Politics

Clint Hill, agent who leapt on to JFK’s car after US president was shot, dies at 93

Published

12 months ago

February 25, 2025

Secret Service agent was promoted for his actions in Dallas on November 22, 1963 but for decades blamed himself for Kennedy’s assassination

Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent who leapt on to the back of John F Kennedy’s limousine after the US president was shot, then was forced to retire early because he remained haunted by memories of the assassination, died on Friday. He was 93.

Hill died at home in Belvedere, California, according to his publisher, Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. A cause of death was not given.

Although few may recognise his name, the footage of Hill, captured on Abraham Zapruder’s chilling home movie of the assassination, provided some of the most indelible images of Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

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Hill received Secret Service awards and was promoted for his actions that day, but for decades blamed himself for Kennedy’s death, saying he did not react quickly enough and would gladly have given his life to save the president.

“If I had reacted just a little bit quicker. And I could have, I guess,” a weeping Hill told Mike Wallace on CBS’ 60 Minutes in 1975, soon after he retired at age 43 at the urging of his doctors. “And I’ll live with that to my grave.”

It was only in recent years that Hill said he was able to finally start putting the assassination behind him and accept what happened.

On the day of the assassination, Hill was assigned to protect first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and was riding on the left running board of the follow-up car directly behind the presidential limousine as it made its way through Dealey Plaza.

Hill told the Warren Commission that he reacted after hearing a shot and seeing the president slump in his seat. The president was struck by a fatal bullet to the head before Hill was able to make it to the limousine.

Zapruder’s film captured Hill as he leapt from the Secret Service car, grabbed a handle on the limousine’s boot and pulled himself on to it as the driver accelerated. He forced Mrs Kennedy, who had crawled on to the boot, back into her seat as the limousine sped off.

Hill, who later became the agent in charge of the White House protective detail and eventually an assistant director of the Secret Service, in 2013. Photo: Star-Telegram via AP

Hill later became the agent in charge of the White House protective detail and eventually an assistant director of the Secret Service, retiring because of what he characterised as deep depression and recurring memories of the assassination.

The 1993 Clint Eastwood thriller In the Line of Fire, about a former Secret Service agent scarred by the JFK assassination, was inspired in part by Hill.

Hill was born in 1932 and grew up in Washburn, North Dakota. He attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, served in the Army and worked as a railroad agent before joining the Secret Service in 1958. He worked in the agency’s Denver office for about a year, before joining the elite group of agents assigned to protect the president and first family.

Since his retirement, Hill has spoken publicly about the assassination only a handful of times, but the most poignant was his 1975 interview with Wallace, during which Hill broke down several times.

“If I had reacted about five-tenths of a second faster, maybe a second faster, I wouldn’t be here today,” Hill said.

“You mean you would have gotten there and you would have taken the shot?” Wallace asked.

“The third shot, yes, sir,” Hill said.

“And that would have been all right with you?”

“That would have been fine with me,” Hill responded.

The South China Morning Post’s front page on November 23, 1963 reporting Kennedy’s assassination. Photo: SCMP.

In his 2005 memoir, Between You and Me, Wallace recalled his interview with Hill as one of the most moving of his career.

In 2006, Wallace and Hill reunited on CNN’s Larry King Live, where Hill credited that first 60 Minutes interview with helping him finally start the healing process.

“I have to thank Mike for asking me to do that interview and then thank him more because he’s what caused me to finally come to terms with things and bring the emotions out where they surfaced,” he said. “It was because of his questions and the things he asked that I started to recover.”

Decades after the assassination, Hill co-wrote several books – including Mrs. Kennedy and Meand Five Presidents – about his Secret Service years with Lisa McCubbin Hill, whom he married in 2021.

“We had that once-in-a-lifetime love that everyone hopes for,” McCubbin Hill said in a statement. “We were soul mates.”

Clint Hill also became a speaker and gave interviews about his experience in Dallas. In 2018, he was given the state of North Dakota’s highest civilian honour, the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award. A portrait of Hill adorns a Capitol gallery of fellow honorees.

A private funeral service will be held in Washington.

Politics

Electoral Reform: Dino alleges senate’s plot to rig 2027 election

Published

20 hours ago

February 6, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

Former lawmaker, Dino Melaye Esq, has raised concerns over the Senate’s reported rejection of the electronic transmission of election results.

The move, according to Melaye, is a clear endorsement of election rigging and an indication of a sinister plan to rig the 2027 elections.

In a statement on Friday, the former lawmaker criticized the Senate’s decision, stating that it undermines the credibility of the electoral process.

The African Democratic Congress, ADC chieftain, also stated that the move opens the door for electoral manipulation and fraud.

He further warned that the rejection of electronic transmission of results is a step backwards for democracy in Nigeria.

Melaye called on lawmakers and citizens to stand up against “this blatant attempt to undermine the will of the people and ensure that future elections are free, fair, and transparent”.

Politics

Electoral Act: Nigerians have every reason to be mad at Senate – Ezekwesili

Published

22 hours ago

February 6, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has said Nigerians have every reason to be mad at the Senate over the ongoing debate on e-transmission of election results.

Ezekwesili made this known on Friday when she featured in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Morning Show’ monitored by DAILY POST.

DAILY POST reports that the Senate on Wednesday turned down a proposed change to Clause 60, Subsection 3, of the Electoral Amendment Bill that aimed to compel the electronic transmission of election results.

Reacting to the matter, Ezekwesili said, “The fundamental issue with the review of the Electoral Act is that the Senate retained the INEC 2022 Act, Section 60 Sub 5.

“This section became infamous for the loophole it provided INEC, causing Nigerians to lose trust. Since the law established that it wasn’t mandatory for INEC to transmit electoral results in real-time, there wasn’t much anyone could say.

“Citizens embraced the opportunity to reform the INEC Act, aiming to address ambiguity and discretionary opportunities for INEC. Yet, the Senate handled it with a “let sleeping dogs lie” approach. The citizens have every reason to be as outraged as they currently are.”

Politics

Electoral act: Senate’s action confirms Nigeria ‘fantastically corrupt’, ‘disgraced’ – Peter Obi

Published

23 hours ago

February 6, 2026

Ekwutos Blog

Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has condemned the Senate’s refusal to make electronic transmission of election results mandatory, saying the move further exposes Nigeria as a fantastically corrupt and disgraced country.

Obi expressed his views in a statement shared on X on Friday, where he accused lawmakers of deliberately weakening Nigeria’s democratic process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He explained that his reaction came after a brief pause to mourn victims of a deadly tragedy in Kwara State, where over 150 people reportedly lost their lives.

“Let us first pray for the souls of the innocent Nigerians lost in Kwara. That painful incident is why I delayed responding to the shameful development surrounding our electoral system,” he wrote.

Describing the Senate’s decision as intentional and dangerous, Obi said rejecting mandatory electronic transmission was not a simple oversight but a calculated attempt to block transparency.

“The Senate’s open rejection of electronic transmission of results is an unforgivable act of electoral manipulation ahead of 2027,” he said.

According to him, the action strikes at the heart of democracy and raises serious questions about the true purpose of governance in Nigeria.

“This failure to pass a clear safeguard is a direct attack on our democracy. By refusing these transparency measures, the foundation of credible elections is being destroyed. One must ask whether government exists to ensure justice and order or to deliberately create chaos for the benefit of a few.”

The former Anambra State governor linked the post-election controversies of the 2023 general elections to the failure to fully deploy electronic transmission of results, insisting that Nigerians were misled with claims of technical failures.

“

The confusion, disputes and manipulation that followed the 2023 elections were largely due to the refusal to fully implement electronic transmission,” he said.

He added that the so-called system glitch never truly existed.

Obi compared Nigeria’s electoral process with those of other African countries that have embraced technology to improve credibility, lamenting that Nigeria continues to fall behind.

“Many African nations now use electronic transmission to strengthen their democracy. Yet Nigeria, which calls itself the giant of Africa, is moving backwards and dragging the continent along.”

He criticised Nigeria’s leadership class, saying the country’s problems persist not because of a lack of ideas but because of deliberate resistance to meaningful reform.

“We keep organising conferences and writing policy papers about Nigeria’s challenges. But the truth is that the leaders and elite are the real problem. Our refusal to change is pushing the nation backwards into a primitive system of governance.”

Warning of the dangers ahead, Obi said rejecting electronic transmission creates room for confusion and disorder that only serves the interests of a small group.

He also recalled past remarks by foreign leaders who described Nigeria as corrupt, arguing that actions like this continue to justify those statements.

“When a former UK Prime Minister described Nigeria as ‘fantastically corrupt,’ we were offended. When former US President Donald Trump called us a ‘disgraced nation,’ we were angry. But our continued resistance to transparency keeps proving them right.”

Obi warned that Nigerians should not accept a repeat of the electoral irregularities witnessed in 2023.

“Let there be no mistake. The criminality seen in 2023 must not be tolerated in 2027.”

He urged citizens to be ready to defend democracy through lawful and decisive means, while also calling on the international community to closely monitor developments in Nigeria’s electoral process.

“The international community must pay attention to the groundwork being laid for future electoral manipulation, which threatens our democracy and development,” Obi stated.

He concluded by expressing hope that change is still possible if Nigerians take collective responsibility.

“A new Nigeria is possible but only if we all rise and fight for it.”