FBI Assassination Files Released to Public

The FBI recently released reports of a possible assassination attempt against the late Queen Elizabeth II, queen of the United Kingdom, during a US visit in 1983. 

Two possible plots to kill the monarch were revealed in documents, and the motivation for the attacks was said to be troubles in Ireland during the visit.

The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 signaled the end to violence between British loyalist forces, British soldiers, and the Irish Republican Army after 30 years and 3.500 deaths. 

The plans were to kill the queen while visiting Yosemite National Park or on her yacht as it crossed under San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. 

Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-serving monarch until her death at 96 in September 2022. There were several assassination attempts against the queen over the years.

One recent threat occurred on Christmas Day in 2021 when a person was apprehended on the grounds of Windsor Castle with a crossbow. He was later tried and pled guilty to treason

The 102-page FBI document released on Monday showed the FBI’s role in gathering intelligence and stopping the 1983 plot and the protection of the queen during her visits in 1976 and 1991. 

A sympathizer of the Irish Republican Army claimed his daughter was killed by the British with a rubber bullet and related the story on February 4, 1983, to a San Francisco police officer who regularly frequented the bar where the two met. 

He claimed he would either drop something onto the queen’s yacht from the Golden Gate Bridge or attempt to kill her during her scheduled visit to Yosemite National Park. 

The policeman then alerted the Secret Service of the potential attack, who closed the walkways on the bridge when the yacht approached the Golden Gate Bridge. There were no reports of any additional action taken to protect the queen during the Yosemite visit. 

The FBI stated that there may be additional records about the queens’ visits to the US but no word as to when or if they would be released. 

The records were released due to a Freedom of Information Act request.