The Hill News

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld drew a parallel on Tuesday between the aftermath of Saturday's Tucson shootings and the speculation that followed the assassination of President Kennedy.

"Joyce & I are praying for all those felled by evil in Tucson. We saw a similar rush to judgment w/o facts in Dallas in 1963," he tweeted.

A former Marine, Lee Harvey Oswald, was arrested and charged with Kennedy's murder but was killed by another man before he could stand trial. The Warren Commission, which President Johnson created to investigate the assassination, concluded that Oswald was the gunman and had acted alone. Its findings have since been contested, and much about Oswald's alleged motive is still in doubt. 

The suspect in Saturday's rampage, if convicted, could face the death penalty or life in prison, according to U.S. federal judge Lawrence Anderson. Debates continue about his motivation.