Just a month after his narrow election victory, President-elect John F. Kennedy was targeted in an assassination attempt that remains little known today. On December 11, 1960, a deranged former postal worker fired a rifle shot at Kennedy’s home in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Though the bullet struck no one and Kennedy was not home at the time, the incident revealed the volatile mix of mental instability, political obsession, and celebrity that would haunt Kennedy throughout his presidency.
Political and Social Context
The 1960 presidential election had been one of the closest in American history. John F. Kennedy, a 43-year-old Catholic senator from Massachusetts, had defeated Vice President Richard Nixon by a razor-thin margin. The Cold War loomed large, as did concerns about civil rights, religious tolerance, and the generational shift represented by Kennedy’s youth and style.
For many Americans, Kennedy symbolized a new era—optimistic, modern, and forward-looking. For others, especially fringe elements, he was a disturbing sign of change: a wealthy Catholic backed by liberal elites and the Eastern establishment. Tensions over the direction of the country, fears of communism, and a general air of discontent made political figures lightning rods for individual grievances.
The Plot
The would-be assassin, Richard Paul Pavlick, was a 73-year-old retired postal worker from New Hampshire. Pavlick was deeply disturbed and harbored growing resentment toward Kennedy, whom he viewed as a symbol of unearned privilege and Catholic power. Paranoid and increasingly unstable, Pavlick became convinced that Kennedy’s election signaled the downfall of American values.
In the months following the election, Pavlick began stalking Kennedy. He drove a Buick packed with dynamite down the East Coast, tracing the president-elect’s movements and carefully observing his routines. He even visited the Kennedy compound in Palm Beach, Florida, before ultimately making his way to Washington, D.C.
Timeline
December 11, 1960, Morning: Pavlick drives to Kennedy’s Georgetown home at 3307 N Street NW.
Sometime before 10:00 a.m.: Pavlick parks his car outside and prepares to detonate explosives rigged in his Buick.
However: Kennedy is not home—only a Secret Service agent and a housekeeper are inside.
Pavlick hesitates: Realizing he will not achieve his symbolic objective, he drives away.
December 15, 1960: Pavlick is arrested in Palm Beach, Florida, before he can make another attempt.
The Assassination Attempt
Pavlick’s method was chilling. He had transformed his Buick into a rolling bomb, packed with dynamite and wired to explode on command. On December 11, he parked outside Kennedy’s Georgetown residence and waited. His plan was to kill himself and Kennedy in a suicide bombing. However, when he discovered that Kennedy had already left for church with his family, Pavlick abandoned the attempt.
He later returned to Florida, where he intended to try again. His erratic behavior and threats—particularly a bizarre rant at a local post office—led a suspicious postmaster to alert authorities. The Secret Service and local police intervened just days later.
Immediate Aftermath
The public initially knew little about the incident. Though Pavlick’s arrest made headlines, the full extent of his plan and its near-success was downplayed, possibly to avoid alarming the public or encouraging copycats. Privately, however, the Secret Service undertook a serious reassessment of its protection protocols for presidents-elect.
Kennedy was reportedly disturbed by the plot, particularly the realization that he and his family had been narrowly spared. The assassination attempt contributed to his eventual acceptance of tighter Secret Service coverage, which he had previously resisted.
Investigation and Arrests
Upon his arrest in Palm Beach on December 15, Pavlick freely confessed. He explained in detail how he had followed Kennedy across several states and planned a dramatic suicide bombing to “make a statement.” Investigators found dynamite, triggering mechanisms, and personal notes in his car.
Pavlick was deemed mentally ill and was committed to a federal psychiatric hospital. No evidence suggested he had any accomplices or belonged to an organized movement.
Trial and Legal Proceedings
Richard Pavlick was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial. He was held in a federal mental health facility for several years. Though a federal grand jury indicted him for threatening the life of the president-elect, he was never brought to trial.
In 1963—ironically, just days before Kennedy’s actual assassination—charges were dropped, and Pavlick remained institutionalized. He was released in 1966 and died in 1975, having lived out his final years in obscurity.
Punishments and Legacy of the Conspirator
Because Pavlick was never tried or convicted, there was no formal punishment beyond institutionalization. His case was an early example of how mental illness, political obsession, and easy access to explosives could combine into a deadly threat against national leaders.
Pavlick’s plot faded into obscurity after Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas in 1963. Yet in retrospect, his attempt revealed just how vulnerable a president-elect could be—and how unprepared the government was to prevent lone-wolf attacks.
Long-Term Impact on the Nation
Though overshadowed by the tragic events of November 22, 1963, the Pavlick incident had a quiet but significant impact. It spurred the Secret Service to take presidential transition security more seriously. It also highlighted the emerging challenge of identifying and managing mentally unstable individuals before they acted violently.
In a broader sense, Pavlick’s attempt underscored the symbolic potency of the presidency in the American psyche. To him, Kennedy represented everything he hated about modern America—wealth, Catholicism, political power. His actions revealed how personal grievances could be projected onto political figures with deadly intent.
Controversies and Conspiracy Theories
The Kennedy family and the federal government never made a public spectacle of the Pavlick plot, and some critics have suggested this was intentional—to avoid revealing just how close the attempt had come. Others point to the lack of a trial or media follow-up as evidence of a desire to bury the story.
However, there is no credible evidence of a wider conspiracy or government cover-up. Pavlick’s own words, psychiatric evaluations, and the evidence found in his car point clearly to a lone, mentally ill individual acting out of deeply personal hatred and paranoia.
Primary Source Appendix
- FBI and Secret Service arrest and investigation records (December 1960)
- Police reports and psychiatric evaluations of Richard Pavlick
- Press coverage from The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Palm Beach Post (December 1960–January 1961)
- Memoirs and oral histories from Kennedy campaign and Secret Service personnel
- Grand jury indictment documents and court records
- Retrospective reports published after Kennedy’s 1963 assassination