More than 1,000 people have been charged in the attack, 10 of them on gun-related charges. Hundreds of people were convicted and sentenced.
President Kennedy then issued a second statement Friday night, saying, “My understanding was incorrect that no firearms were in possession of the rioters who invaded the Capitol on January 6th. There were no firearms in the Capitol.” Several people were convicted of introducing
“Some attacked Capitol Police with pepper spray, clubs, and other improvised weapons,” he added.
President Kennedy said, “As President, I will appoint a special counsel, respected by all parties, to investigate whether prosecutorial discretion was abused for political purposes in this case, and will address any errors discovered.” I’m going to make it right.” “Without an impartial rule of law, there can be no true democracy or moral governance.”
The statement came a day after Kennedy’s Jan. 6 campaign fundraising email called the defendant an “activist” who has been “deprived of his constitutional liberties.” The campaign later retracted the email, saying the communication, which claimed the defendants had been deprived of their rights, “does not reflect Mr. Kennedy’s views.”
President Kennedy characterized the events of January 6 as a “protest” that turned into a “riot.” But on Friday, he disputed calling what happened that January day a riot.
“Because this happened at President Trump’s encouragement, and in the context of President Trump’s delusions that the election was stolen from him, many consider this an insurrection rather than an insurrection,” Kennedy’s statement said. said.
Kennedy, who was briefly banned from Instagram in 2021 for spreading misinformation about coronavirus vaccines, asserted several false claims about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol throughout his statement. .
“While I have not looked closely at the evidence, reasonable people, including Trump opponents, tell me there is little evidence of a true insurrection,” the statement said. They observe the following: [rioters] …There was no plan or ability to take the reins of government. ”
Republicans in seven states won by Joe Biden sent false documents to the Senate and National Archives falsely claiming that Donald Trump won the 2020 election.Trump’s allies then They used those documents to try to block the certification of Biden’s victory on January 6th.
Many rioters came to Washington, D.C., to pressure Vice President Mike Pence and other Republican lawmakers to go along with the effort, according to text messages and speeches made public in dozens of court cases. I understand. On January 6, several top leaders of the far-right groups Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were found guilty of seditious conspiracy for their actions.
President Kennedy also claimed in a statement that the protesters who gathered at the Capitol that day were “not armed.”
On Jan. 6, eight men were found guilty of possessing firearms at or near the Capitol and are awaiting trial on charges that Drug Enforcement Administration agents flashed badges and guns at the Capitol. Last month, a 10th person was arrested on suspicion of firing a pistol into the air in the West Square of Parliament House.
Rioters deployed weapons and makeshift weapons from inside the building, including pepper spray, bear spray, flagpoles, fire extinguishers and broken furniture. More than 140 police officers were injured. One died the next day, and the other suffered a traumatic brain injury and took his own life.
Kennedy also emphasized that Trump had called on people to “protest peacefully,” a phrase the former president used in a speech on the morning of January 6, but also told his supporters that he “protests peacefully.” We have to fight hard,” he said. , you won’t have a country anymore. ” President Trump broadcast television coverage of the violence unfolding and resisted overtures to intervene from his advisers, allies, his eldest daughter and even the members of Congress under attack.
The House Select Committee tasked with investigating the attack held several hearings on the matter and reviewed thousands of documents and interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses during the 18-month investigation. published a more than 800-page report summarizing evidence drawn from the The paper said Trump had embarked on a systematic plan to remain in office despite losing the election, pressuring state officials, the Justice Department and his own vice president to support him. insisted. Ultimately, the commission alleges that he encouraged his supporters to commit violence in his name.
President Kennedy said he was concerned about the “harsh treatment” of those imprisoned for the January 6 crime, which has become a hot topic on the far right. A Washington Post investigation of the Jan. 6 ruling found that rioters who assaulted police officers received lighter sentences than similar cases across the country. In two-thirds of the cases, judges gave sentences less than recommended by federal guidelines.
President Kennedy called January 6th “one of the most polarizing topics in the political landscape,” and said, “To understand this event and its aftermath, we need the opinions of people with diverse perspectives on this event.” I’m listening to it,” he said. I’d like to hear all opinions. ”
Kennedy began his presidential campaign as a Democrat, but filed as an independent in October and has increasingly stepped up his attacks on President Biden. Through a long third-party candidacy and an uphill battle to gain voting access across the country, he has supported Republicans, Democrats, and disaffected voters in the middle who are tired of a rematch between Biden and Trump. We have emphasized our appeal to But President Kennedy’s statement Friday echoed complaints made by President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress about the way the Jan. 6 incident was handled.
“I am concerned that political objectives may have motivated the momentum of the prosecution of the J6 defendants, their long sentences and harsh treatment,” he said. He also expressed his concern about the “weaponization of government institutions” against political opponents.
“Both establishments are using J6 to add fuel to the fire of division in America,” Kennedy added.
President Kennedy has a history of downplaying the seriousness of the political violence that occurred on January 6th. In an interview with Politico in October, he said: On the 6th, there was an attack on a building. And there are layers of government behind that building. ”
“What’s the worst that can happen? Right?” Kennedy asked on “The Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that same month. “So a few blocks away you have the entire military, the Pentagon.”
President Kennedy previously told the Washington Post that he would consider pardoning people convicted for their roles in the riot if evidence of prosecutorial misconduct was presented.
He made the case this week that Biden poses a bigger threat to democracy than Trump, saying, “The greatest threat to democracy is not someone who questions the benefits of an election, but rather Biden. ”, pointing out the interaction between the government and socialist groups, inviting sharp criticism. media company.
Kennedy is the youngest son of a famous Democratic family whose father and uncle were murdered in two of the most high-profile acts of political violence in American history. Kennedy’s uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Five years later, Kennedy’s father, Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated after winning the California Democratic presidential primary.
President Kennedy claimed that his views on the January 6 attacks were shared by “many reasonable Americans,” but a University of Maryland Washington Post poll conducted in December found that the nation’s It turns out that a minority of Trump supporters hold similar views. An overwhelming majority of Americans, 73%, say the punishment for rioters was either fair or not harsh enough. A majority of Americans also believe that those who invaded the Capitol are a threat to democracy.
But Republicans are increasingly viewing the riots positively, with only 18% saying the riots were “mostly violent,” compared to 77% of Democrats and independents. It was 54%.
The judges overseeing these cases have repeatedly emphasized that threat and lamented that President Trump and his allies are downplaying it.
“This is not normal. This cannot be normal.” Judge Royce Lamberth, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, said earlier this week after sentencing the man who led the mob insurrection, “As a community… “As a society and as a country, we cannot tolerate the normalization of the January 6 Capitol riot.” A police officer who left a police officer in fear for his life.
Meryl Kornfield contributed to this report.
