WASHINGTON — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s campaign echoed former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric in a fundraising email sent out Thursday, calling the Jan. 6 defendants “activists” who have been “stripped of constitutional freedoms.” 2021 Riot at the US Capitol.
In an appeal sent to supporters signed by Team Kennedy, the campaign called for the acquittal of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a “political prisoner” and suggested that he and the co-defendants on January 6 were victims of prosecutorial violence.
“This is the reality facing every American citizen, from Ed Snowden, to Julian Assange, to the J6 activists sitting in a Washington prison. Please help our campaign to call out the illiberal actions of our own government,” the fundraising email read.
There is currently a British court Taking into account Whether or not to extradite Assange, who is not an American citizen but an Australian citizen, to the United States. Snowden, a former employee of the National Security Agency leaked national security secretsHe lives in exile in Russia.
After the piece was published, Kennedy spokeswoman Stephanie Spear told NBC News that the language was “erroneous.”
“This statement was a mistake and did not reflect the views of Mr. Kennedy. It was entered by a new marketing contractor and went through the normal approval process,” he said.
Trump called some of his supporters Who stormed the Capitol Because they are he believed his lies About the 2020 presidential elections”pledges” and “incredible patriots” mistreated by the justice system.
whom This was reported by NBC NewsCurrently, there are only 15 January 6 defendants detained in the detention center.
Most of them are reliably accused of violence against law enforcement officers. For example:
- The two men had killed other people in the past, which led to their detention.
- One of them is accused of detonating explosives in a tunnel full of policemen.
- One is accused of firing a gun.
- One of them is accused of conspiring to kill FBI agents working on his case, after the alleged conspiracy was released pending trial.
Most of the 29 January 6 defendants who are currently being held in the DC jail have been tried. Some are awaiting sentencing, while others have been sentenced but have not yet been assigned to a federal prison to serve their time.
More than 1,350 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack, and prosecutors have secured more than 950 convictions. As of Jan. 6, low-level defendants routinely receive suspended prison sentences, but about 500 have been sentenced to terms ranging from a few days behind bars. 22 years in federal prisonfor Proud Boy, convicted of seditious conspiracy.
one interview Speaking to Fox News’ Neil Cavuto last month, Kennedy said he would “very quickly” use his pardon power to pardon Assange and Snowden if elected president, but said he would “look at individual cases” when asked about the Jan. 6 defendants.
The Kennedy campaign had no immediate comment.
Kennedy last year he said The Washington Post reported that he would consider pardoning the defendants on January 6.
“If it is proven that the prosecutor exceeded his duties, yes. Otherwise, no,” he said.
Earlier this week, he said on CNN that he could claim to be President Joe Biden is a greater threat to democracy Because of how he censors more political critics than Trump, he later said those comments were taken out of context and that both Trump and Biden were in trouble.
“I did not categorically say that I believe one or the other is more dangerous to democracy, I said that I do not believe that any of them will destroy democracy,” he said in an interview with News Nation on Tuesday.
Before turning to Biden, Kennedy said of Trump: “You have a president who has not been convicted but who is allegedly trying to overturn an election illegally, which is certainly terrible for democracy.” “You had another president who really censored his speech.”