Today, in a fundraising email to supporters, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ‘s campaign lauded January 6th insurrectionists and called them “activists” who have been “stripped of their Constitutional liberties.” After NBC reported the email, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign quickly tried to “disown” it and deny responsibility despite the fact that the email aligns with his views and past comments about pardoning insurrectionists and President Biden being a bigger threat to democracy than Donald Trump.
In response, DNC spokesperson Matt Corridoni released the following statement:
“There’s one big problem here for RFK Jr. as he tries to disown his campaign’s embrace of January 6th insurrectionists – it captures his views perfectly. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed RFK Jr.’s candidacy: he’s spent the week claiming that President Biden is a bigger threat to democracy than Donald Trump; he’s being propped up by Trump’s biggest donor; and he’s been praised by the likes of Steve Bannon. What is surprising is that RFK Jr. and his campaign believe that everyone would be naive enough to look the other way when he spouts more MAGA talking points.”
RFK Jr’s support of January 6th insurrectionists:
On two occasions, RFK Jr. Said he would be open to pardoning January 6th rioters.
Washington Post: The Washington Post Reported That RFK Jr. Said He Would Consider Pardoning People Convicted In Connection To January 6. “As president, would you pardon or consider pardoning people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol? Maybe. Kennedy said he would consider pardoning people convicted in connection to Jan. 6. In response to The Post’s questionnaire, Kennedy said, ‘If prosecutorial malfeasance is demonstrated, then yes. Otherwise, no.’”
Fox News: Asked About Pardoning January 6 Rioters, RFK Jr. Said, “I Would Take A Look At Those Cases.” CAVUTO: “He wants to pardon and thought it would be a good idea to pardon any of the January 6 rioters if elected. What do you think of that?” KENNEDY: “I would not comment on that. I — that’s not — that’s not something that I would comment on until I was president of the United States. I would take a look at those cases.”
The Hill: Asked Again If He Would Extend His Use Of Pardon Power To Those Who Were Jailed After Rioting On January 6, RFK Jr. Said He Would “Look At Individual Cases.” “‘I would pardon people,’ Kennedy said. ‘I intend to use the pardon power, and I intend to use it very quickly in office. I’m going to pardon Julian Assange. I’m going to pardon Edward Snowden. I may pardon Ross Ulbricht if I find that his prosecution was, that his sentence, his very lengthy sentence, was the result of making an example of him in order to punish Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.’ Cavuto then asked if he would extend that to those who rioted on Jan. 6 and are in jail. ‘I would look at individual cases,’ Kennedy said.”
RFK Jr.’s Communications Director Del Bigtree spoke at a “MAGA Freedom Rally” a block from the Capitol on January 6th.
CNN: Del Bigtree Spoke At The “MAGA Freedom Rally D.C” On January 6th, Which Was Held About A Block From The Capitol. “As the Trump faithful gathered around the Capitol on January 6, two conspiracy theories peddling in government mistrust converged: The fraudulent belief that the election was stolen, and the dangerous narrative that Covid-19 vaccinations are wildly unsafe. ‘We’re being led off of a cliff,’ Del Bigtree, an anti-vaccine activist, told the crowd at the ‘MAGA Freedom Rally D.C.’ about a block from the Capitol. ‘I wish I could tell you that Tony Fauci cares about your safety…’ he said. ‘I wish I could believe that voting machines worked… but none of this is happening.’ In the wake of Trump’s electoral defeat, some leaders of the anti-vaccine movement latched onto the ‘Stop the Steal’ crusade, advancing their own conspiratorial claims and, in some cases, promoting private business ventures, CNN has found. Some prominent anti-vaxxers say they directly coordinated with organizers of the DC rallies in January and pushed their message at other MAGA demonstrations, and on pro-Trump podcasts and social media platforms. The anti-vaccine message may have found a particularly receptive audience among some fervent Trump supporters, many of whom flout wearing masks and contend the lethality of the virus is overblown… The rally at the US Capitol featuring Bigtree, advertised as ‘The MAGA Health Freedom Event of the Century,’ included other notable vaccine conspiracy theorists such as Mikki Willis, the filmmaker behind ‘Plandemic,’ which falsely suggests Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was responsible for the creation of the coronavirus.”
Legal Planet: RFK Jr. Comms Director Del Bigtree Promoted 2020 Election Conspiracies, Claiming At A January 6th Rally That The Country Was “Being Led Off Of A Cliff,” Adding That “I Wish I Could Believe That Voting Machines Worked… But None Of This Is Happening.” “Here’s what we know about the campaign’s chief communicator. Del Bigtree is an LA-based producer of conspiracy theory content. He leads the Informed Consent Action Network, or ICAN, a well-funded advocacy group that spreads vaccine misinformation, including baseless claims that childhood vaccines cause autism. He hosts the group’s podcast, ‘the Highwire,’ and he produced the 2016 pseudo-documentary ‘Vaxxed.’ He’s dabbled in election denial. He told the crowd at the ‘MAGA Freedom Rally D.C.’ near the Capitol on Jan. 6, ‘we’re being led off of a cliff.’ ‘I wish I could tell you that [Anthony] Fauci cares about your safety…’ he said. ‘I wish I could believe that voting machines worked… but none of this is happening.’”
April 2024: RFK Jr.’s campaign sent out a fundraising email that supported January 6th defendants.
NBC News: RFK Jr.’s Campaign Sent Out A Fundraising Email That Referred To Jan. 6 Defendants As “Activists” Who Have Been “Stripped Of Their Constitutional Liberties.” “The campaign of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent out with a fundraising email Thursday referring to Jan. 6 defendants as ‘activists’ who have been ‘stripped of their Constitutional liberties,’ echoing former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about the 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. In the appeal sent to supporters, signed by ‘Team Kennedy,’ the campaign called for the exoneration of ‘political prisoner Julian Assange,’ the founder of WikiLeaks, suggesting he and Jan. 6 defendants are victims of prosecutorial abuse. ‘This is the reality that every American Citizen faces — from Ed Snowden, to Julian Assange to the J6 activists sitting in a Washington DC jail cell stripped of their Constitutional liberties. Please help our campaign call out the illiberal actions of our very own government,’ the fundraising email read.”
NBC News: Hours Later, Campaign Spokesperson Stephanie Spear Said The Statement Was “An Error That Does Not Reflect Mr. Kennedy’s Views” And Claimed “It Was Inserted By A New Marketing Contractor And Slipped Through The Normal Approval Process.” “After publication of this piece, Kennedy spokesperson Stephanie Spear told NBC News that the language was an ‘error.’ ‘That statement was an error that does not reflect Mr. Kennedy’s views. It was inserted by a new marketing contractor and slipped through the normal approval process,’ she said.”
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