After the president was in fact assassinated, it was evident to me that the Secret Service supervisor, Maurice G. Martineau, was engaged in a cover up of serious conspiracies to assassinate Kennedy that had surfaced in Chicago. This cover up gained momentum after visits were made to the Chicago office of the Secret Service by Inspector Kelly and SAIC Burke, who had been involved in the interrogation of Oswald after his arrest.

Was the first black Secret Service agent to be assigned to White House protection. He received several commendations for his work in tracking down counterfeiters. This is one of the other functions of the Secret Service.

He was with other agents the night of November 21 when many were drinking heavily at The Cellar in Fort Worth the night before they were to protect the president. It was such a great time that some lost their identification and some even lost their weapons. The situation was a sufficient problem that they were all issued new identification.

As the Warren Commission was doing their investigation, Bolden felt it was his duty to make this information public.  He also began to tell the story of the Chicago assassination plot three weeks before.  This was not to be permitted and he was arrested for accepting a bribe from one of the counterfeiter suspects. He was convicted and sent to prison – and effectively silenced.

He always maintained his innocence even as he served his time. Only recently did he receive the pardon he deserved.

The Echo from Dealey Plaza by Abraham Bolden

The true story of the first African American on the White House Secret Service detail and his quest for justice after the assassination of JFK

Abraham Bolden was a young African American Secret Service agent in Chicago when he was asked by John F. Kennedy himself to join the White House Secret Service detail. For Bolden, it was a dream come true–and an encouraging sign of the charismatic president’s vision for a new America.

But the dream quickly turned sour. Bolden found himself regularly subjected to open hostility and blatant racism, and he was appalled by the White House team’s irresponsible approach to security. In the wake of JFK’s assassination, Bolden sought to expose the agency’s negligence, only to find himself the victim of a sinister conspiracy. The Echo from Dealey Plaza is the story of the terrible price paid by one man for his commitment to truth and justice.