(RepublicanReport.org) – President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are set to go head to head in the run for the White House in November. Their respective parties will solidify their nominations in early summer. In the meantime, one other person is already officially running for the Oval Office — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But his campaign just made a claim that could’ve upset those in his party.
On April 3, Kennedy’s campaign sent out a fundraising email to his supporters referring to those who participated in the January 6 insurrection as “activists.” The communication said they were “sitting in a Washington, DC jail cell stripped of their Constitutional liberties.” The email also put Julian Assange and Ed Snowden in the same category. After the post went out to his followers, Stephanie Spear, a Kennedy spokesperson, told NBC News that the language used was in “error” and did not “reflect [the candidate’s] views.” Spear claimed the language was put in there by a “new marketing contractor” and was missed during the “normal approval process.”
The news outlet reported that only 15 January 6 defendants are being detained pretrial, and most have been convicted already. In fact, over the last three years, more than 1,350 insurrectionists have been charged, more than 950 have been convicted, and — of those — about 718 of those have pleaded guilty to their crimes. Over half of them, around 500 people, are currently in jail serving their sentences handed down by the courts.
While Kennedy’s campaign backed away from the language used in the campaign email, the candidate previously stated he would pardon Assange, Snowden, and possibly some January 6 prisoners if elected. Regarding the insurrectionists, Kennedy said his decision would depend if there was “prosecutorial malfeasance,” otherwise they would have to stay in jail.
Still, his campaign calling the accused or convicted “activists” echoes Trump’s recent statements, referring to them as “hostages” instead of criminals. It’s unclear how voters will respond to either declaration.
Copyright 2024, RepublicanReport.org
