Deseret News archives: Was Sen. Huey Long killed by an assassin, or his own bodyguards?

A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Sept. 8, 1935, Louisiana Sen. Huey P. Long was doing what Huey P. Long did in his heyday — running the state — when a gunshot rang out, followed by a volley of shots. When the dust settled, the controversial Democratic power boss of the South known as the “Kingfish,” was mortally wounded, while the man who shot him was dead on the floor of the Louisiana State Capitol building.
Long was 42. He had been elected governor at age 35 and became popular for abolishing the state’s poll tax. He was a political rival of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He distributed free textbooks to students and pushed for a tax on petroleum products to help fund social programs. He made a lot of friends, and a lot of enemies.
Long had introduced a bill, “House Bill Number One” in the Capitol to intentionally redraw Louisiana’s districts and gerrymander a political opponent from the bench. The judge’s son-in-law, a physician named Carl Weiss, was present in Baton Rouge that day to speak with Long.
After the bill passed, Weiss approached Long to discuss the issue.
Per reports, sounds of machine gun fire filled the Capitol. A few minutes later, Long was found stumbling down the stairs with a bullet through his right upper abdomen. Weiss was found dead in the Capitol’s main hall, with 61 bullet holes counted in his body.
Long was taken to the hospital in New Orleans. On Sept. 10, Long died before he could be operated on.
Eyewitnesses said Weiss pulled his hand from under his coat and fired at Long.
Others theorized that Weiss punched Long, and one of the senator’s bodyguards accidentally hit Long in the scramble.
Was Weiss guilty and a murderer, or did a bullet fired by a bodyguard ricochet off the marble and accidentally kill Long?
Newspapers covered the story for days. Here are some stories from Deseret News archives on the saga:
“Who killed Huey Long? Experts hope exhumation will help solve mystery”
“Louisiana has Long history of scandal”
“Investigator says doctor may not have killed Huey Long”
“Biographer White tours Louisiana — Huey Long country”
“Fates of six assassins”
“Tomb of Long ‘assassin’ is opened”