Chapter 8
“Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.”
Fox News showed Johnson, the first family and their entourage leaving the stage after thunderous applause. Thousands of flash bulbs created a strobe effect as people left the stage, most stopping long enough to give the president and first lady handshakes, greetings and hugs.
Finally, First Lady Maggie Johnson and Lily Doolittle left the stage. Sharply dressed Secret Service agents helped them down the steep temporary metal stairs. There was only enough room for two people to descend at a time and, as President Johnson started down last, a Secret Service agent extended his hand to steady the president.
Suddenly, another flash, slightly different somehow, lit the black-curtained square where the entourage awaited the president and his party. A loud crack rang out, but was only audible for a second. Anyone more than ten feet from the curtained area couldn’t hear it over the noise of the crowd.
A moment of confusion ensued in the staging area as two more flashes came and went in an instant. Then Secret Service agents, handlers and members of the entourage swirled in chaos. The crowd shrank back.
The cameras near the stage shook and lost the picture for a few seconds. As the picture came back into focus, viewers saw police, Secret Service and unidentified men in suits, guns drawn, push spectators to the ground. The mass of humanity scrambled away from the area to avoid getting trampled. It was obvious something had happened, but the media could only say that the president and the first family had been rushed past the black-curtained area and out of sight.
Most of the networks continued their election coverage, switching from the site of the acceptance speech to their pundits in studio. Then cameras zeroed in on Senior Political Analyst Quentin Reynolds, the Fox anchor for election night coverage.
“I have been told by reliable sources that an assassination attempt has just been made on President Johnson,” Reynolds said solemnly. “We have not been told if the president is injured, but police are reportedly clearing traffic to Children’s Memorial Hospital, which is about two-and-a-half miles from Lincoln Park. I repeat, we do not know if the president or any of his family was injured.”
NBC was the first to report definitive news of the situation on the ground. Nightly News Anchor Jonathon Alcott reported, “President Johnson has been wounded by an assailant. He has been taken into surgery immediately at Children’s Memorial Hospital. No one else from the first family was injured; however, we have an unconfirmed report that a Secret Service agent has been killed, along with the would-be assassin, who was killed by Secret Service agents in the president’s body guard.”
As the news swept across the nation and the world, the celebrations that had produced isolated cases of minor looting, fires and violence turned into massive demonstrations fueled by rage. Unsubstantiated news reports circulated that a white Tea Party member had shot the president, one of his daughters, or both. The news blackout for the next several hours only heightened the speculation and exponentially increased the drama unfolding in American urban areas.
In Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, New York, Trenton, Atlanta, St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, roving bands of blacks and others unhappy with the unexpected turn of events ransacked their own neighborhoods, then flooded into upscale business districts and began destroying, burning and looting businesses. Local authorities encouraged people to stay home. TV news coverage showed dramatic footage of burning businesses and houses that made the Watts riots of 1965 and the Los Angeles South Central riot of 1992 look like block parties.
Original plans called for President Johnson to attend various post-election parties held by influential donors throughout Chicago after the Lincoln Park appearance. Many news cameras and reporting teams were broadcasting from those sites as they anticipated the arrival of the newly re-elected president and his party. As word of the tragedy spread, video images of supporters collapsing in tears were shown, reminding many of the JFK assassination news reports.
At 1:46 a.m., it seemed the entire throng of supporters from Lincoln Park had migrated to the two-block area around the hospital. Many in the crowd, assuming the president was dead, mourned, wept and wailed. Some in the crowd began assaulting white Johnson supporters after hearing the unsubstantiated reports that a white Tea Party member had shot the president and one of the Johnson children.
Nation of Islam’s Lewis Khoury, Rev. Russell Jones, Rev. Homer Baxter and Rev. Lloyd Dobbin were interviewed by numerous media outlets. Instead of trying to stem the tide of violence, innuendos, conspiracy theories and assumptions poured forth from these black leaders. It was obvious to them that this assault on President Johnson was to keep the first African-American president from serving a second term.
Unsubstantiated Internet reports, tweets on Twitter, and Facebook messages claimed the president had been assassinated. Violence in major urban areas increased with every new report. Many Northeast, Rust Belt and West Coast cities were on fire.
City and state officials across the country began activating emergency protocol to quell the violence. Governor Carey Chambers in New Jersey called out the National Guard and dispatched thousands of troops to Trenton and Newark. Los Angeles and San Francisco appeared completely unable to deal with the massive riots as thousands poured into the streets within an hour of the assassination attempt.
City and state officials were caught in a Catch-22 position. If they begged the administration to make an announcement, and the announcement was of the death of President Johnson, violence would reach unprecedented heights. The administration was not prepared to make any statement, other than stating that the president was in surgery from a gunshot wound and that no member of his family had been injured.
As the drama unfolded into the early morning hours at Children’s Memorial Hospital, the situation on the ground escalated. The anarchy in the streets of dozens of major U.S. cities grew in intensity and began spreading to others areas of the country.
In Dallas, several thousand black protestors converged on the swank West End retail, restaurant and entertainment district downtown, destroying shops and restaurants and starting fires in buildings and vehicles. Police were finally able to quell the riot, but three black youths were killed, along with two Dallas police officers. The mayor locked down the entire downtown district, essentially establishing martial law. No one was allowed in or out of the area.
The scene in Dallas was replicated in most major cities, but on a much larger scale. Texas and Arizona, as well as most major urban areas in the South—with the exception of Miami and Atlanta—did not encounter the mass destruction and violence burning out of control in other areas of the country.
In some Western states—where the polls had closed but election results were not final—numerous polling places were attacked and destroyed. California had been officially called for Johnson since 11:26 p.m. by all major news outlets with only 8 percent of precincts reporting, with Johnson holding a 58-36 percent lead. California’s electoral votes were a formality as it became obvious early on that Johnson had enough electoral votes, even without California.
At 3:52 a.m. in Chicago, most Americans still did not know with any certainty the status of their president or the exact events that had occurred at 11:58 p.m. As each minute passed, most assumed the worst. Even in locations where no violence was reported, local officials called in all off-duty police, firefighters and emergency workers and activated SWAT and National Guard troops.
Meanwhile, all media outlets complained about the lack of information coming from the administration. The delay meant more violence pouring out into the streets of the nation. America still did not know for sure if their president was dead or alive.