RFK Jr. Statement Claims Rioters “Carried No Weapons”

CNN reports:

In a formal written statement on Friday, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeated the wildly inaccurate claim that the participants in the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol “carried no weapons” – and then, three hours later, said he was retracting the claim because he had learned he was incorrect.The claim that all of the January 6 rioters were unarmed has been made repeatedly by former President Donald Trump – and repeatedly debunked.

But Kennedy nonetheless deployed the claim in the Friday statement that his campaign said was intended to “clarify his views on the events of January 6, 2021” in the wake of his campaign’s controversial comments, in fundraising emails earlier this week, that appeared to downplay the actions of some of the rioters. People who illegally breached Capitol grounds during the riot were armed with a wide variety of weapons, including guns, stun guns, knives, batons, baseball bats, flagpoles and chemical sprays.

Read the full article. Yesterday Kennedy also retracted a fundraising email that described the rioters as “activists.” But both that claim and the one above had already reached their intended audience.

This is RFK Jr’s third statement on Jan 6 in just over 24 hours.

He, his campaign, and his MAGA tp’s can’t withstand the slightest scrutiny. https://t.co/gsqUhbtoux

— Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) April 6, 2024