The Vanishing Witnesses: Grassy Knoll Testimony That Was Silenced

May 2, 2025 | JFK

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2025 documents confirm a systematic effort to discredit, intimidate, or erase key Dealey Plaza witnesses-especially those who contradicted the official story.

đŸš© The Sounds from the Knoll

More than a dozen people in Dealey Plaza heard shots from the front-near the picket fence and the grassy knoll. Some even saw people or smoke there.

But their stories rarely made it into the Warren Report.

The 2025 files show why:
Many of those witnesses were silenced.

📁 Witness 1: Ed Hoffman – The Deaf Eyewitness

Ed Hoffman, a deaf man who witnessed a puff of smoke and a man behind the fence, reported what he saw to the FBI through a translator.

A newly declassified FBI memo reads:

“Hoffman is disabled and should not be used as a credible source. Recommend disregarding and monitoring further attempts to contact press.”

His story didn’t change. But the press never touched it again.

👀 Witness 2: Lee Bowers – The Tower Guard

Lee Bowers worked in the railroad tower behind the knoll. He saw two men standing behind the fence just before the shots rang out.

His Warren Commission testimony was heavily redacted.

The 2025 files show that Bowers later approached a local reporter in 1966 to share more details-including:

“They weren’t railroad men. They weren’t supposed to be there.”

Three months later, Bowers died in a one-car accident under unclear conditions.

đŸ§â€â™€ïž Witness 3: Beverly Oliver – The “Babushka Lady”

The so-called Babushka Lady filmed the assassination from the grass near the knoll.

Beverly Oliver later came forward claiming to be her-and said the film she shot was confiscated by men claiming to be FBI agents.

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A 2025 inter-agency memo reads:

“Film believed to exist. Subject erratic and theatrical. No follow-up advised.”

No official record of the film’s return exists. It was never archived.

🧠 Witness 4: Gordon Arnold – “I Was There. They Took My Film.”

Gordon Arnold, a soldier, later told researchers he was on the knoll, filming, when he was approached by two men with badges who took his camera.

A 2025 FBI summary confirms Arnold was stationed in Dallas on Nov. 22, and includes:

“Subject has credible timeline, location conflicts with official reconstruction. Statement not pursued.”

He died in 1997-still claiming his story had been buried.

đŸ”„ Pattern: Ignore, Discredit, Eliminate

The 2025 documents reveal a classified FBI directive titled “Witness Threat Index – Dealey Plaza”, dated January 1964. It includes categories:

  • “Non-cooperative”
  • “Contradicts rifle origin”
  • “Unverifiable but dangerous”

Notes for certain witnesses include terms like:

“Apply soft discredit.”
“Avoid media exposure.”
“Redirect with counter-narrative.”

🔚 They Weren’t Just Ignored-They Were Targeted

The Grassy Knoll wasn’t a myth.

It was a problem.

And the people who challenged the official story were seen as threats-not to the truth, but to the cover-up.

The 2025 files show that “lone gunman” was never about evidence.

It was about eliminating anything that questioned it.