“I am concerned about the possibility that political objectives motivated the vigor of the prosecution of the J6 defendants,” Kennedy said.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., seeking to clarify his position about the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, said Friday that there is “little evidence of a true insurrection,” given participants weren’t armed and didn’t have “plans or ability to seize the reins of government.”
Kennedy’s statement comes in the wake of a campaign fundraising email that called January 6 defendants “activists,” as it did Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.
A British court is considering extraditing Assange, who is Australian, to the U.S. while Snowden is living in exile in Russia.
“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,” the Kennedy campaign’s email read. “Please help our campaign call out the illiberal actions of our very own government.”
A campaign spokeswoman told Newsweek that the fundraising email “was an error that does not reflect Mr. Kennedy’s views,” and that the language was inserted by a new marketing contractor that has since been terminated.
Kennedy’s statement issued Friday begins with: “January 6 is one of the most polarizing topics on the political landscape. I am listening to people of diverse viewpoints on it in order to make sense of the event and what followed. I want to hear every side.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in January that 1,265 people have been charged with a variety of felonies and misdemeanors related to their behavior during the riot at the Capitol, 116 of whom carried a weapon, usually a flagpole, knife or makeshift battering ram. One fired a gun and one set off an explosive device.
Many defendants spent weeks, months or years in jail before being sentenced to prison, some for as little as a month, others to more than 12 years.
“Like many reasonable Americans, I am concerned about the possibility that political objectives motivated the vigor of the prosecution of the J6 defendants, their long sentences, and their harsh treatment,” Kennedy’s statement reads.
