Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Denial of Rifle Ownership

Oswald denied owning a rifle from the outset. When Captain Fritz confronted him on November 23 with evidence that he had purchased a rifle under the name “Hidell,” Oswald denied it. He also denied having a rifle wrapped in a blanket in the Paine garage, and claimed that since leaving the Marine Corps he had fired only a small-bore .22 rifle. After obtaining a search warrant, Officers Moore, Stovall, and Rose found two photographs in the Paine garage showing Oswald with a rifle and pistol. When shown these photographs, Oswald sneered and claimed they were fakes, alleging police had superimposed a rifle and revolver onto photos taken the day before. Marina Oswald testified that she had taken the pictures with her husband’s Imperial Reflex camera while they lived on Neely Street, and a photography expert confirmed the pictures were not composites.

The Revolver

During his first interrogation, Oswald claimed his only crime was carrying a gun and resisting arrest. When asked why he carried the revolver, he responded, “Well, you know about a pistol. I just carried it.” He falsely stated that he bought the revolver in Fort Worth, when in fact he had purchased it from a mail-order house in Los Angeles.

The Aliases ‘Hidell’ and ‘O. H. Lee’

Officers found a forged selective service card bearing Oswald’s picture and the name “Alek J. Hidell” in his billfold. On November 22 and 23, Oswald refused to explain to Fritz why the card was in his possession. On November 24, he denied knowing A. J. Hidell, and when shown the card became angry, saying he had told Fritz all he intended to about it. At his last interrogation, Oswald admitted renting Dallas post office box 2915 to Postal Inspector Holmes, but denied receiving a rifle or any package addressed to Hidell at that box, and denied knowing that Hidell was listed on New Orleans post office box 30061. When asked why he lived at his roominghouse under the name “O. H. Lee,” Oswald claimed the landlady simply made a mistake because he told her his first name was Lee. However, the roominghouse register revealed that Oswald had actually signed the name “O. H. Lee.”