In a lengthy statement Friday, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested that the prosecution of rioters who violently attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, may be politically motivated, aligning himself with former President Donald Trump and his allies' spin.
A day earlier, Kennedy was criticized for a fundraising email that portrayed rioters as “activists” “stripped of their constitutional liberties.” Kennedy's campaign said it had cut relations with the contractor that sent the fundraising email, and his last statement was identical. Kennedy says he is “concerned about the possibility that political objectives motivated the vigor of the prosecution of the J6 defendants.”
In reference to Jan. 6, Kennedy stated, “I want to hear every side.” Kennedy criticizes Trump, stating he “encouraged” the Capitol attack and “in the context of his delusion that the election was stolen from him.” Kennedy said as president he would appoint a special counsel to investigate whether Trump allies were wrongfully prosecuted, “and I will right any wrongs that we discover.
Trump called the Jan. 6 attackers “hostages” and promises to pardon them if he wins. Kennedy also erroneously claims the rioters were unarmed. The mob had guns, and one was charged with shooting into the air during the incident. Other protesters attacked officers with flagpoles, crutches, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks, pepper spray, and PVC pipes.
Kennedy amended his assertion Friday evening: “My understanding that none of the January 6 rioters who invaded the capitol were carrying firearms was incorrect. Several were convicted of carrying guns inside the Capitol. Others attacked Capitol police with pepper spray, bludgeons, and other weapons.
“This behavior is inexcusable,” he said. “I have never minimized or dismissed the seriousness of the riot or any crime committed that day.” Jan. 6 saw widespread violence. Trump fans smashed windows, fought police, and rushed into the Capitol building, sending lawmakers fleeing.
A makeshift gallows was photographed outside the Capitol the day of the incident, and some screamed “Hang Mike Pence.” Rioters shouted, “Where are you, Nancy?” at House speaker Nancy Pelosi. Police were dragged into the throng and attacked, leaving them wounded and injured. One officer was crushed in a doorframe and another had a heart attack after a rioter repeatedly shocked him with a stun pistol.
Over 1,300 people have been charged in the Capitol incident, including 500 for assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. Approximately 1,000 have pled guilty or been convicted of seditious conspiracy, assault, and civil disorder. Two defendants have been acquitted by judges who resolved the case without a jury.
investigation of court records found that 229 of the more than 800 rioters sentenced have served at least one year. After trials that showed weeks of preparing to use force to impede Trump's transfer of presidential power to Biden, the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys leaders received the heaviest terms for seditious conspiracy.
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