Conspiracy Theories

    There are more conspiracy theories on the JFK assassination than you can count. This section takes a broad historical approach to conspiracy theories by providing original articles from various periods and summaries of recent books that survey the theories. We will perhaps conclude with a summary of the major theories in vogue today.

"A Primer of Assassination Theories," Esquire December 1966

"A Second Primer of Assassination Theories," Esquire May 1967

"How the Leading Theorists Answer the Leading Questions," Esquire December 1966

"The Conspiracy Theories" (Pamela Colloff and Michael Hall, Texas Monthly, November 1998)

The Winnipeg Airport Incident
    Warren Commission critics have been searching for a conspiracy for 37 years without being able to find and document one. This has led to a great deal of disappointment and frustration. Quite naturally, JFK conspiracists are now searching under every rock to find that elusive plot. In this effort, they are doing the community a great service, for official agencies no longer have the resources to continue the case. As leads are eliminated, the search must inevitably focus on ever-narrower possibilities with ever-smaller chances of yielding anything. One such remote possibility has become known as the "Winnipeg Airport Incident" of February 1964. It revolves around a conversation among three men that was partially overheard by Richard L. Giesbrecht, a salesman, in Winnipeg International Airport on 13 February 1964. He was struck because "the Oswald case" was mentioned, along with an apparent reference to Oswald's wife, Marina. The conversation then turned to something like a sales meeting in Kansas. Giesbrecht took notes as he was listening. As he left the room, one of the three men followed him but did not otherwise bother him. Three years later, Giesbrecht said that one of the men was David Ferrie, and that he might have been talking with someone named "Romaniuk." Further efforts to confirm these names have been fruitless. The Warren Commission, apparently not interested, did not call Giesbrecht to testify. Jim Garrison did call him, however, but Giesbrecht backed out at the list minute because he began to fear for his family's safety.
    The Winnipeg Airport Incident was first described by Paris Flammonde in his 1969 book The Kennedy Conspiracy, and more recently in the 1993 Who's Who In The JFK Assassination (Michael Benson). So far, it has been studied most thoroughly by Peter R. Whitmey of British Columbia, who has produced three articles as his research has progressed, "The Man Who Heard Too Much" (The Third Decade, November 1990), "The Winnipeg Airport Incidents" (The Fourth Decade, November 1995), and "The Winnipeg Airport Incident Revisited" (The Fourth Decade, March 1999). We will ultimately have all three articles here.
    Conspiracist John Bevilaqua takes a much darker view of the incident. He believes that the three men were extreme right-wingers in town for a meeting of the Canadian Anti-Communist League, and that the airport incident holds the key to understanding the JFK assassination, which he attributes to the right-wing Pioneer Fund. Oswald was most likely a trained assassin framed for the whole thing. If he pulled the trigger, it was under a "hypnotic suggestion" reminiscent of The Manchurian Candidate. In short, Bevilaqua attributes the assassination to a web of neo-Nazis or neo-Fascists. He has no evidence to support his dark view of the airport incident or of the assassination.

    "The Winnipeg Airport Incident" (From The Kennedy Conspiracy, by Paris Flammonde, Meredith Press, New York, 1969, pages 29–32)
    "Richard Giesbrecht, conspiracy witness" (Entry in Who’s Who In The JFK Assassination, Michael Benson, Citadel Press, 1993, pages 152–154)
    "The Man Who Heard Too Much" (Peter Whitmey, The Third Decade, November 1990)
    "The Winnipeg Airport Incidents" (Peter Whitmey, The Fourth Decade, November 1995)
    "The Winnipeg Airport Incident Revisited" (Peter Whitmey, The Fourth Decade, March 1999)

T. Casey Brennan and Conjurella

James Files and the Remington XP-100 Fireball
    Music and TV producer Bob Vernon has for several years been pushing the story that the self-confessed assassin James Files, currently imprisoned in Illinois, shot JFK from the knoll with a Remington XP-100 Fireball pistol. The story is implausible on its face, and totally falls apart under scrutiny. I have listed several pieces of physical evidence that are violated by Files's story, and others have discussed other aspects of his story. The link above goes to Vernon's biography, where several other links are found for those who might wish to follow the story farther. My advice: Don't bother.