17 Percent: Oswald Acted Alone in JFK Assassination

November 22, 2023: On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Sixty years later, 17% believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone while 61% believe that others were involved.

A Scott Rasmussen national poll found that, among those who do not believe Oswald acted alone, 56% believe it is likely that U.S. intelligence agencies or other U.S. government agencies were involved in the assassination. Forty-two percent (42%) believe it is likely that communists were involved.

Methodology

The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points. The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on Nov. 15-16, 2023. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation's population of registered voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.

Note: Neither Scott Rasmussen, ScottRasmussen.com, nor RMG Research, Inc. have any affiliation with Rasmussen Reports. While Scott Rasmussen founded that firm, he left nearly a decade ago and has had no involvement since that time.

Survey Questions

President Kennedy was assassinated sixty years ago. The official government report determined that Lee Harvey Oswald acted on his own to kill Kennedy. Over the years, many have challenged that official report. What do you think? Did Oswald act alone or were others involved?

• 17%-Oswald acted alone
• 61%-Others were involved
• 21%-Not sure

[Asked of those who say others were involved or who are not sure] How likely is it that U.S. intelligence agencies or other U.S. government agencies were involved in the assassination of JFK?

• 22%-Very likely
• 34%-Somewhat likely
• 18%-Not very likely
• 7%-Not at all likely
• 19%-Not sure

[Asked of those who say others were involved or who are not sure] How likely is it that communists were involved in the assassination of JFK?

• 10%-Very likely
• 32%-Somewhat likely
• 22%-Not very likely
• 5%-Not at all likely
• 31%-Not sure

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is a political analyst, author, public speaker, independent public opinion pollster and columnist for Creators Syndicate. Read Scott Rasmussen's Reports — More Here.