On Thursday afternoon, two days after the federal government released a trove of classified documents related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, tourists strolled leisurely on the incline between the Sixth Floor Museum and Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas.
Mike Sprecher, 66, had come here from Oregon. Sprecher was in kindergarten when JFK was assassinated and said it left an indelible memory.
Visiting the place where JFK was shot and killed in his motorcade by Lee Harvey Oswald from the nearby book depository (now home to the Sixth Floor Museum) on Nov. 22, 1963 had been on Sprecher’s bucket list.
“I feel awkward smiling in pictures where this heinous crime occurred,” he said. But the anticipation that hung over the trip did not extend to the file release.
Catch up on the day’s news you need to know.
“It doesn’t intrigue me greatly,” Sprecher said. “I don’t know if I’m in the minority that actually believes Oswald acted alone.”
For over six decades, the assassination has been subject to fierce scrutiny and conjecture over a range of alternative theories including that Oswald was not the lone gunman or that the CIA killed Kennedy.
This week’s release of tens of thousands of pages related to JFK’s assassination at the behest of President Donald Trump’s administration has renewed interest in the matter, though some experts have found the documents appear to mainly shed light on the CIA’s methods at the time and not to reveal a smoking gun in the case.
On Thursday afternoon, the Dealey Plaza visitors’ reaction to the files ranged from indifference to benign curiosity.
Tourists take photos along Elm Street at the site of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Thursday, March 20, 2025.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)
Karrie Marken, a federal employee and self-described history nerd who lives in the Detroit area, stood a few feet away from a white X painted on Elm Street that marks the spot where JFK was shot.
“If there was a bombshell, I think it would have been hard to keep a secret — even back then before social media,” Marken, 42, said. Still, she’s curious to see if links to co-conspirators emerge or if information surfaces about Jack Ruby, the Dallas nightclub owner who murdered Oswald.
“I’ve always wondered if there was more than one shooter,” she said. She also referenced a theory about the Cuban government’s alleged involvement. “But that’s all speculation,” she added.
Melissa Hartman, 56, snapped a photograph of the concrete structure where Abraham Zapruder had perched to record the motorcade driving through. His famous film captured the assassination.
Hartman and her husband, Dwane, 59, came from North Carolina to visit the Sixth Floor Museum in addition to the Holocaust Museum.
“I will have more interest in seeing what’s going on or what’s being released in the files after coming here,” Dwane Hartman said, as his wife chimed in agreement.
This Nov. 22, 1963 file photo shows President John F. Kennedy riding in motorcade with first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. (AP)
There has been no increase in attendance at the Sixth Floor Museum attributable to this week’s news, according to an emailed statement from the museum on Wednesday.
“Reviewing these documents will take time, and we will carefully consider the insights of scholars and historians,” the statement said.
“The Sixth Floor Museum is the only museum dedicated to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a watershed moment that changed not only the course of the history of our city but also of the nation. As stewards of this history, the Museum is committed to telling the story of the Kennedy assassination and surrounding events with respect and authenticity.”
