Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Friday that if elected president, he would appoint a special counsel to investigate the “harsh treatment” of the Jan. 6 defendants.
It has been reported A day after controversy over earlier comments about 2021 riots at the US Capitol, the first This was reported by NBC News, where Kennedy’s January 6 fundraising email referred to the defendants as “activists” who had been “deprived of their Constitutional freedoms.” The campaign said it rejected the email.
But on Friday, Kennedy expanded on his views he is skeptical about the assessment of the event as a “rebellion”. He added that he is concerned that federal law enforcement agencies are abusing their powers in prosecuting supporters of former President Donald Trump, who tried to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power three years ago.
“I haven’t looked at the evidence in detail, but smart people, including Trump’s opponents, tell me there’s very little evidence of a real rebellion. They note that the protesters did not carry any weapons, had no plans or ability to seize control of the government, and that Trump himself called on them to protest “peacefully,” Kennedy said in a statement.
Kennedy’s the statement contains a number of lies, including falsehoods The right-wing rhetoric that claims “protesters don’t carry guns” has been repeated over and over in the three years since the Capitol attack. In reality, multiple defendants were charged with carrying deadly and dangerous weapons, including guns, on January 6. January 6 suspect even opened fire on the Capitol during the attackvideo evidence cited by prosecutors shows he is one of 15 defendants currently being held in pretrial detention, along with another defendant accused of setting off an explosive device in the Capitol tunnel.
Prosecutors repeatedly it was proved in court that mafia members were armed with weapons. Among them: Christopher Albertssentenced to seven years in prison; Mark Mazza, who carried two guns and served five years in federal prison; and Guy Reffitthe was sentenced to seven years in federal prison.
Another participant on January 6, Jerod Bargar, he dropped his weapon in the crowd and sentenced to five years’ probation with six months’ house arrest. The officer who found Bargar’s gun on the ground was “aware of numerous reports of firearms in the community.” according to prosecutors.
Kennedy said that, like many “reasonable Americans,” he is “concerned that political motives may lead to increased prosecutions, longer sentences, and harsher treatment of J6 defendants.”
Kennedy, referring to federal law enforcement agencies said it would “follow a troubling pattern of arming government agencies — the Justice Department, the IRS, the SEC, the FBI, etc. — against political opponents.”
Kennedy said that as president, he would “appoint a special counsel to investigate whether prosecutorial discretion was abused for political gain in this case, and I will correct the mistakes that we found.”
He added that while he opposes Trump “and everything he stands for,” he is “concerned that the government is arming itself against him.”
A Kennedy spokeswoman on Thursday dismissed a fundraising email sent by his campaign that was sympathetic to “J6 activists,” saying it was sent “in error” by a contractor and that it “does not reflect the views of Mr. Kennedy.” However new statement – appropriate his comments for years consider January 6 unimportant – suggests Kennedy’s Trump’s views on the incident are not far off January 6 suspects were referred such as “hostages” and “patriots” who are victims of prosecutorial abuse.
In addition to guns, other rioters on January 6 brought tomahawks, metal whips, bear gas and pepper spray canisters, tasers, stun guns, knives, baseball bats, hockey sticks, pitchforks and other weapons. Items they found in the Capitol, such as fire extinguishers and pieces of fence thrown at the police officers.
Many officers were injured during the attack.
Across the river in Virginia, the Oath Keepers had a “quick reaction force” ready with a large stockpile of weapons, prosecutors proved in court during the Oath Keepers’ first trial, and eventually two of their members were convicted of seditious conspiracy.
“I’ve never seen so many guns in one place since I’ve been in the military,” Florida lawmaker Terry Cummings said. He said during his 2022 testimony. Stuart Rhodes was the creator of Andichen was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison last May.