Robert J. Groden

Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorist

Robert J. Groden (born November 22, 1945) is an American author who has written extensively about conspiracy theories regarding the assassination of U. S. President John F. Kennedy. His books include The Killing of a President: The Complete Photographic Record of the JFK Assassination, the Conspiracy, and the Cover up; The Search for Lee Harvey Oswald: A Comprehensive Photographic Record; and JFK: The Case for Conspiracy (shorter version than his 1975 co authored book). Groden is a photo optics technician who served as a photographic consultant for the House Select Committee on Assassinations. A harsh critic of the Warren Commission, he also testified at the 1975 United States President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States (sometimes referred to as the Rockefeller Commission).

Groden attended Forest Hills High School in Queens, New York City, but left school in the 11th grade. He served in the Army starting in 1964, and first became interested in the assassination of John F. Kennedy that same year.

as of 2016 the city of Dallas had charged Groden with illegal activity 82 times related to his sharing information near the place of the Kennedy assassination. The court has found in favor of Groden in all of those lawsuits. In December 2010, the case was dismissed by a judge who agreed with Groden's defense that Dealey Plaza was not a city park and that the city neither offers nor requires permits to sell merchandise in parks; the city appealed. In addition he sued certain police officers for violation of his constitutional rights. The suit against one of the police officers proceeded to trial. In October 2014, Groden filed a motion in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas requesting that the dismissal order be vacated and he be granted a new trial against both the City of Dallas and the police officer. Groden's Monell claim was allowed to be pursued. The Appeals Court permitted the police officer's ruling to stand.