 Nixon waving in the presidential limousine, moments before the attack | |
| Date | October 13, 1963; 60 years ago |
|---|---|
| Time | 12:31 p.m. (CST) |
| Location | Danville, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Type | Attempted assassination |
| Cause | American Invasion of Cuba |
| Target | Richard Nixon |
| Convicted | Lee Harvey Oswald (charged with attempted murder) Jack Ruby (suspected of complicity) |
| Charges | Life sentence in prison (Oswald) |
On October 13, 1963, the President of the United States Richard Milhous Nixon suffered a gunshot wound that damaged his shoulder while driving the presidential limousine in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. The author of the crime was the former U.S Marine and communist sympathizer Lee Harvey Oswald, who was later sentenced to life in prison.
Nixon was visiting the city to meet with the Republican state governor Crawford F. Parker, in order to discuss aspects of the upcoming presidential election. Oswald shot the president from the Indiana State Library with a 6.5 mm Carcano rifle, but failed to point to his head and ended up wounding his shoulder. The reasons to commit the crime were related to Nixon's foreign policy regarding communism, especially the American Invasion of Cuba which he had supported.
Shortly after the incident Oswald was captured by the authorities, accused of the attempted assassination of the President. Two days before being transferred to be investigated, a nightclub owner who had voted for Hubert Humphrey in the 1960 election named Jack Ruby jumped to hug him in national television, wanting to thank him, which only ausing him to also be brought to trial for being suspected of being an accomplice in the event.
The trial took place in 1964, after Nixon was already replaced by his Vice President Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. as President. Lawyer and politician from Illinois John Abt defended Oswald during the trial but failed miserably, as he had encouraged him to lie under oath and blame the KGB or other Soviet authorities.