Here are some of the most outrageous JFK conspiracy theories

More than half a century after the assassination of JFK, US President Donald Trump has said he will release thousands of classified documents about the investigation into his killing.

President John F. Kennedy was shot dead on November 22, 1963, as he travelled in an open-top car in Dallas, Texas.

Numerous investigations and commissions have been carried out into the assassination amid speculation that JFK’s murder was the product of a conspiracy.

In 1964 the Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald – arrested but later shot – acted alone, but more than a decade later, despite agreeing with the Warren Commission that Oswald was responsible, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) found the Warren Commission’s report and the original FBI investigation were seriously flawed.

Conspiracy theories continue to circulate, from the involvement of the CIA to a plot by Cuban exiles, with many people hoping the release of the files will finally shed some light on the world-famous case.

A 1992 law states that secret FBI and CIA files must be released on or before October 26, 2017 in a bid to silence conspiracy theorists, and so, ahead of their publication, here are some of the most bizarre claims about the killing:

The Driver Did It

One theory that keeps coming up is the Secret Service agent driving the limousine, William Greer, shot President Kennedy. Some people think footage shows him reaching back and shooting the then President in the head.

He has also been criticised for not speeding up after the initial shot, which stuck Kennedy in the neck before the second bullet hit him directly in the head about five seconds later.

According to William Manchester, who interviewed Greer in The Death of a President, the driver said he told Jackie Kennedy: “Oh, Mrs. Kennedy, oh my God, oh my God. I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t hear, I should have swerved the car, I couldn’t help it. Oh Mrs. Kennedy . . . if only I had seen in time.”

But while Greer may have felt some culpability over the shooting there is nothing to suggest he was part of a plot.

Greer died in 1985.

Jackie Kennedy Was Responsible

Some people have claimed that Jackie Kennedy was responsible for her husband’s death, possibly as part of a conspiracy that involved Texas Governor John Connally. There is no actual evidence for this except what some people see as a puff of smoke near JFK’s head in the Zapruder film, which they argue could suggest Jackie shot the President.

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Joe DiMaggio

According to another bizarre theory, baseball player Joe DiMaggio was behind the assassination of JFK in revenge for Kennedy allegedly ordering the death of his former wife Marilyn Monroe. After his death a book written by the reclusive baseball legend’s long-time lawyer and close companion Morris Engelberg, suggested he believed the Kennedy clan killed Monroe.

Rumours that Monroe, who allegedly enjoyed affairs with both JFK and his brother Robert, was killed by the Kennedys, hinge on the idea that she knew too much about their alleged Mafia links.

It Was The Aliens

Another theory is Kennedy was shot dead because he had demanded the release of top-secret UFO files from the CIA. Scott C Waring, editor of UFO Sightings Daily, said JFK wrote a memo to the CIA on November 12, 1963, demanding the release of the information, and was assassinated just 10 days later.

Umbrella Man

Spotted in footage holding a large black umbrella on the completely dry day of JFK’s assassination, some thought Louie Steven Witt was behind the shooting. Some have suggested it was a signal to shooters while others floated the idea that ‘Umbrella Man’ was the assassin and the umbrella was a modified gun.

It later emerged that Witt was holding the umbrella as a protest against Kennedy’s father’s support for British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.

Ted Cruz’s Father

Just last year, President Trump himself introduced a new theory, appearing to suggest that Ted Cruz’s father may have been involved.

The Washington Post said while he was battling Cruz for the Republican presidential nomination, Mr Trump claimed his opponent’s father Rafael Cruz had been spotted with Lee Harvey Oswald before the shooting.

“His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald being, you know, shot,” Trump reportedly said during a telephone interview. “I mean the whole thing is ridiculous. What is this? Right? Prior to his being shot. And nobody even brings it up. I mean, they don’t even talk about that — that was reported. And nobody talks about it.”

The Illuminati

There are several theories as to why the Illuminati wanted JFK dead. One is that the secret organisation ordered his death because he wanted to end the Vietnam War while another is that the Illuminati was upset about plans to limit the power of the Federal Reserve System.