brother John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Robert Kennedy’s death has attracted many alternative theories.

Common themes:

  • Second gunman hypothesis: The official autopsy placed the fatal shot behind Kennedy’s right ear at close range, which some argue was inconsistent with some witness accounts of Sirhan’s position.
  • Security guard suspicion: Some writers have speculated that a security guard behind Kennedy could have fired the fatal shot, though this remains unproven and is rejected by official investigations.
  • CIA or larger plot: A range of theories suggest possible intelligence or political involvement, including claims of CIA agents present at the scene, but these are highly contested and not supported by conclusive evidence.

Officially, investigations and the court verdict hold that Sirhan Sirhan acted as the assassin, even though debate over possible accomplices or alternative scenarios still appears in books, documentaries, and online discussions.

How people discuss it today (forums and “latest news” angle)

  • Modern forum discussions often revisit three questions:
    1. Was Sirhan purely a lone, politically motivated gunman?
    2. Do the forensics and witness accounts support a second shooter?
    3. Did Cold War or Middle East politics play a deeper role?
  • Recent articles and posts around anniversaries emphasize how the assassination changed U.S. politics in 1968, cutting short a campaign that many saw as a hope for ending the Vietnam War and easing social conflict.

You’ll see “why was Robert Kennedy assassinated” still trending periodically because new books, partial document releases, and documentaries keep the debate over motive and possible conspiracy alive—though the core historical answer remains Sirhan’s political anger over Kennedy’s support for Israel.

TL;DR: Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan, who, according to his writings and the court record, acted out of political hostility to Kennedy’s pro‑Israel stance and the broader Arab–Israeli conflict, even though conspiracy theories continue to question whether he acted alone.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.