Alleged Psychic Message Re: Assassination Threat Against Senator Edward Kennedy, April 1980

Cold Open: This is a declassified document from the CIA's Domestic Contacts Division, dated April 15, 1980. The document is a SECRET memo regarding an alleged psychic message about an assassination threat against Senator Edward Kennedy. The information was received from a man known as "Sunshine, The Psychic" and was passed on to the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI. The document can be found at war.gov and documents2.theblackvault.com. Provenance: The document was released on April 23, 2020, as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The release was approved by the CIA's Declassification Authority, and the document is now available to the public through the Black Vault website. The Document: SUBJECT: ALLEGED PSYCHIC MESSAGE RE ASSASSINATION THREAT AGAINST SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY TO: USSS OFFICE IN SAN FRANCISCO FROM: CIA DOMESTIC CONTACTS DIVISION DATE: 15 APR 1980 A male caller, identified as "Sunshine, The Psychic," contacted the CIA's Domestic Contacts Division on April 8, 1980. He stated that he had a "strong psychic message" about Senator Edward Kennedy and an assassination that would take place on April 6, 1980. The caller claimed that the attack would use a knife, not a gun, and that he was providing this information in the hopes that the tragedy could be averted. He stated that there had been enough good men killed, mentioning San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. The caller refused to identify himself further and said that anyone who wanted to contact him was well-known in the San Francisco community as "Sunshine, The Psychic." He sounded concerned and agitated, but rational. The above information was provided to the USSS office in San Francisco on April 2, 1980. Context: This document is part of a larger collection of files related to the assassination of Senator Edward Kennedy, which was not carried out on April 6, 1980. The document provides a unique insight into the concerns and procedures of the CIA and law enforcement agencies at the time. Outro: This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. The story of "Sunshine, The Psychic" and his alleged message about Senator Edward Kennedy's assassination is now part of the public record. You can find this document at storyflo.com and at its canonical URL at documents2.theblackvault.com.