History Main / HeKnowsTooMuch

* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', Col Phillips warns a captured Zola that Schmitt will see him this way.
** [[spoiler:Eventually, he does get offed in the far future for knowing too much... because he orchestrated half the conspiracy himself, accepting his fate to take Captain America with him.]]
* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', a maid walks in on her employer briefing the Winter Soldier, and is [[EvenEvilHasStandards regretfully]] shot dead.
** [[spoiler:Zola reveals that Howard Stark had an '[[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident accident]]' before he could reveal Hydra's takeover of S.H.I.E.L.D.; the video of the Winter Soldier executing Howard and his wife is shown in Civil War.]]

See RevealingCoverup, HaveYouToldAnyoneElse, and HisNameIs. If this trope involves someone finding out about the supernatural, see KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade. If it involves a member of the organization being targeted for finding out too much about their employer, see HuntingTheRogue. If the dangerous knowledge is a natural result of their employment, the boss might be planning to ShootTheBuilder. See also LeaveNoWitnesses for those situations where a roomful of people all Learn Too Much at once. Where the knowledge ''itself'' is harmful, see TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow. Compare also with YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness.

* ''Fanfic/AFrozenFlower'': Grimes and his group of dormant ''lamberos'' kill most everyone who walks inside their [[GasStationOfDoom gas station convenience store hideout.]] They make an exception for Otto, but only on the grounds that he's an Odd Squad agent with homing beacons embedded into his suit, and if he were killed, other agents would seek the group out, not to mention that Odd Squad has connections to the [[BirdPeople Featherites,]] who are themselves dormant ''lamberos.''

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}:'' Apparently every time the elves hold a meeting where they come up with a plan they don't want anyone to know about, they throw Blabbo in jail to prevent him... well, y'know. Blabbo points out there is a simpler solution.

* Throughout ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', Kreacher the house-elf serves as little more than a nuisance to anyone in 12 Grimmauld Place (namely Sirius), but they can't free him with clothes because he knows too much about the Order.

-->'''Honey Lemon:''' Let's not jump to conclusions. [[TemptingFate We don't]] ''[[TemptingFate know]]'' [[TemptingFate he's trying to kill us.]]\\
(''As she says this a car is launched at them'')

-->'''Wasabi:'''Why’s he trying to kill us?! (Rolls down his window to talk to Yokai) [[AskAStupidQuestion Uuuh, why’re you trying to kill us?]]
-->'''Fred:'''[[LampshadeHanging It’s classic villain! We’ve seen too much!]]
-->'''Honey Lemon:''' Let’s not jump to conclusions. We don’t know he’s trying to kill us. (As she says this a car is launched at them.)
-->'''Fred:''' Car!
-->'''Honey Lemon:''' He’s trying to kill us!

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'': [[spoiler: Crick is killed by Captain Kaldena for investigating too far in Vados' murder, which leads to some forbidden books about the Moonshade Order, the source of power Kaldena is looking for.]]

* Played for laughs in the ad break of ''[[WebVideo/InternetHistorian In the Field]]'''s episode on weapons. Nordman possessed loads of knowledge based from information stolen online from users that don't have a VPN, and goes around crashing through windows and revealing said information. Just when he literally crashes a funeral to let them know they can save hundreds through regional pricing, he got shot in the chest. It turned out to be Shadowman, who was out to kill Nordman to keep the fact that he preferred playing ''Field of Tanks Mobile'' over ''Raid: Shadow Legends'' from being revealed.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* In 1805-1809, the American government ''tried'' to have Aaron Burr assassinated for this reason. Altogether, the effort cost about two-million dollars in modern terms and resulted in a short-lived [[DayOfTheJackboot military dictatorship]] being installed in New Orleans and hundreds of arrests and imprisonments. It also ''nearly'' resulted in war with England and Spain, the destruction of the SCOTUS and a whole lot more power being transferred to the office of the President -- however, the whole ordeal was ultimately unsuccessful, and after UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson's presidency ended, [[UsefulNotes/JamesMadison the ensuing government]] declined to continue it.
* In 1942, the Russians arranged an assassination of Von Papen, the German ambassador to Turkey. They gave the would-be assassin a package which they said was a smoke bomb to cover his escape. The assassin decided that attacking under cover of the smoke was a better plan and so set it off early: [[HoistByHisOwnPetard it exploded killing the assassin]] but leaving von Papen unharmed except for the gore splattered on his suit. The Russians of course intended him to do this after shooting the target, thus preventing him from telling who was the guilty party. This undoubtedly inspired a botched attempt on James Bond's life in ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'' (see above).
** This gambit was also used by Irish terrorist groups, such as the Provisional IRA, to eliminate members whose trust was in doubt, those suspected of being double agents for British security services. Terrorists in this position might be instructed to drive a car bomb to a certain location. But the bomb would be on a short fuse and explode long before they got there. It is suspected that British Intelligence exploited this by deliberately planting doubts in the IRA leadership's mind as to the reliability of certain members, thus eliminating terrorists, without the irksome need of proving a case that would stand up in court.
* This is the reason why, in a lot of urban neighborhoods, people won't talk to the police about crimes they saw, and is also the basis of the "snitches get stitches" saying.
** Not at all helpful are the anti-"tattle tale" rules that are in most schools, teaching children to never bring a wrongdoing to the proper authorities no matter what they see.
* The scene in ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' when Robert [=DeNiro=]'s character systemically kills all of the participants in the Lufthansa Heist at JFK was an accurate representation of real life in which gangster James Burke did just that.
* In [[LaResistance Polish Resistance]] member Jan Karski's autobiography, he tells the story of being rescued from the Gestapo and being told by his rescuers shortly after escape "We were given two orders. The first one was to save you at any price; the other was to shoot you in case we did not succeed."
* According to legend, the slaves that built the tomb of UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan were killed by the soldiers guarding them, and these in turn by other soldiers, to ensure that people could never find his burial place.
* In Brazil, this kind of murder is called "archive burning".
[[/folder]]

** [[spoiler:Through unknown means, [[ShadowDictator Imu]] utterly [[ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure wipes the Lulusia Kingdom from the face of the planet]] in an attempt to kill Sabo, who discovered their existence during the Reverie. In fact, [[TheGoodKing Cobra's]] assassination took place because Imu revealed themself to him during his audience with the Five Elders; [[FrameUp Sabo simply proved a convenient scapegoat to pin the blame on]]. Wapol, [[SpannerInTheWorks who saw the whole thing through a peeping hole]], [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere flees for dear life immediately after]], well aware that the same fate awaits him if he's captured]].

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyI'': After the 4th Stratum, [[spoiler:the player's guild discovers that what appears to be a medieval society is actually built on top of [[RuinsOfTheModernAge the ruins of Tokyo]]. Visil sends Ren and Tlachtga to kill them in order to protect the deepest secrets of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth from being uncovered and ruining the mysteries of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth. When that doesn't work and the party adventures deeper, they confront Visil, who explains that [[WorldTree Yggdrasil]] was built to reverse the environmental damage brought about by humanity and that he is the last surviving scientist who worked on the Yggdrasil Project [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld at least 1,000 years ago]].]] With that out of the way, [[FinalBoss they try to kill the party to protect that ultimate secret]].

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyI'': After the 4th Stratum, [[spoiler:the player's guild discovers that what appears to be a medieval society is actually built on top of [[RuinsOfTheModernAge the ruins of Tokyo]]. Visil sends Ren and Tlachtga to kill them in order to protect the deepest secrets of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth from being uncovered and ruining the mysteries of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth. When that doesn't work and the party adventures deeper, they confront Visil, who explains that [[WorldTree Yggdrasil]] was built to reverse the environmental damage brought about by humanity and that he is the last surviving scientist who worked on the Yggdrasil Project [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld at least 1,000 years ago]].]] With that out of the way, [[FinalBoss they try to kill you to protect that ultimate secret]].

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyI'': After the 4th Stratum, [[spoiler:the player's guild discovers that what appears to be a medieval society is actually built on top of [[RuinsOfTheModernAge the ruins of Tokyo]]. Visil sends Ren and Tlachtga to kill them in order to protect the deepest secrets of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth from being uncovered and ruining the mysteries of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth. When that doesn't work and the party adventures deeper, they confront Visil, who explains that [[WorldTree Yggdrasil]] was built to reverse the environmental damage brought about by humanity and that he is the last surviving scientist who worked on the Yggdrasil Project [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld at least 1,000 years ago]].]] With that out of the way, [[FinalBoss they try to make sure that ultimate secret dies with you]].

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyI'': After the 4th Stratum, [[spoiler:the player's guild discovers that what appears to be a medieval society is actually built on top of [[RuinsOfTheModernAge the ruins of Tokyo]]. Visil sends Ren and Tlachtga to kill them in order to protect the deepest secrets of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth from being uncovered and ruining the mysteries of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth. When that doesn't work and the party adventures deeper, they confront Visil, who explains that [[WorldTree Yggdrasil]] was built to reverse the environmental damage brought about by humanity and that he is the last surviving scientist who worked on the Yggdrasil Project [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld at least 1,000 years ago]].]] With that out of the way, [[FinalBoss they try to make sure that ultimate secret dies with you]].]]

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyI'': After the 4th Stratum, [[spoiler:the player's guild discovers that what appears to be a medieval society is actually built on top of [[RuinsOfTheModernAge the ruins of Tokyo]]. Visil sends Ren and Tlachtga to kill them in order to protect the deepest secrets of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth from being uncovered and ruining the mysteries of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth. When that doesn't work and the party adventures deeper, they confront Visil, who explains that [[WorldTree Yggdrasil]] was built to reverse the environmental damage brought about by humanity and that he is the last surviving scientist who worked on the Yggdrasil Project [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld at least 1,000 years ago]]. With that out of the way, [[FinalBoss he tries to make sure that ultimate secret dies with you]].]]

* WitnessProtection is designed to protect someone from this, but [[GodzillaThreshold it comes at a steep cost]]: They must assume a new identity and cut off ties with their old contacts. But following this program significantly improves one's chances of safety from whoever wants to make sure their eyewitness accounts die with them.

* In ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX, this trope drives a great deal of the series' plot. Frank is induced into taking part in a highly illegal and dangerous black ops mission on behalf of a cabal of corrupt generals. The mission ends with a lot of dead civilians (not Frank's fault), a lot of dead Russian soldiers (definitely Frank's fault), the largest, deadliest terror attack in Russian history (the generals' fault) and the mission's actual objective a total bust (To be fair to Frank, that last part was deliberate). Unsurprisingly, any information pertaining to the mission is sealed and the generals attempt to have Frank killed several times [[spoiler: all of which fail and ultimately result in their deaths at Frank's hands.]]

* In ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX, this trope drives a great deal of the series' plot. Frank is induced into taking part in a highly illegal and dangerous black ops mission on behalf of a cabal of corrupt generals. The mission ends with a lot of dead civilians (not Frank's fault), a lot of dead Russian soldiers (definitely Frank's fault), the largest, deadliest terror attack in Russian history (the generals' fault) and the mission's actual objective a total bust (To be fair to Frank, that last part was deliberate). Unsurprisingly, any information pertaining to the mission is sealed and the generals attempt to have Frank killed several times [[spoiler: which ultimately result in their deaths.]]