Declassified CIA Cable Relayed 'Psychic' Warning of Threat t

Declassified CIA Cable Relayed 'Psychic' Warning of Threat to Senator Edward Kennedy

A declassified CIA cable to the FBI Criminal Division relays a caller identifying himself as Sunshine, the Psychic, who claimed Senator Edward Kennedy would be assassinated leaving Mass on Sunday, 6 April, by an attacker using a knife — information reportedly passed to the Secret Service in San Francisco on 2 April 1980.

Published

September 14, 2026

Declassified

Date not listed

Source agency

The Black Vault (FOIA archive)

ciafoiadeclassifiedcablerelayedpsychicwarningthreat

CIA Cable 650735 Documents Alleged Psychic Threat Warning

The declassified Psychic contacted a CIA domestic contact and claimed Senator Kennedy would be assassinated while leaving Mass on Sunday, 6 April. The caller allegedly specified that the attacker would use a knife, not a gun — a detail that distinguishes the warning from the firearm-based threats that typically dominate protective intelligence. The caller also referenced the prior killings of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone, framing his message against a recent local backdrop of political violence.

What makes the document notable is not the credibility of the claim but the paper trail it generated. S. Secret Service office in San Francisco on 2 April 1980, meaning the warning moved from an unnamed caller to a CIA contact, into a cable to the FBI's Criminal Division, and onward to the agency responsible for protecting the senator.

The caller said he was providing the information in the hope…

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Based on the official release at https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/alleged-psychic-message-re-assassination-threat-against-senator-edward-kennedy-april-1980/

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