Thane Eugene Cesar (1942-2019), pictured on the left, served as a security guard at the Ambassador Hotel the night of June 4, 1968. Ace Guard Service had called him that afternoon to work at the hotel as several politicians, including Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), had primary election parties planned there that evening. Cesar worked on crowd control for Kennedy, who was reported wounded from gunshots shortly after midnight.
In my essay, “Who Shot RFK,” I advance my thesis that Kennedy staged the event to make it appear that he had been killed by a gunshot wound. My reasoning stems from the fact that the fatal wound described in Kennedy’s autopsy was too large to come from the gun of the convicted assassin, Sirhan Sirhan and that no one else was shooting there that night.
Cesar lacked the means, motive and opportunity to intentionally shoot Kennedy.
Means – Cesar, by his own admission, carried a .38 Rohm revolver that night. While a bullet from such a weapon is larger than a bullet from Sirhan’s .22 gun, his use of a different type of gun than Sirhan makes no sense for someone who would (logically) attempt to disguise his role as the assassin.
Motive – Cesar openly acknowledged his dislike for Kennedy and said that he supported George Wallace for president. But dislike for a politician is not the same thing as the advocacy of violence toward them. And the removal of Kennedy from the political scene did not benefit Cesar’s choice, who had no chance of winning the general election that November as a third party candidate.
Opportunity – Cesar helped lead Kennedy toward Sirhan, who opened fire in front of several dozen witnesses in a narrow hallway. Cesar could not have anticipated ahead of time that no one would see him act. Had he moved within “point blank” range of Kennedy (as the autopsy report alleges the fatal shot was fired), he would also have risked getting struck by Sirhan’s bullets. If this was indeed an opportunity, it carried too many risks for a reasonable person to take. Cesar had no apparent history of irrational behavior or indeed of criminal behavior.
The idea that he unintentionally shot Kennedy also fails. He would likely have noticed that his gun had discharged and would logically have either (1) acknowledged his unintentional act at the scene or (2) exited the scene quietly. He did neither.
Instead, he stayed around and talked to the police, passing up a golden opportunity to leave the scene and most likely never be identified as having even been present.
He also later passed a polygraph test administered by an expert, Edward Gelb. He took the test voluntarily and denied any involvement in the shooting. It is also worth noting that the police never considered him a suspect but rather a witness.
Thane Cesar did not shoot Robert F. Kennedy
Source Used: Moldea, Dan E. The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means and Opportunity. 50th Anniversary Edition. Kindle Unlimited. 2018.
In my essay, “Who Shot RFK,” I advance my thesis that Kennedy staged the event to make it appear that he had been killed by a gunshot wound. My reasoning stems from the fact that the fatal wound described in Kennedy’s autopsy was too large to come from the gun of the convicted assassin, Sirhan Sirhan and that no one else was shooting there that night.
Cesar lacked the means, motive and opportunity to intentionally shoot Kennedy.
Means – Cesar, by his own admission, carried a .38 Rohm revolver that night. While a bullet from such a weapon is larger than a bullet from Sirhan’s .22 gun, his use of a different type of gun than Sirhan makes no sense for someone who would (logically) attempt to disguise his role as the assassin.
Motive – Cesar openly acknowledged his dislike for Kennedy and said that he supported George Wallace for president. But dislike for a politician is not the same thing as the advocacy of violence toward them. And the removal of Kennedy from the political scene did not benefit Cesar’s choice, who had no chance of winning the general election that November as a third party candidate.
Opportunity – Cesar helped lead Kennedy toward Sirhan, who opened fire in front of several dozen witnesses in a narrow hallway. Cesar could not have anticipated ahead of time that no one would see him act. Had he moved within “point blank” range of Kennedy (as the autopsy report alleges the fatal shot was fired), he would also have risked getting struck by Sirhan’s bullets. If this was indeed an opportunity, it carried too many risks for a reasonable person to take. Cesar had no apparent history of irrational behavior or indeed of criminal behavior.
The idea that he unintentionally shot Kennedy also fails. He would likely have noticed that his gun had discharged and would logically have either (1) acknowledged his unintentional act at the scene or (2) exited the scene quietly. He did neither.
Instead, he stayed around and talked to the police, passing up a golden opportunity to leave the scene and most likely never be identified as having even been present.
He also later passed a polygraph test administered by an expert, Edward Gelb. He took the test voluntarily and denied any involvement in the shooting. It is also worth noting that the police never considered him a suspect but rather a witness.
Thane Cesar did not shoot Robert F. Kennedy
Source Used: Moldea, Dan E. The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means and Opportunity. 50th Anniversary Edition. Kindle Unlimited. 2018.
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