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RFK Jr. says he won’t comment on pardoning Jan. 6 rioters until he’s president

by Filip Timotija - 03/12/24 8:45 PM ET

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seen in Washington, D.C. — John Lamparski, Getty Images
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., seen here in Washington, D.C., announced on March 23, 2024, his running mate for his presidential campaign.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he won’t speak about potentially pardoning the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters until he wins the general election.

Kennedy refrained from sharing much about his approach to those who stormed the Capitol a little over three years ago, saying he would approach it on a case-by-case basis, but he stated he would pardon American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

“I would not comment on that,” Kennedy told Fox News’s Neil Cavuto in a Tuesday interview when asked if he thought it’d be a “good idea” to pardon any Jan. 6 rioters.

“You know, that’s not something that I would comment on until I was president of the United States.”

Cavuto asked Kennedy about his preferred approach after mentioning that former President Trump said Monday he would free all Jan. 6 “hostages” if elected back into the White House.

“My first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.

Kennedy, after saying he would not comment on the matter, shared that he intends to use presidential pardon power if elected later this year. He said apart from Assange and Snowden, he might pardon dark web marketplace creator Ross Ulbricht.

“I would pardon people,” Kennedy said. “I intend to use the pardon power, and I intend to use it very quickly in office. I’m going to pardon Julian Assange. I’m going to pardon Edward Snowden. I may pardon Ross Ulbricht if I find that his prosecution was, that his sentence, his very lengthy sentence, was the result of making an example of him in order to punish Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.”

Cavuto then asked if he would extend that to those who rioted on Jan. 6 and are in jail.

“I would look at individual cases,” Kennedy said.

More than 1,300 people have been charged related to the riot at the Capitol. At least 400 people were charged with assaulting law enforcement, according to the Department of Justice.