%%<p style="font-size:125%"><b><font color="#ffffff">Summary</font>.</b></p>%% %%Image%% # Overview of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | Biography | Details | |:---:|:---:| | Full Name: | | | Date of Birth: | | | Gender: | | | Nationality: | | | Religion: | | | Political Party: | | | Social Media | | | Relationship | Name | |:---:|:---:| | | | | School | Degree | Timeline | |:---:|:---:|:---:| | | | | | Employmer | Role | Timeline | |:---:|:---:| :-: | | | | | ## Biographies for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. > [!column|no-t flex bg-c-green]+ > > > [!info|no-icon bg-c-blue c-gray]- **Wikipedia Profile** <br>_{- *Click to Expand* →} > > **Overview** > > >> **Robert Francis Kennedy Jr.** (born January 17, 1954), also known by his initials as **RFK Jr.** and the nickname **Bobby**, is an American environmental lawyer, writer, and [conspiracy theorist](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Conspiracy_theory "Conspiracy theory") best known for spreading misinformation about [public health](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Public_health "Public health"). Kennedy's promotion of [anti-vaccine](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Anti-vaccine "Anti-vaccine") misinformation, public health conspiracy theories,[\[1\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-1)[\[2\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-CCDHPlaybook2020-2) and other forms of [pseudoscience](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pseudoscience "Pseudoscience") have been widely rejected by medical organizations, doctors, and practitioners, who have stated that its harm to [public health](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Public_health "Public health").[\[2\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-CCDHPlaybook2020-2)[\[3\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-mnookin-2017-3)[\[4\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-NBC_2021-03-11-4)[\[5\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-BBC_2/11/2021-5) He is an independent [candidate](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr._2024_presidential_campaign "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 2024 presidential campaign") in the [2024 presidential election](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2024_United_States_presidential_election "2024 United States presidential election") (before October 9, 2023, he was a [Democratic Party](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Democratic_Party_(United_States) "Democratic Party (United States)") candidate). A member of the [Kennedy Family](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Kennedy_family "Kennedy family"), he is a son of [U.S. attorney general](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/United_States_Attorney_General "United States Attorney General") and senator [Robert F. Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy "Robert F. Kennedy") and nephew of U.S. president [John F. Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/John_F._Kennedy "John F. Kennedy") and senator [Ted Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ted_Kennedy "Ted Kennedy"). After growing up in the [Washington, D.C. area](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Washington,_D.C._area "Washington, D.C. area") and [Massachusetts](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Massachusetts "Massachusetts"), he graduated from [Harvard University](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Harvard_University "Harvard University") and obtained his [Juris Doctor](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Juris_Doctor "Juris Doctor") degree from the [University of Virginia School of Law](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/University_of_Virginia_School_of_Law "University of Virginia School of Law"). Through litigation, lobbying, teaching, public campaigns and activism, Kennedy has advocated for the protection of waterways, [indigenous rights](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Indigenous_rights "Indigenous rights"), and [renewable energy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Renewable_energy "Renewable energy").[\[6\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-6) He began his career as an assistant district attorney in New York City. In 1984 and 1986, he joined two non-profits focused on [environmental protection](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Environmental_protection "Environmental protection"): [Riverkeeper](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Riverkeeper "Riverkeeper") and the [Natural Resources Defense Council](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Natural_Resources_Defense_Council "Natural Resources Defense Council") (NRDC), respectively.[\[7\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-7) His work at Riverkeeper set long-term environmental legal standards. At both organizations, he won historic legal battles against large corporate polluters. He became an adjunct professor of [environmental law](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Environmental_law "Environmental law") at [Pace University School of Law](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pace_University_School_of_Law "Pace University School of Law") in 1986.[\[8\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-8) In 1987, he founded Pace's Environmental Litigation Clinic, where he held the post of supervising attorney and co-director until 2017.[\[9\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-9) He founded the non-profit environmental group [Waterkeeper Alliance](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Waterkeeper_Alliance "Waterkeeper Alliance") in 1999, serving as the president of its board. Since 2005, Kennedy has promoted the scientifically disproven claim of a causal link between [vaccines and autism](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vaccines_and_autism "Vaccines and autism").[\[3\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-mnookin-2017-3) Since the onset of [the COVID-19 pandemic](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_States "COVID-19 pandemic in the United States"), he has emerged as a leading proponent of [COVID-19 vaccine misinformation](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/COVID-19_vaccine_misinformation_and_hesitancy "COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and hesitancy") in the United States.[\[10\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-10)[\[11\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Smith_12/15/2021-11) Much of his public health criticisms and writings have targeted prominent figures such as [Anthony Fauci](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Anthony_Fauci "Anthony Fauci"), [Bill Gates](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bill_Gates "Bill Gates"), and [Joe Biden](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Joe_Biden "Joe Biden"). He has written books including _[The Real Anthony Fauci](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Real_Anthony_Fauci "The Real Anthony Fauci")_ in 2021 and _[A Letter to Liberals](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/A_Letter_to_Liberals "A Letter to Liberals")_ in 2022. He is chairman of [Children's Health Defense](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Children's_Health_Defense "Children's Health Defense"), an anti-vaccine advocacy group.[\[11\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Smith_12/15/2021-11)[\[12\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-KW-12) ## Early life and education [](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/File:President_John_F._Kennedy_with_Robert_F._Kennedy,_Jr._(03).jpg) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with his uncle John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office in 1961 Kennedy was born at [Georgetown University Hospital](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Georgetown_University_Hospital "Georgetown University Hospital") in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 1954. He is the third of eleven children of senator and attorney general [Robert F. Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy "Robert F. Kennedy") and [Ethel Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ethel_Kennedy "Ethel Kennedy"), [née](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Birth_name#Maiden_and_married_names "Birth name") Skakel. He is a nephew of President [John F. Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/John_F._Kennedy "John F. Kennedy") and Senator [Ted Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ted_Kennedy "Ted Kennedy").[\[13\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-FOOTNOTEOppenheimer20155%E2%80%936-13) Kennedy grew up at his family's homes in [McLean, Virginia](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/McLean,_Virginia "McLean, Virginia"), and [Cape Cod, Massachusetts](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cape_Cod,_Massachusetts "Cape Cod, Massachusetts").[\[14\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-14)[\[15\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-15)[\[16\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-16) He was nine years old when his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, [was assassinated](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy "Assassination of John F. Kennedy") in 1963, and 14 years old when his father [was assassinated](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Assassination_of_Robert_F._Kennedy "Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy") while running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968.[\[17\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-FOOTNOTEOppenheimer201527-17) Kennedy learned of his father's shooting when he was at [Georgetown Preparatory School](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Georgetown_Preparatory_School "Georgetown Preparatory School"), a [Jesuit](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Society_of_Jesus "Society of Jesus") boarding school in North Bethesda, Maryland.[\[18\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-18) A few hours later, he flew to Los Angeles on Vice President [Hubert Humphrey](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hubert_Humphrey "Hubert Humphrey")'s plane, along with his elder sister [Kathleen](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Kathleen_Kennedy_Townsend "Kathleen Kennedy Townsend") and elder brother [Joseph](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Joseph_P._Kennedy_II "Joseph P. Kennedy II"), and was with his father when he died. Kennedy was a pallbearer in his father's funeral, where he spoke and read excerpts from his father's speeches at the [Mass](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Catholic_Mass "Catholic Mass") commemorating his death at [Arlington National Cemetery](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Arlington_National_Cemetery "Arlington National Cemetery").[\[19\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-19)[\[20\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-20) After his father's death, Kennedy lived with a surrogate family in [Cambridge, Massachusetts](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cambridge,_Massachusetts "Cambridge, Massachusetts").[\[21\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-21) Kennedy was expelled from two boarding schools—[Millbrook](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Millbrook_School "Millbrook School") in [upstate New York](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Upstate_New_York "Upstate New York") and [Pomfret](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pomfret_School "Pomfret School") in [Connecticut](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pomfret,_Connecticut "Pomfret, Connecticut")—for using drugs.[\[22\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-22) In August 1970, Kennedy and his cousin [Bobby Shriver](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bobby_Shriver "Bobby Shriver") were arrested in [Barnstable, Massachusetts](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Barnstable,_Massachusetts "Barnstable, Massachusetts"), for marijuana possession and were placed on 13 months' probation.[\[23\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-23)[\[24\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-24) He graduated from the Palfrey Street School, a day school in [Watertown, Massachusetts](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Watertown,_Massachusetts "Watertown, Massachusetts"), in 1972.[\[25\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-FOOTNOTEOppenheimer2015144-25) Kennedy continued his education at [Harvard University](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Harvard_University "Harvard University"), graduating in 1976 with a [Bachelor of Arts](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bachelor_of_Arts "Bachelor of Arts") in American history and literature. He then studied at the [London School of Economics](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/London_School_of_Economics "London School of Economics") before earning a [Juris Doctor](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Juris_Doctor "Juris Doctor") degree from the [University of Virginia School of Law](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/University_of_Virginia_School_of_Law "University of Virginia School of Law") in 1982,[\[26\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-26) and a [Master of Laws](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Master_of_Laws "Master of Laws") from [Pace University](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pace_University_School_of_Law "Pace University School of Law") in 1987.[\[27\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-27) ## Career In 1982, Kennedy was sworn in as an assistant district attorney for Manhattan.[\[7\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-KW-7) After failing his bar exam, he resigned in July 1983.[\[28\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-UPI1989-28) That September, he was charged with heroin possession,[\[28\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-UPI1989-28) and pleaded guilty in February 1984, whereupon he was sentenced to two years' probation and community service.[\[29\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-heroin-29)[\[30\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-living-dangerously-30) Following his arrest he entered a drug treatment center and during his probation volunteered for the [Natural Resources Defense Council](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Natural_Resources_Defense_Council "Natural Resources Defense Council"). His probation ended a year early.[\[31\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-QuietVictory-31) In 1984, Kennedy joined Riverkeeper as an investigator, and when he was admitted to the New York bar in 1985, he was promoted to senior attorney.[\[32\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto4-32)[\[31\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-QuietVictory-31) ### Riverkeeper Kennedy litigated and supervised environmental enforcement lawsuits on the east coast estuaries on behalf of Hudson Riverkeeper and the [Long Island Soundkeeper](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Soundkeeper "Soundkeeper"),[\[33\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-33) where he was also a board member. Long Island Soundkeeper brought lawsuits against cities and industries along the Connecticut and New York coastlines.[\[34\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-34) In 1986, Kennedy was on a team of three law firms that won a case against Remington Arms Trap and Skeet Gun Club in [Stratford, Connecticut](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Stratford,_Connecticut "Stratford, Connecticut"), that ended the practice of shooting lead shot into [Long Island Sound](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Long_Island_Sound "Long Island Sound").[\[35\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-35) On the Hudson, Kennedy brought a series of lawsuits against municipalities and against industries, including [Consolidated Edison](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Consolidated_Edison "Consolidated Edison") and [General Electric](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/General_Electric "General Electric") to stop discharging pollution and to clean up legacy contamination.[\[36\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-:2-36) Kennedy’s work at Riverkeeper set long-term environmental legal standards.[\[37\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-:22-37) In 1995, Kennedy advocated for repeal of legislation during the 104th Congress which he considered unfriendly to the environment.[\[38\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto-38) In 1997, Kennedy worked with John Cronin to write _[The Riverkeepers](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Riverkeepers "The Riverkeepers")_, a history of the early Riverkeepers and a primer for the Waterkeeper movement.[\[32\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto4-32) ### Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic In 1987, Kennedy founded the Environmental Litigation Clinic at Pace University School of Law, where for three decades he was the clinic's supervising attorney and co-director and Clinical Professor of Law.[\[39\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-39) Kennedy obtained a special order from the New York State Court of Appeals that permitted his 10 clinic students–second- and third-year law students–to practice law and to try cases against Hudson River polluters in state and federal court, under the supervision of Kennedy and his co-director, Professor Karl Coplan. The clinic's full-time clients are Riverkeeper and Long Island Soundkeeper.[\[40\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-oregon-40) The clinic has sued governments and companies for polluting Long Island Sound and the Hudson River and its tributaries.[\[41\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-41) The clinic argued cases to expand citizen access to the shoreline and won hundreds of settlements for the Hudson Riverkeeper.[\[42\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-42) Kennedy and his students also sued dozens of municipal waste-water treatment plants to force compliance with the [Clean Water Act](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Clean_Water_Act "Clean Water Act").[\[40\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-oregon-40) In 2010, a Pace lawsuit forced [ExxonMobil](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ExxonMobil "ExxonMobil") to clean up tens of millions of gallons of oil from legacy refinery spills in Newtown Creek in Brooklyn, New York.[\[43\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-43) On April 11, 2001, _[Men's Journal](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Men's_Journal "Men's Journal")_ recognized Kennedy with its "Heroes" Award for his creation of the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic.[\[44\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-44) Kennedy and his Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic received other awards for successful legal work cleaning up the environment.[\[45\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-45) The Pace Clinic became a model for similar environmental law clinics throughout the country including Rutgers,[\[46\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-46) Golden Gate, UCLA,[\[47\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-47) Widener,[\[48\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-48) and Boalt Hall at Berkeley.[\[49\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-49) ### Waterkeeper Alliance In June 1999, as Riverkeeper's success on the Hudson began inspiring the creation of Waterkeepers across North America, Kennedy and a few dozen Riverkeepers gathered in Southampton, Long Island, to found the Waterkeeper Alliance, which is now the umbrella group for the 344 licensed Waterkeeper programs[\[50\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-50) located in 44 countries.[\[51\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-51) As President of the Alliance, Kennedy oversees its legal, membership, policy and fundraising programs. The Alliance states that it is dedicated to promoting "swimmable, fishable, drinkable waterways, worldwide",[\[52\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-52) and is also a clearinghouse, approving new Keeper programs and licensing use of the trademarked "Waterkeeper", "Riverkeeper", "Soundkeeper", "Lakekeeper", "Baykeeper", "Bayoukeeper", "Canalkeeper", "Coastkeeper", etc. names.[\[53\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-53) Kennedy and his environmental work have been the focus of several films including _The Waterkeepers_ (2000),[\[54\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-54) directed by [Les Guthman](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Les_Guthman "Les Guthman"). In 2008, he appeared in the [IMAX](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/IMAX "IMAX") documentary film _[Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Grand_Canyon_Adventure:_River_at_Risk "Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk")_, riding the [Grand Canyon](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Grand_Canyon "Grand Canyon") in a wooden dory with his daughter Kick and anthropologist [Wade Davis](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Wade_Davis_(anthropologist) "Wade Davis (anthropologist)").[\[55\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-55) Kennedy resigned from Waterkeeper Alliance presidency in November 2020.[\[56\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-56) ### New York City Watershed Agreement Beginning in 1991, Kennedy represented environmentalists and New York City watershed consumers in a series of lawsuits against New York City and upstate watershed polluters. Kennedy authored a series of articles and reports[\[57\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-watershed-57)[\[58\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-58)[\[59\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-59)[\[60\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-60) alleging that New York State was abdicating its responsibility to protect the water repository and supply. In 1996, he helped orchestrate the $1.2 billion New York City Watershed Agreement, which _[New York](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/New_York_(magazine) "New York (magazine)")_ magazine recognized in its cover story, "The Kennedy Who Matters".[\[61\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-61) This agreement, which Kennedy negotiated on behalf of environmentalists and New York City watershed consumers, is regarded as an international model in stakeholder consensus negotiations and sustainable development.[\[62\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-62) ### Kennedy & Madonna LLP [](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/File:R.F.K._jr_2000.jpg) Kennedy in 2000 In 2000, Kennedy and environmental lawyer Kevin Madonna founded the [environmental law](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Environmental_law "Environmental law") firm Kennedy & Madonna, LLP, to represent private [plaintiffs](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Plaintiffs "Plaintiffs") against polluters.[\[63\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-KandMTeam-63) The firm litigates environmental contamination cases on behalf of individuals, non-profit organizations, school districts, public water suppliers, Indian tribes, municipalities and states. In 2001, Kennedy & Madonna organized a team of prestigious plaintiff law firms to challenge pollution from industrial pork and poultry production.[\[64\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-64) In 2004, the firm was part of a legal team that secured a $70 million settlement for property owners in Pensacola, Florida whose properties were contaminated by chemicals from an adjacent [Superfund](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Superfund "Superfund") site.[\[65\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-65) Kennedy & Madonna was profiled in the 2010 HBO documentary _Mann v. Ford_[\[66\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-66) that chronicles four years of litigation brought by the firm on behalf of the [Ramapough Mountain Indian Tribe](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ramapough_Mountain_Indians "Ramapough Mountain Indians") against the [Ford Motor Company](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ford_Motor_Company "Ford Motor Company") over the dumping of toxic waste on tribal lands in northern New Jersey.[\[67\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-67) In addition to a monetary settlement for the tribe, the lawsuit contributed to the community's land being re-listed on the federal Superfund list, the first time in the nation's history that a de-listed site was re-listed.[\[68\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-68) In 2007 Kennedy was one of three finalists nominated as "Trial Lawyer of the Year" by Public Justice for his role in the $396 million jury verdict against [DuPont](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/DuPont "DuPont") for contamination from its [Spelter, West Virginia](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Spelter,_West_Virginia "Spelter, West Virginia") zinc plant.[\[69\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-69) In 2017, the firm was part of the trial team that secured a $670 million settlement on behalf of over 3,000 residents from Ohio and West Virginia whose drinking water was contaminated with the toxic chemical, [C8](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/PFOA "PFOA"), which was released into the environment by [DuPont](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/DuPont "DuPont") in [Parkersburg](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Parkersburg "Parkersburg"), West Virginia.[\[70\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-70) ### Morgan & Morgan In 2016, Kennedy became counsel to the [Morgan & Morgan](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Morgan_&_Morgan "Morgan & Morgan") law firm.[\[71\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-71) The partnership arose from the two firms' successful collaboration on the case against SoCalGas Company following the [Aliso Canyon gas leak](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Aliso_Canyon_gas_leak "Aliso Canyon gas leak") in California.[\[72\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-72) In 2017, Kennedy and his partners sued Monsanto in federal court in San Francisco, on behalf of plaintiffs seeking to recover damages for [non-Hodgkin's lymphoma](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Non-Hodgkin's_lymphoma "Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma"), that, the plaintiffs allege, were a result of exposure to Monsanto's [glyphosate](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Glyphosate "Glyphosate")\-based herbicide, [Roundup](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Roundup_(herbicide) "Roundup (herbicide)"). Kennedy and his team also filed a class action lawsuit against [Monsanto](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Monsanto "Monsanto") for failing to warn consumers about the dangers allegedly posed by exposure to Roundup.[\[73\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-73) In September 2018, Kennedy and his partners filed a class-action lawsuit against [Columbia Gas of Massachusetts](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Columbia_Gas_of_Massachusetts "Columbia Gas of Massachusetts") alleging negligence following [gas explosions](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Merrimack_Valley_gas_explosions "Merrimack Valley gas explosions") in three towns north of Boston. Of Columbia Gas, Kennedy said "as they build new miles of pipe, the same company is ignoring its existing infrastructure, which we now know is eroding and is dilapidated".[\[74\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-74) ### Renewable energy In 1998, Kennedy, Chris Bartle and John Hoving created a [bottled-water](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bottled_water "Bottled water") company, Keeper Springs, which donated all of its profits to Waterkeeper Alliance.[\[75\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-75) In 2013, Kennedy and his partner sold the brand to [Nestlé](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Nestl%C3%A9 "Nestlé") in exchange for a donation to local Waterkeepers.[\[76\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-76) Kennedy was a venture partner and senior advisor at VantagePoint Capital Partners, one of the world's largest [cleantech](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Clean_technology "Clean technology") [venture capital](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Venture_capital "Venture capital") firms. Among other activities, VantagePoint was the original and largest pre-[IPO](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/IPO "IPO") institutional investor in [Tesla](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Tesla,_Inc. "Tesla, Inc."). VantagePoint also backed BrightSource Energy and Solazyme, amongst others. Kennedy is a board member and counselor to several of Vantage Point's portfolio companies in the water and energy space, including Ostara, a Vancouver-based company that markets the technology to remove [phosphorus](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Phosphorus "Phosphorus") and other excessive nutrients from [wastewater](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Wastewater "Wastewater"), transforming otherwise pollution directly into high-grade fertilizer.[\[77\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-77) He is also a senior advisor to Starwood Energy Group and has played a key role in a number of the firm's investments.[\[78\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-78) He is on the board of Vionx, a [Massachusetts](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Massachusetts "Massachusetts")\-based utility scale [vanadium flow battery](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vanadium_flow_battery "Vanadium flow battery") systems manufacturer. On October 5, 2017, Vionx, [National Grid](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/National_Grid_plc "National Grid plc") and the [U.S. Department of Energy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/U.S._Department_of_Energy "U.S. Department of Energy") completed the installation of advanced flow batteries at [Holy Name High School](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Holy_Name_Central_Catholic_High_School "Holy Name Central Catholic High School") in the city of [Worcester, Massachusetts](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Worcester,_Massachusetts "Worcester, Massachusetts"). The collaboration also includes [Siemens](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Siemens "Siemens") and the [United Technologies](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/United_Technologies "United Technologies") Research Center and constitutes one of the largest energy storage facilities in Massachusetts.[\[79\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-79) Kennedy is a Partner in ColorZen, which offers a turnkey cotton fiber pre-treatment solution that reduces water usage and toxic discharges in the cotton dyeing process.[\[80\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-80) Kennedy was a co-owner and Director of the [smart grid](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Smart_grid "Smart grid") company Utility Integration Solutions (UISol),[\[81\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-81) which was acquired by [Alstom](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Alstom "Alstom"). He is presently a co-owner and Director of GridBright, the market-leading grid management specialist.[\[82\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-82) In October 2011, Kennedy co-founded _EcoWatch_, an environmental news site. He resigned from its board of directors in January 2018.[\[83\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-83) ### Minority and poor communities In his first case as an environmental attorney, Kennedy represented the [NAACP](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/NAACP "NAACP") in a lawsuit against a proposal to build a garbage transfer station in a minority neighborhood in [Ossining, New York](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ossining,_New_York_(village) "Ossining, New York (village)").[\[84\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-84) In 1987, he successfully sued [Westchester County](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Westchester_County,_New_York "Westchester County, New York"), New York, to reopen the [Croton Point Park](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Croton_Point_Park "Croton Point Park"), which was heavily used primarily by poor and minority communities from [the Bronx](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Bronx "The Bronx").[\[85\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-85) He then forced the reopening of the [Pelham Bay Park](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pelham_Bay_Park "Pelham Bay Park") in the Bronx, which New York City had closed to the public and converted to a police firing range.[\[32\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto4-32) Kennedy has argued that poor communities shoulder the disproportionate burden of environmental pollution.[\[86\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-86) Speaking at the 2016 [SXSW](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/South_by_Southwest "South by Southwest") Eco environment conference in [Austin, Texas](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Austin,_Texas "Austin, Texas"), he said, "Polluters always choose the soft target of poverty", noting that Chicago's [south side](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/South_Side,_Chicago "South Side, Chicago") has the highest concentration of toxic waste dumps in America.[\[87\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-87) Furthermore, he added that 80 percent of "uncontrolled toxic waste dumps" can be found in black neighborhoods, with the largest site in the United States being in [Emelle, Alabama](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Emelle,_Alabama "Emelle, Alabama"), which is 90 percent black.[\[88\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-88) ### International and indigenous rights Starting in 1985, Kennedy helped develop the [Natural Resources Defense Council](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Natural_Resources_Defense_Council "Natural Resources Defense Council") (NRDC)'s international program for environmental, energy, and human rights, traveling to Canada and Latin America to assist indigenous tribes in protecting their homelands and opposing large-scale energy and extractive projects in remote wilderness areas.[\[89\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-89) In 1990, Kennedy assisted indigenous [Pehuenches](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pehuenche "Pehuenche") in Chile in a partially successful campaign to stop the construction of a series of dams on Chile's iconic [Biobío River](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Biob%C3%ADo_River "Biobío River"). That campaign derailed all but one of the proposed dams.[\[90\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-90) Beginning in 1992, he assisted the [Cree](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cree "Cree") Indians of northern Quebec in their campaign against [Hydro-Québec](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hydro-Qu%C3%A9bec "Hydro-Québec") to halt construction of some 600 proposed dams on eleven rivers in [James Bay](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/James_Bay "James Bay").[\[91\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-91) In 1993, Kennedy and NRDC, working with the indigenous rights organization [Cultural Survival](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cultural_Survival "Cultural Survival"), clashed with other American environmental groups in a dispute about the rights of Indians to govern their own lands in the [Oriente](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Oriente_(Ecuador) "Oriente (Ecuador)") region of Ecuador.[\[92\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto6-92) Kennedy represented the [CONFENIAE](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/CONFENIAE "CONFENIAE"), a confederation of Indian peoples, in negotiation with the American oil company [Conoco](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Conoco "Conoco") to limit oil development in Ecuadorian Amazon and, at the same time, obtain benefits from resource extraction for Amazonian tribes.[\[92\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto6-92) Kennedy was a vocal critic of [Texaco](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Texaco "Texaco") for its previous record for polluting the Ecuadoran Amazon.[\[93\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-93) From 1993 to 1999, Kennedy worked with five [Vancouver Island](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vancouver_Island "Vancouver Island") Indian tribes in their campaign to end industrial logging by [MacMillan Bloedel](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/MacMillan_Bloedel "MacMillan Bloedel") in [Clayoquot Sound](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Clayoquot_Sound "Clayoquot Sound"), British Columbia.[\[94\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-94) In 1996, Kennedy met with Cuban President [Fidel Castro](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Fidel_Castro "Fidel Castro") to persuade the leader to halt his plans to construct a nuclear power plant at [Juraguá](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Juragu%C3%A1 "Juraguá").[\[95\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-95) During a lengthy latenight encounter, Castro reminisced about Kennedy's father and uncle, speculating that U.S. relations with Cuba would have been far better had President Kennedy not been assassinated.[\[96\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-96) Between 1996 and 2000, Kennedy and NRDC helped Mexican commercial fishermen to halt [Mitsubishi](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mitsubishi "Mitsubishi")'s proposal to build a salt facility in the [Laguna San Ignacio](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Laguna_San_Ignacio "Laguna San Ignacio"), a known area in Baja where [gray whales](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Gray_whale "Gray whale") bred, and nursed their calves.[\[97\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-97) Kennedy wrote against the project, and took the campaign to Japan, meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister [Keizo Obuchi](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Keizo_Obuchi "Keizo Obuchi").[\[98\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-98) In 2000, he assisted local environmental activists to stop proposals by Chaffin Light, a real estate developer, and U.S. engineering giant [Bechtel](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bechtel "Bechtel") from building a large hotel and resort development that, Kennedy argued, threatened [coral reefs](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Coral_reef "Coral reef") and public beaches used by local Bahamians, at Clifton Bay, [New Providence](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/New_Providence "New Providence") Island.[\[99\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-99) Kennedy was one of the early editors of _[Indian Country Today](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Indian_Country_Today "Indian Country Today")_, North America's largest [Native American](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas "Indigenous peoples of the Americas") newspaper.[\[100\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-100) He helped lead the opposition to the damming of the [Futaleufú River](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Futaleuf%C3%BA_River "Futaleufú River") in the [Patagonia](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Patagonia "Patagonia") region of Chile.[\[101\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-101) In 2016, citing the pressure precipitated by the Futaleufú Riverkeeper's campaign against the dams, the Spanish power company, [Endesa](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Endesa "Endesa"), which owned the right to dam the river, reversed its decision and relinquished all claims to the Futaleufú.[\[102\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-102) ### Military and Vieques Kennedy has been a critic of environmental damage by the U.S. military.[\[103\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-103)[\[104\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-104) In a 2001 article, Kennedy described how he sued the [U.S. Navy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/U.S._Navy "U.S. Navy") on behalf of fishermen and residents of [Vieques](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vieques "Vieques"), an island off [Puerto Rico](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Puerto_Rico "Puerto Rico"), to stop weapons testing, bombing, and other military exercises. Kennedy argued that the activities were unnecessary, and that the Navy had illegally destroyed several endangered species, polluted the island's waters, harmed the residents' health, and damaged its economy.[\[105\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-vieques-105) He was arrested for trespassing at [Camp Garcia Vieques](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Camp_Garcia_Vieques "Camp Garcia Vieques"), the [U.S. Navy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/U.S._Navy "U.S. Navy") training facility, where he and others were protesting the use of a section of the island for training. Kennedy served 30 days in a maximum security prison in Puerto Rico.[\[106\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-106) The trespassing incident forced the suspension of [live-fire exercises](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Live-fire_exercise "Live-fire exercise") for almost three hours.[\[107\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-107) The lawsuits and protests by Kennedy, and hundreds of Puerto Ricans who were also imprisoned, eventually forced the termination of naval bombing in Vieques by president George Bush.[\[108\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-108) In a 2003 article for the _[Chicago Tribune](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Chicago_Tribune "Chicago Tribune")_, Kennedy said the U.S. federal government was "America's biggest polluter" and the [U.S. Department of Defense](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/U.S._Department_of_Defense "U.S. Department of Defense") as the worst offender. Citing the [EPA](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Environmental_Protection_Agency "Environmental Protection Agency"), he said, "unexploded ordnance waste can be found on 16,000 military ranges...and more than half may contain biological or chemical weapons".[\[109\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-109) ### Factory farms For almost twenty years, Kennedy and his Waterkeepers waged a legal and public relations battle against pollution by factory farms. In the 1990s, he rallied opposition to factory farms among small independent farmers, convened a series of "National Summits" on factory meat products, and conducted press conference whistle stop tours across North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio and in Washington DC. Beginning in 2000, Kennedy sued factory farms in North Carolina, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Iowa.[\[110\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-porkchop-110) He wrote numerous articles on the subject, arguing that factory farms produce lower-quality, less healthy food, and are harmful to independent family farmers by poisoning their air and water, reducing their property values, and using extensive state and federal subsidies to impose unfair competition against smaller farmers.[\[111\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-111) In 1995, Premier [Ralph Klein](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ralph_Klein "Ralph Klein") of Alberta declared Kennedy persona non grata in the province due to Kennedy's activism against Alberta's large-scale hog production facilities.[\[112\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-112) In 2002, [Smithfield Foods](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Smithfield_Foods "Smithfield Foods") filed a lawsuit against Kennedy in Poland, under a Polish law that makes criticizing a corporation illegal, after Kennedy denounced the company in a debate with Smithfield's Polish director before the Polish parliament.[\[110\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-porkchop-110) ### Oil, gas, and pipelines Kennedy has been an advocate for a global transition away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy.[\[113\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-113)[\[114\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-114) He has been particularly critical of the oil industry. In one of his first environmental cases, Kennedy filed a lawsuit against [Mobil Oil](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mobil_Oil "Mobil Oil") for polluting the Hudson.[\[32\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto4-32) Kennedy helped lead the battle against fracking in New York State.[\[115\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-115) He had been an early supporter of natural gas as viable bridge fuel to renewables, and a cleaner alternative to coal.[\[116\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-116) However, he said he turned against this controversial extraction method after investigating its cost to public health, climate and road infrastructure.[\[117\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-117) As a member of Governor [Andrew Cuomo](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Andrew_Cuomo "Andrew Cuomo")'s fracking commission, Kennedy helped engineer the Governor's 2013 ban on fracking in New York State.[\[118\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-118) Kennedy mounted a national effort against the construction of liquefied natural gas facilities.[\[119\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-119) Waterkeepers maintains a national watch that documents numerous crude oil spills annually. In 2013, Kennedy assisted the [Chipewyan](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Chipewyan "Chipewyan") First Nation and the [Beaver Lake Cree](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Beaver_Lake_Cree_Nation "Beaver Lake Cree Nation") fighting to protect their land from [tar sands](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Oil_sands "Oil sands") production.[\[120\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-macleans-120) In February 2013, while protesting the [Keystone XL Pipeline](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Keystone_XL_Pipeline "Keystone XL Pipeline") Kennedy, along with his son, Conor, was arrested for blocking a thoroughfare in front of the White House during a protest.[\[121\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-121) In August 2016, Kennedy and Waterkeeper participated in protests to block the extension of the [Dakota Access pipeline](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dakota_Access_pipeline "Dakota Access pipeline") across the [Sioux](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Sioux "Sioux") Indian [Standing Rock Reservation](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Standing_Rock_Reservation "Standing Rock Reservation")'s water supply.[\[122\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-122) Kennedy claims that the only reason the oil industry is able to remain competitive against renewables and electric cars is through massive direct and indirect subsidies and political interventions on behalf of the oil industry. In a June 2017 interview on _EnviroNews_, Kennedy said about the oil industry, "That's what their strategy is: build as many miles of pipeline as possible. And what the industry is trying to do is to increase that level of infrastructure investment so our country won't be able to walk away from it.[\[123\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-123) ### Coal Under Kennedy's leadership, Waterkeeper launched its "Clean Coal is a Deadly Lie"[\[124\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-124) campaign in 2001, bringing dozens of lawsuits targeting mining practices, which include [mountaintop removal](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mountaintop_removal "Mountaintop removal"),[\[125\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-125) [slurry](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Slurry "Slurry") pond construction, and targeting mercury emissions and [coal ash](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Coal_ash "Coal ash") piles by coal-burning utilities.[\[126\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-126) Kennedy's Waterkeeper alliance has also been leading the fight against coal export, including from terminals in the Pacific Northwest.[\[127\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-127) Kennedy has promoted replacing coal energy with renewable energy, which, he argues, would thereby reduce costs and greenhouse gases while improving air and water quality, the health of the citizens, and the number and quality of jobs.[\[128\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-128) In June 2011, film producer Bill Haney televised his award-winning film _[The Last Mountain](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Last_Mountain "The Last Mountain")_, co-written by Haney and Peter Rhodes, depicting Kennedy's fight to stop [Appalachian](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Appalachian_Mountains "Appalachian Mountains") mountaintop removal mining.[\[129\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-129) ### Nuclear power Kennedy has been an opponent of conventional nuclear power, arguing that it is unsafe and not economically competitive.[\[130\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-130)[\[131\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-131) On June 15, 1981, he made international news when he spoke at an anti-nuclear rally at the [Hollywood Bowl](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hollywood_Bowl "Hollywood Bowl"), with [Stephen Stills](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Stephen_Stills "Stephen Stills"), [Bonnie Raitt](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bonnie_Raitt "Bonnie Raitt") and [Jackson Browne](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Jackson_Browne "Jackson Browne").[\[132\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-132) His 34-year battle to close [Indian Point](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Indian_Point_Energy_Center "Indian Point Energy Center") nuclear power plant in New York ended when [Entergy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Entergy "Entergy"), the plant's operator, closed the plant in 2021.[\[133\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-133) Kennedy was featured in a 2004 documentary, _Indian Point: Imagining the Unimaginable_, directed by his sister, documentary filmmaker [Rory Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Rory_Kennedy "Rory Kennedy").[\[134\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-134) ### Hydro In 1991, Kennedy helped lead a campaign to block [Hydro-Québec](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hydro-Qu%C3%A9bec "Hydro-Québec") from building the James Bay Hydro-project, a massive dam project in northern Quebec.[\[135\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-135) His campaigns helped block dams on Chile's [Biobío River](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Biob%C3%ADo_River "Biobío River") in 1990[\[136\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-136) and its [Futaleufú River](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Futaleuf%C3%BA_River "Futaleufú River") in 2016. In 2002, he mounted what was ultimately an unsuccessful battle against building a dam on [Belize](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Belize "Belize")'s [Macal River](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Macal_River "Macal River"). Kennedy termed the [Chalillo Dam](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Chalillo_Dam "Chalillo Dam") a [boondoggle](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Boondoggle "Boondoggle") and brought a high-profile legal challenge against [Fortis Inc.](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Fortis_Inc. "Fortis Inc."), a Canadian power company and the monopoly owner of Belize's electric utility.[\[137\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto7-137) In a 3–2 ruling in 2003, the [Privy Council of the United Kingdom](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Privy_Council_of_the_United_Kingdom "Privy Council of the United Kingdom") upheld the Belizean government's decision to permit dam construction.[\[137\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto7-137)[\[138\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-138)[\[139\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-139) In 2004, Kennedy met with provincial officials and brought foreign media and political visitors to Canada to protest the building of [hydroelectric](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hydroelectric "Hydroelectric") dams on Quebec's [Magpie River](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Magpie_River_(Quebec) "Magpie River (Quebec)").[\[140\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-140) Hydro-Québec dropped plans for the dam in 2017.[\[141\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-141) In November 2017, the Spanish hydroelectric syndicate [Endesa](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Endesa "Endesa") decided to abandon [HydroAysen](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/HydroAysen "HydroAysen"), a massive project to construct dams on dozens of [Patagonia](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Patagonia "Patagonia")'s rivers accompanied by thousands of miles of roads, power lines and other infrastructure. Endesa returned its [water rights](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Water_right "Water right") to the Chilean government. The Chilean press credits advocacy by Kennedy and Riverkeeper as critical factors in the company's decision.[\[142\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-142) ### Cape Wind In 2005, Kennedy clashed with national environmental groups over his opposition to the Cape Wind Project, a proposed [offshore wind farm](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Offshore_wind_farm "Offshore wind farm") off of the coast of [Cape Cod](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cape_Cod "Cape Cod") in [Nantucket Sound](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Nantucket_Sound "Nantucket Sound"). Taking the side of Cape Cod's commercial fishing industry, Kennedy argued that the project was a costly boondoggle. This position angered some environmentalists, and brought Kennedy criticism by commentators such as [Rush Limbaugh](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Rush_Limbaugh "Rush Limbaugh") and [John Stossel](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/John_Stossel "John Stossel"), the latter of which described him as a hypocrite.[\[143\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-143)^{[<i><a href="https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Wikipedia:NOTRS" title="Wikipedia:NOTRS"><span>better<span>&nbsp;</span>source<span>&nbsp;</span>needed</span></a></i>]} Kennedy argued in an opinion piece in _[The Wall Street Journal](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Wall_Street_Journal "The Wall Street Journal")_, "Vermont wants to take [its nuclear plant](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vermont_Yankee_Nuclear_Power_Plant "Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant") off line and replace it with clean, green power from Hydro-Québec – power available to [Massachusetts utilities](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Massachusetts_Department_of_Public_Utilities "Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities") – at a cost of six cents per kilowatt hour (kwh). Cape Wind electricity, by a conservative estimate and based on figures they filed with the state, comes in at 25 cents per kwh."[\[144\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-144) ## Political views Kennedy's political rhetoric often uses [conspiracy theories](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Conspiracy_theory "Conspiracy theory").[\[145\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-145)[\[146\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-146)[\[147\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-147) He expressed skepticism about the [COVID-19 pandemic](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_States "COVID-19 pandemic in the United States"), contending that it served to benefit billionaires; according to Kennedy, the pandemic resulted in a "$4.4 trillion shift in wealth from the American middle class to this new oligarchy that we created – 500 new billionaires with the lockdowns, and the billionaires that we already had increased their wealth by 30%". Kennedy has also stated that the American government is dominated by [corporate power](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Corporate_power "Corporate power"); he said the [Environmental Protection Agency](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Environmental_Protection_Agency "Environmental Protection Agency") was run by the "[oil industry](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Oil_industry "Oil industry"), the [coal industry](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Coal_industry "Coal industry") and the [pesticide industry](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pesticide "Pesticide")", and described the [Food and Drug Administration](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Food_and_Drug_Administration "Food and Drug Administration") as overly dominated by "[Big Pharma](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Big_Pharma_conspiracy_theories "Big Pharma conspiracy theories")".[\[148\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-unherd1-148) Additionally, he has stated his belief that "systematic" [erosion of the middle class](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Middle-class_squeeze "Middle-class squeeze") is taking place, remarking in a 2023 interview with [UnHerd](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/UnHerd "UnHerd") that American politicians have "been systematically hollowing out the American middle class, and printing money to make billionaires richer". He stated that the [financial industry](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Financial_services "Financial services") and the [military–industrial complex](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Military%E2%80%93industrial_complex "Military–industrial complex") are funded at the expense of the American [middle class](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Middle_class "Middle class").[\[148\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-unherd1-148) Kennedy sees a "vibrant middle class" as the backbone of the economy and stated that the economy has deteriorated because the middle class has become poorer.[\[149\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-hill1-149) In an interview with [Andrew Serwer](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Andrew_Serwer "Andrew Serwer"), Kennedy remarked that the gap between rich and poor in the United States had become too great and said, "the very wealthy people should pay more taxes and corporations". He also expressed his support for the wealth tax plan of [Massachusetts senator](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/List_of_United_States_senators_from_Massachusetts "List of United States senators from Massachusetts") [Elizabeth Warren](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Elizabeth_Warren "Elizabeth Warren"), which would impose an annual tax of 2% on every dollar of a household's net worth over $50 million and a tax of 6% on every dollar of net worth over $1 billion.[\[150\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-yahoo1-150) An outspoken opponent of the military industry and foreign intervention, Kennedy was highly critical of the [Iraq War](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Iraq_War "Iraq War") as well as American support for Ukraine against [Russia's invasion of the country](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine "Russian invasion of Ukraine"). He called the Russian invasion "a US war against Russia" and claimed that the goal of the war was to "sacrifice the flower of Ukrainian youth in an abattoir of death and destruction for the geopolitical ambition of the [neocons](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Neoconservatism "Neoconservatism")".[\[148\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-unherd1-148) He called for a peace agreement in Ukraine based on the [Minsk Accords](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Minsk_agreements "Minsk agreements") – in his view, the [Donbas region](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Donbas_region "Donbas region") should remain in Ukraine but also be given territorial autonomy and placed under the jurisdiction of [United Nations](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/United_Nations "United Nations") [peacekeeping](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Peacekeeping "Peacekeeping") forces, while [Aegis missile systems](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Aegis_Ballistic_Missile_Defense_System "Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System") should be removed from Eastern Europe.[\[151\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-moddip1-151) Kennedy also said Ukraine should be [forbidden from joining NATO](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ukraine%E2%80%93NATO_relations#Russian_opposition_to_Ukrainian_NATO_membership "Ukraine–NATO relations"), and announced that as president he would consider admitting Russia to NATO and de-escalating tensions with the [People's Republic of China](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/People's_Republic_of_China "People's Republic of China").[\[148\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-unherd1-148)[\[151\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-moddip1-151) Further, he claimed that the 2014 [Ukrainian revolution](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Revolution_of_Dignity "Revolution of Dignity") was an [attempted coup](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Coup_d'%C3%A9tat "Coup d'état") sponsored by the U.S. against the Ukrainian government. Kennedy also said the Ukrainian government [committed atrocities](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Disinformation_in_the_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine#Allegations_of_%22genocide%22_in_Donbas "Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine") against the Russian population in Donbas, wrongly claiming that all casualties of the [Donbas War](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Donbas_War "Donbas War") between 2014 and 2022 (about 14,000) were Russian civilians; he also stated that Russians living there "were being systematically killed by the Ukrainian government".[\[152\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-unherd1_quote4-152) Kennedy attacked the operations of former CIA director [Allen Dulles](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Allen_Dulles "Allen Dulles"), condemning US-backed coups and interventions such as the [1953 Iranian coup d'état](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/1953_Iranian_coup_d'%C3%A9tat "1953 Iranian coup d'état") as "bloodthirsty", and blamed US interventions in countries such as Syria and Iran for the rise of terrorist organizations such as ISIS and creating [anti-American sentiment](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Anti-American_sentiment "Anti-American sentiment") in the region.[\[153\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-politic1-153) Kennedy stated that the CIA has no accountability and declared his intention to restructure the agency.[\[148\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-unherd1-148) Describing himself as "arguably the leading environmentalist in the country",[\[154\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-unherd1_quote1-154) Kennedy promotes populist and [anti-establishment](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Anti-establishment "Anti-establishment") environmental policies, claiming that the [climate crisis](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Climate_crisis "Climate crisis") was hijacked by "[Bill Gates](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bill_Gates "Bill Gates") and the [World Economic Forum](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/World_Economic_Forum "World Economic Forum") and the billionaire boys' club in Davos". In an interview in 2015, referring to politicians who were skeptical of global warming Kennedy said he "wished there were a law you could punish them under".[\[155\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-155)[\[156\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-156) Kennedy expressed his support for [regenerative farming](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Regenerative_farming "Regenerative farming") and stated that the priority of environmentalists should be to tackle the "carbon industry". He described the current society and economy as unsustainable and based on a "longtime deadly addiction to coal and oil" and contended that the current economic system rewards pollution; in 2020, Kennedy stated: "Right now, we have a market that is governed by rules that were written by the carbon incumbents to reward the dirtiest, filthiest, most poisonous, most toxic, most war-mongering fields from hell, rather than the cheap, clean, green, wholesome and patriotic fields from heaven."[\[157\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-yahoo2_quote1-157)[\[158\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-irishcentral1-158)[\[159\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-desmog1-159) He also stated his support for the [Green New Deal](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Recognizing_the_duty_of_the_Federal_Government_to_create_a_Green_New_Deal "Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal") resolution of [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez"), and announced his plans to implement it.[\[160\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-yahoo2-160) Kennedy spoke out against [geoengineering](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Geoengineering "Geoengineering"), claiming that geoengineering solutions are an attempt by big business to profit from climate change. Despite his reputation as environmentalist, he voiced his support for [agrarian](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Agrarianism "Agrarianism") movements, saying in 2023: "If we want to have democracy, we need a broad ownership of our land by a wide variety of yeoman farmers, each with a stake in our system."[\[161\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-unherd1_quote2-161) He is also against [nuclear energy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Nuclear_power "Nuclear power"), considering it too expensive and too unsafe. Kennedy believes that nuclear energy is a profit-making venture and claims that this solution is promoted by corporate lobbyists rather than environmental activists, stating in a 2023 interview, "it's not hippies in tie-dyed T-shirts who are saying it's dangerous; it's guys on Wall Street with suits and ties".[\[148\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-unherd1-148) [](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/File:RfkjrOCT2017.jpg) Kennedy in 2017 ### Views on economic and financial policies Throughout the [presidency of George W. Bush](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Presidency_of_George_W._Bush "Presidency of George W. Bush"), Kennedy was critical of Bush's environmental and energy policies, saying Bush was defunding and corrupting federal science projects.[\[162\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-162) Kennedy was also critical of Bush's 2003 [hydrogen car](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hydrogen_vehicle "Hydrogen vehicle") initiative,[\[163\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-163) arguing that it was a gift to the fossil fuel industry disguised as a green automobile.[\[164\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-164) In 2003, Kennedy wrote an article in _[Rolling Stone](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Rolling_Stone "Rolling Stone")_ about Bush's environmental record,[\[165\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-must-be-done-165) which he subsequently expanded into a _New York Times_ bestselling book.[\[166\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-166) His opposition to the environmental policies of the Bush administration earned him recognition as one of _Rolling Stone_'s "100 Agents of Change" on April 2, 2009.[\[167\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-167)[\[168\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-mercurynews.com-168) During an October 2012 interview with _[Politico](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Politico "Politico")_, Kennedy called on environmentalists to direct their dissatisfaction towards the [U.S. Congress](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/U.S._Congress "U.S. Congress") rather than President [Barack Obama](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Barack_Obama "Barack Obama"), reasoning that Obama "didn't deliver" due to having a partisan U.S. Congress "like we haven't seen before in American history".[\[169\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-169) He said politicians who did not act on climate change policy served special interests and sold out public trust. He said [Charles and David Koch](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Koch_family "Koch family") – the owners of [Koch Industries](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Koch_Industries "Koch Industries"), Inc., the nation's largest privately owned oil company – subverted democracy and "\[made\] themselves billionaires by impoverishing the rest of us".[\[170\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-170) Kennedy has spoken of the Koch Brothers as leading "the apocalyptical forces of Ignorance and Greed".[\[171\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-171) During the [2014 People's Climate March](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2014_People's_Climate_March "2014 People's Climate March"), Kennedy said, "American politics is driven by two forces: One is intensity, and the other is money. The Koch brothers have all the money. They're putting $300 million this year into their efforts to stop the climate bill. And the only thing we have in our power is people power, and that's why we need to put this demonstration on the street".[\[172\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-172) ### Additional statements on foreign affairs Kennedy has written on foreign policy, beginning with a 1974 _[Atlantic Monthly](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Atlantic_Monthly "Atlantic Monthly")_ article titled, "Poor Chile", discussing the overthrow of Chilean President [Salvador Allende](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Salvador_Allende "Salvador Allende").[\[173\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-173) Kennedy also wrote editorials against the execution of Pakistan President [Zulfikar Ali Bhutto](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Zulfikar_Ali_Bhutto "Zulfikar Ali Bhutto") by General [Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Muhammad_Zia-ul-Haq "Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq").[\[174\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-174)[\[175\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-175) In 1975, he published an article in _The Wall Street Journal_, criticizing the use of assassination as a foreign policy tool.[\[176\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-176) In 2005, he wrote an article for the _[Los Angeles Times](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Los_Angeles_Times "Los Angeles Times")_ decrying President Bush's use of torture as anti-American.[\[177\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-177) His uncle Senator Ted Kennedy entered the article into the _[Congressional Record](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Congressional_Record "Congressional Record")_.[\[178\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-178) In an article titled "Why the Arabs Don't Want Us in Syria", published in _[Politico](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Politico "Politico")_ in February 2016, Kennedy referred to the "bloody history that modern [interventionists](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Interventionism_(politics) "Interventionism (politics)") like [George W. Bush](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/George_W._Bush "George W. Bush"), [Ted Cruz](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ted_Cruz "Ted Cruz") and [Marco Rubio](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Marco_Rubio "Marco Rubio") miss when they recite their narcissistic trope that Mideast nationalists 'hate us for our freedoms.' For the most part they don't; instead they hate us for the way we betrayed those freedoms – our own ideals – within their borders".[\[179\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-179) Kennedy blames the Syrian war on a pipeline dispute. He cites apparent [WikiLeaks](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/WikiLeaks "WikiLeaks") disclosures alleging that the CIA led military and intelligence planners to foment a [Sunni](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Sunni "Sunni") uprising against [Syria](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Syria "Syria")'s president, [Bashar al-Assad](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bashar_al-Assad "Bashar al-Assad"), following his rejection of a proposed [Qatar-Turkey pipeline](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Qatar-Turkey_pipeline "Qatar-Turkey pipeline") through Syria in 2009, well before the [Arab Spring](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Arab_Spring "Arab Spring").[\[180\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-180) In June 2023, Kennedy stated in an interview that on broad terms he believes that [U.S. foreign relations](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Foreign_relations_of_the_United_States "Foreign relations of the United States") should involve significantly reducing the military presence in other nations. He specifically said the country must "start unraveling the Empire" through closing [U.S. bases in different locations worldwide](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/List_of_United_States_military_bases "List of United States military bases").[\[181\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Unravel-181) Kennedy believes that the administration of President Joe Biden in large part caused the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia due to reckless and militant action; he has specifically cited the issue of [NATO expansion into Eastern Europe](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/NATO_expansion_into_Eastern_Europe "NATO expansion into Eastern Europe"). At the same time, he has clarified that he refuses to connect this criticism with anything considered support of the [government of Russia](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Government_of_Russia "Government of Russia") under Putin, particularly given Kennedy's [ethical opposition](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ethics "Ethics") to [the regime's beliefs and politics](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Putinism "Putinism"). He has remarked that "Putin is a monster" and also labeled the leader "a thug" as well as "[a gangster](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Organized_crime "Organized crime")".[\[181\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Unravel-181) ### Gun control Kennedy has stated that he supports "common sense" [gun control](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Gun_control "Gun control"), but has also said that he would not "take away anybody’s guns." He has explained his position saying "I’m a [constitutional absolutist](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Originalism "Originalism"). We can argue about whether the [Second Amendment](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution "Second Amendment to the United States Constitution") was intended to protect guns. That argument has now been settled by the [Supreme Court](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States "Supreme Court of the United States")."[\[182\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-182)[\[183\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-183) Kennedy also expressed support for a bipartisan [assault weapons ban](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Assault_weapons_legislation_in_the_United_States "Assault weapons legislation in the United States").[\[184\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-184) ### Abortion In 2023, Kennedy said on camera to NBC reporter [Ali Vitali](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ali_Vitali "Ali Vitali") that, if elected, he would sign a federal ban on abortions performed after 15 weeks or 21 weeks of pregnancy. He went on to say, “I think the states have a right to protect a child once the child becomes viable, and that right, it increases.” His campaign quickly released a statement saying, “Today, Mr. Kennedy misunderstood a question posed to him by a NBC reporter in a crowded, noisy exhibit hall at the Iowa State Fair....Mr. Kennedy’s position on abortion is that it is always the woman’s right to choose. He does not support legislation banning abortion.”[\[185\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-185) ### Questioning the validity of elections Kennedy has been critical of the integrity of the voting process. In June 2006, he published an article in _Rolling Stone_ purporting to show that GOP operatives stole the 2004 presidential election for President George W. Bush. Journalist [Farhad Manjoo](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Farhad_Manjoo "Farhad Manjoo") countered Kennedy's conclusions.[\[186\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-186) Kennedy has written about the ease of election hacking and the dangers of voter purges and [voter ID laws](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Voter_ID_laws_in_the_United_States "Voter ID laws in the United States"). He wrote the introduction and a chapter in _Billionaires and Ballot Bandits_, a 2012 book on election hacking by the investigative journalist [Greg Palast](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Greg_Palast "Greg Palast").[\[187\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-187) ### Political endorsements Kennedy was on his uncle Ted Kennedy's [1970](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/1970_United_States_Senate_election_in_Massachusetts "1970 United States Senate election in Massachusetts") and [1976](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/1976_United_States_Senate_election_in_Massachusetts "1976 United States Senate election in Massachusetts") Massachusetts senatorial campaigns and was on the National Staff and was a State Coordinator for [his uncle's President campaign](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ted_Kennedy#1980_presidential_campaign "Ted Kennedy") from 1979 to 1980. He was a co-founder and a former board member of the New York [League of Conservation Voters](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/League_of_Conservation_Voters "League of Conservation Voters").[\[188\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-188)[\[189\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-189) Kennedy endorsed and campaigned for Vice President [Al Gore](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Al_Gore "Al Gore") during his [2000 presidential campaign](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Al_Gore_2000_presidential_campaign "Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign"), and openly opposed his friend [Ralph Nader](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ralph_Nader "Ralph Nader")'s [Green Party](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Green_Party_of_the_United_States "Green Party of the United States") [presidential campaign](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ralph_Nader_2000_presidential_campaign "Ralph Nader 2000 presidential campaign"). In the [2004 presidential election](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2004_United_States_presidential_election "2004 United States presidential election"), Kennedy endorsed [John Kerry](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/John_Kerry "John Kerry"), noting his strong environmental record.[\[190\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-190) [](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/File:RFK_DNC_etown_(1).jpg) Kennedy at a taping of [ETown](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ETown "ETown") during the [2008 Democratic National Convention](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2008_Democratic_National_Convention "2008 Democratic National Convention") In late 2007, Kennedy and his sisters [Kerry](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Kerry_Kennedy "Kerry Kennedy") and [Kathleen](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Kathleen_Kennedy_Townsend "Kathleen Kennedy Townsend") endorsed [Hillary Clinton](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hillary_Clinton "Hillary Clinton") in the [2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2008_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries "2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries").[\[191\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-191) After the [Democratic Convention](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2008_Democratic_National_Convention "2008 Democratic National Convention"), Kennedy campaigned for Obama across the country.[\[192\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-192) After the election, the Obama administration was reportedly considering Kennedy as a candidate for [administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Administrator_of_the_Environmental_Protection_Agency "Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency"), but his controversial statements and an arrest for heroin possession in the 1980s made him unlikely to receive Senate confirmation.[\[193\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-193)[\[194\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-194) ## Political aspirations Kennedy first considered running for political office [in 2000](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2000_United_States_Senate_election_in_New_York "2000 United States Senate election in New York"), when New York Senator [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Daniel_Patrick_Moynihan "Daniel Patrick Moynihan") did not seek re-election to the [U.S. Senate seat](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/List_of_United_States_Senators_from_New_York "List of United States Senators from New York") formerly held by Kennedy's father.[\[195\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-195) In 2005, Kennedy considered running in [the 2006 election](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2006_New_York_Attorney_General_election "2006 New York Attorney General election") for [New York attorney general](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/New_York_attorney_general "New York attorney general"), which would have meant a possible run against his then brother-in-law [Andrew Cuomo](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Andrew_Cuomo "Andrew Cuomo"), but in the end he decided against entering the race, even though he had been considered the frontrunner.[\[196\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-196) On December 2, 2008, Kennedy stated that he did not wish to be appointed by New York Governor [David Paterson](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/David_Paterson "David Paterson") to the U.S. Senate seat that was expected to be vacated by Hillary Clinton, who had been designated as the choice of Obama to serve as his [United States secretary of state](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/United_States_secretary_of_state "United States secretary of state"). Kennedy had been speculated by some outlets as a prospective candidate for appointment. He felt that senate service would take too much time away from his family.[\[197\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-197) ### 2024 presidential campaign On March 3, 2023, in a speech in New Hampshire, Kennedy stated that he was considering a run for president in [2024](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2024_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries "2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries"), saying, "I am thinking about it. I've passed the biggest hurdle which is that [my wife](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cheryl_Hines "Cheryl Hines") has greenlighted it."[\[198\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-foxmarch3-198) On April 5, 2023, Kennedy filed his candidacy for the [Democratic presidential nomination](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2024_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries "2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries") in the [2024 presidential election](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2024_United_States_presidential_election "2024 United States presidential election").[\[199\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-199) On October 9, 2023, he announced he was running as an independent.[\[200\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-200)[\[201\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-201) This makes him the fifth member of his family to seek the presidency of the United States.[\[lower-alpha 1\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-kennedy_family-205) ## Anti-vaccine advocacy and conspiracy theories on public health ### Overview Kennedy is a prominent voice in the anti-vaccine movement, spreading anti-vaccine [misinformation](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Misinformation "Misinformation"), [disinformation](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Disinformation "Disinformation") and [propaganda](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Propaganda "Propaganda").[\[1\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-mnookin-2017-1)[\[7\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-KW-7)[\[2\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-NBC_2021-03-11-2)[\[6\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Smith_12/15/2021-6)[\[205\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Time20230614-206) Infectious disease specialist [Michael Osterholm](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Michael_Osterholm "Michael Osterholm") says Kennedy's "anti-vaccine disinformation" is effective "because it's portrayed to the public with graphs and figures and what appears to be scientific data. He has perfected the art of illusion of fact." Osterholm also adds "this is about people's lives. And the consequences of promoting this kind of disinformation, as credible as it may seem, is simply dangerous."[\[205\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Time20230614-206) Kennedy has claimed that he is not against vaccines but wishes that they be more thoroughly tested and investigated.[\[206\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-207)[\[207\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-208) In _Thimerosal: Let the Science Speak_, Kennedy states he does not see himself as anti-vaccine, saying "People who advocate for safer vaccines should not be marginalized or denounced as anti-vaccine. I am pro-vaccine. I had all six of my children vaccinated. I believe that vaccines have saved the lives of hundreds of millions of humans over the past century and that broad vaccine coverage is critical to public health. But I want our vaccines to be as safe as possible."[\[208\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-209) ### Vaccines and autism claims Kennedy is the chairman of [Children's Health Defense](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Children's_Health_Defense "Children's Health Defense") (formerly known as the World Mercury Project), an anti-vaccine advocacy group he joined in 2015.[\[7\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-KW-7)[\[6\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Smith_12/15/2021-6) The group alleges a large proportion of American children are suffering from conditions as diverse as [autism](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Autism "Autism"), [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder "Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder"), [food allergies](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Food_allergy "Food allergy"), cancer, and [autoimmune diseases](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Autoimmune_disease "Autoimmune disease") due to exposure to certain chemicals and radiation. Children's Health Defense has blamed and campaigned against [vaccines](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vaccines "Vaccines"), [fluoridation of drinking water](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Water_fluoridation "Water fluoridation"), [paracetamol](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Paracetamol "Paracetamol") (acetaminophen), aluminum, [wireless communications](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Wireless_device_radiation_and_health "Wireless device radiation and health"), among others. Kennedy's group has been identified as one of two major buyers of anti-vaccine [Facebook](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Facebook "Facebook") advertising in late 2018 and early 2019.[\[7\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-KW-7)[\[209\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-journ-210)[\[210\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-study-211) Kennedy and Children's Health Defense have falsely claimed that vaccines cause autism.[\[211\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-notav1-212)[\[212\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-nasem-213) Kennedy focused on [the subset of vaccines that contained thimerosal](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Thiomersal_and_vaccines "Thiomersal and vaccines"), a [mercury](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mercury_(element) "Mercury (element)")\-based anti-microbial which has been falsely claimed to cause autism.[\[213\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-shifting-214) [Thimerosal](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Thimerosal "Thimerosal") has never been used in [MMR](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/MMR_vaccine "MMR vaccine"), chickenpox, [pneumococcal conjugate](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pneumococcal_conjugate_vaccine "Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine") and [inactivated polio](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Inactivated_polio_vaccine "Inactivated polio vaccine") vaccines[\[214\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-CDC-thimerosal-215) and in 2001 was removed from all other childhood (under 6 years old) vaccines except for a few versions of the flu and hepatitis vaccines.[\[215\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-216) Now, no childhood vaccine contains more than traces (1 microgram or less) of thimerosal, except for flu which is also available without thimerasol in the US.[\[216\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-FDA_Thimerosal_and_Vaccines-217) For those 6 years and older, including pregnant women, all vaccines are now available in versions with only trace amounts of thimerosal.[\[217\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-218) In its early years, the group focused on mercury in industry and medicine, especially the ethylmercury used in thimerosal in vaccines.[\[211\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-notav1-212)[\[218\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-notav2-219) Other members of his family have criticized Kennedy and his organization, saying he spreads "dangerous misinformation" and said his work has "heartbreaking" consequences.[\[219\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-220) According to the [Center for Countering Digital Hate](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Center_for_Countering_Digital_Hate "Center for Countering Digital Hate"), Kennedy uses his status as an environmental activist to bolster actors of the anti-vaccination movement, regularly appearing in online conversations with the likes of [Andrew Wakefield](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Andrew_Wakefield "Andrew Wakefield"), [Del Bigtree](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Del_Bigtree "Del Bigtree") and [Rashid Buttar](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Rashid_Buttar "Rashid Buttar").[\[220\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Ind-221) Kennedy has stated the media and governments are engaged in a conspiracy to deny that vaccines cause autism.[\[221\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-glob-222)[\[222\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-SBM1-223)[\[223\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-224)[\[224\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-225) The Center for Countering Digital Hate in 2021 identified Kennedy as one of 12 people responsible for up to 65% of anti-vaccine content on social media platforms Facebook and Twitter.[\[225\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-226) On February 11, 2021, his [Instagram](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Instagram "Instagram") account was permanently deleted "for repeatedly sharing debunked claims" about [COVID-19 vaccines](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/COVID-19_vaccine "COVID-19 vaccine").[\[4\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-BBC_2/11/2021-4)[\[226\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-227) Kennedy is listed as executive producer of _Vaxxed II: The People's Truth_, the 2019 sequel to Wakefield's and Bigtree's anti-vaccination documentary _[Vaxxed](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vaxxed "Vaxxed")_.[\[227\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-228) #### Writings and speeches promoting anti-vaccine theories In June 2005, Kennedy wrote an article which appeared in both _[Rolling Stone](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Rolling_Stone "Rolling Stone")_ and _[Salon](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Salon_(website) "Salon (website)")_ called "[Deadly Immunity](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Deadly_Immunity "Deadly Immunity")", alleging a government conspiracy to conceal a connection between thimerosal and childhood [neurodevelopmental disorders](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Neurodevelopmental_disorders "Neurodevelopmental disorders"), including [autism](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Autism "Autism").[\[228\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto1-229) The article contained factual errors, leading _Salon_ to issue five corrections.[\[229\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto2-230) [Joan Walsh](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Joan_Walsh "Joan Walsh"), the editor and chief of Salon at the time, and the sole Salon editor of the piece, recounted that she had mistakenly relied on Rolling Stone's fact-checking, a process that she later learned was "less than arduous". As soon as the piece was up, she said, "we were besieged by scientists and advocates showing how Kennedy had misunderstood, incorrectly cited, and perhaps even falsified data.... It was the worst mistake of my career. I probably should have been fired."[\[230\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Walsh-231) Six years later _Salon_ retracted the article in its entirety.[\[229\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto2-230) According to _Salon_, the retraction was motivated by accumulating evidence of alleged errors and scientific fraud underlying the vaccine-autism claim.[\[231\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-232) A corrected version of the original article was published on the _Rolling Stone_ website.[\[228\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto1-229) Kennedy would go on to claim on the [Joe Rogan Experience](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Joe_Rogan_Experience "The Joe Rogan Experience"), and be paraphrased in the New York Times saying, that "Salon caved to pressure from government regulators and the pharmaceutical industry."[\[230\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Walsh-231) To which Walsh responds "That's just another lie. We caved to pressure from the incontrovertible truth and our journalistic consciences."[\[230\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Walsh-231) In May 2013, Kennedy delivered the keynote address at the anti-vaccination[\[232\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-233) AutismOne / [Generation Rescue](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Generation_Rescue "Generation Rescue") conference.[\[233\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Slate_2013-234)[\[234\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-AutismOne_2013-235) In 2014, Kennedy's book, _Thimerosal: Let the Science Speak: The Evidence Supporting the Immediate Removal of Mercury – a Known Neurotoxin – from Vaccines_, was published. While [methylmercury](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Methylmercury "Methylmercury") is a potent neurotoxin, ethylmercury, as used in vaccine preservatives, is safe.[\[214\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-CDC-thimerosal-215)[\[216\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-FDA_Thimerosal_and_Vaccines-217) The preface to the book is written by [Mark Hyman](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mark_Hyman_(doctor) "Mark Hyman (doctor)"), a proponent of the [alternative medical treatment](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Alternative_medicine "Alternative medicine") called [functional medicine](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Functional_medicine "Functional medicine").[\[235\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Cracked31-236) Kennedy has published many articles on the inclusion of the mercury-based preservative [thimerosal in vaccines](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Thimerosal_in_vaccines "Thimerosal in vaccines").[\[236\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-237)[\[237\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-238)[\[238\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-239)[\[239\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-240) #### Describing vaccinations as a "holocaust" In April 2015, Kennedy participated in a Speakers' Forum to promote the film _[Trace Amounts](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Trace_Amounts "Trace Amounts")_, which promotes the discredited claim of a link between autism and mercury in vaccinations. At a film screening, Kennedy described the autism epidemic as a "holocaust".[\[240\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-241) #### Statements about Paul Offit On the Joe Rogan Experience, Kennedy claimed that pediatric immunologist [Paul Offit](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Paul_Offit "Paul Offit") had made a 186 million dollar deal with [Merck](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Merck_&_Co. "Merck & Co."), to which Offit responded: > RFK Jr.’s statement about my $186 million dollar deal with Merck was a complete and utter lie. And it’s resulted in hate mail, physical altercations with anti-vaccine activists, and three death threats. One caller threatened my children. By falsely labelling me as someone willing to line my pockets at the expense of children’s health, RFK Jr. put both me and my family at risk.[\[241\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Offit-242) #### Meeting with Donald Trump On January 10, 2017, incoming [White House Press Secretary](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/White_House_Press_Secretary "White House Press Secretary") [Sean Spicer](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Sean_Spicer "Sean Spicer") confirmed that Kennedy and [President-elect](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/President-elect_of_the_United_States "President-elect of the United States") [Donald Trump](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Donald_Trump "Donald Trump") met to discuss a position in the Trump administration. Kennedy said he had accepted an offer made by Trump to become the chairman of the Vaccine Safety Task Force, but a spokeswoman for Trump's transition said that no final decision had been made.[\[242\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-skeptic-243) In an August 2017 interview with _[STAT News](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Stat_(website) "Stat (website)")_ reporter [Helen Branswell](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Helen_Branswell "Helen Branswell"), Kennedy said that he had been meeting with the federal public health regulators to discuss defects in vaccine safety science, at the White House's request.[\[243\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-244) #### Controversy with Robert De Niro On February 15, 2017, Kennedy and actor [Robert De Niro](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_De_Niro "Robert De Niro") gave a press conference at the [National Press Club](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/National_Press_Club_(United_States) "National Press Club (United States)") in Washington, D.C., in which they said the press were working for the vaccination industry and did not allow debates on vaccination science. They offered a $100,000 reward to any journalist or other citizen who could point to a study showing that it is safe to inject mercury into babies and pregnant women at levels currently contained in [flu vaccines](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Influenza_vaccine "Influenza vaccine"). Craig Foster, a psychology professor who studies [pseudoscience](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pseudoscience "Pseudoscience"), deemed the challenge "not science", observing that it was a "carefully constructed 'contest' that allows its creators to generate the misleading outcome they presumably want to see". He also stated, "Proving that something is safe is importantly different than proving that something is harmful".[\[244\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Craig_Foster-245) #### Samoa measles outbreak On June 4, 2019, during a visit to [Samoa](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Samoa "Samoa") coinciding with that nation's 57th annual independence celebration, Kennedy appeared in an Instagram photo with Australian-Samoan anti-vaccine activist [Taylor Winterstein](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Taylor_Winterstein "Taylor Winterstein"). Kennedy's charity and Winterstein have both perpetuated the allegation that the [MMR vaccine](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/MMR_vaccine "MMR vaccine") played a role in the 2018 deaths of two Samoan infants, despite the subsequent revelation that the infants had received a [muscle relaxant](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Muscle_relaxant "Muscle relaxant") along with the vaccine by mistake. Kennedy has drawn criticism for fueling [vaccine hesitancy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vaccine_hesitancy "Vaccine hesitancy") amid a social climate which gave rise to the [2019 Samoa measles outbreak](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2019_Samoa_measles_outbreak "2019 Samoa measles outbreak"), which killed over 70 people, and the [2019 Tonga measles outbreak](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/2019_Tonga_measles_outbreak "2019 Tonga measles outbreak").[\[245\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-246)[\[246\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-247)[\[247\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-248) ### COVID-19 [](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/File:Anthony_Fauci_2020.jpg) [](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/File:Visit_of_Bill_Gates,_Chairman_of_Breakthrough_Energy_Ventures,_to_the_European_Commission_5_(cropped).jpg) During the [COVID-19 pandemic](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/COVID-19_pandemic "COVID-19 pandemic"), Kennedy promoted multiple conspiracy theories related to COVID including false claims that both [Anthony Fauci](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Anthony_Fauci "Anthony Fauci") and the [Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bill_&_Melinda_Gates_Foundation "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation") were trying to profit off a vaccine,[\[248\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-249)[\[249\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-250)[\[250\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-251) and suggesting that [Bill Gates](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bill_Gates "Bill Gates") would cut off access to money of people who do not get vaccinated, allowing them to starve.[\[251\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-252) In August 2020, Kennedy appeared in an hour-long interview with [Alec Baldwin](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Alec_Baldwin "Alec Baldwin") on [Instagram](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Instagram "Instagram"), where he touted a number of incorrect and misleading claims about vaccines and public health measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Baldwin was criticized by public health officials and scientists for allowing Kennedy's proclamations to go unchallenged.[\[252\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-253) Kennedy has promoted misinformation about the [COVID-19 vaccine](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/COVID-19_vaccine "COVID-19 vaccine"), falsely suggesting that it contributed to the death of 86-year-old [Hank Aaron](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hank_Aaron "Hank Aaron") and others.[\[253\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-254)[\[254\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-255)[\[7\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-KW-7) In February 2021 his Instagram account was blocked for "repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines".[\[255\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-256)[\[256\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-257) The [Center for Countering Digital Hate](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Center_for_Countering_Digital_Hate "Center for Countering Digital Hate") identified Kennedy as one of the main propagators of conspiracy theories about Bill Gates and [5G](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/5G "5G") phone technology. His conspiracy theory activities increased his social media impact considerably; between the Spring and the Fall of 2020, his Instagram account grew from 121,000 followers to 454,000.[\[220\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Ind-221)[\[257\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-258) In November 2021, Kennedy's book _[The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Real_Anthony_Fauci "The Real Anthony Fauci")_ was published wherein Kennedy alleged that Fauci sabotaged treatments for AIDS, violated federal laws, and conspired with Bill Gates and social media companies such as Facebook to suppress any information about COVID-19 cures, to leave vaccines as the only options to fight the pandemic.[\[258\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Real_Fauci-259)[\[259\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-260) In the book, Kennedy calls Fauci "a powerful technocrat who helped orchestrate and execute 2020s historic coup d'etat against Western democracy.” He claimed with no proof that Fauci and Bill Gates had schemed to prolong the pandemic and exaggerate its effects, promoting expensive vaccinations for the benefit of "a powerful vaccine cartel".[\[260\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-NZZ-261) The book repeats several discredited myths about the COVID-19 pandemic, notably about the effectiveness of [ivermectin](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ivermectin "Ivermectin").[\[6\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Smith_12/15/2021-6) The _[Neue Zürcher Zeitung](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Neue_Z%C3%BCrcher_Zeitung "Neue Zürcher Zeitung")_ has said of the book "... polemics alternate with chapters that pedantically seek to substantiate Kennedy's accusations with numerous quotations and studies."[\[260\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-NZZ-261) He also released a video depicting Fauci with a Hitler moustache.[\[261\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-The_Guardian-262) In response to the book, Fauci called Kennedy "a very disturbed individual".[\[262\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-263) Kennedy wrote the foreword for _Plague of Corruption_, a 2020 book by former research scientist and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist [Judy Mikovits](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Judy_Mikovits "Judy Mikovits").[\[7\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-KW-7) Kennedy appeared as a speaker at the partially violent demonstration in [Berlin](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Berlin "Berlin") on August 29, 2020, where [populist](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Populist "Populist") groups called for an end to restrictions caused by COVID-19.[\[263\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-264)[\[264\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-265) His YouTube account was removed in late September 2021 for breaking the company's new policies on vaccine misinformation.[\[265\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-266) During a January 23, 2022, speech at an anti-vaccination rally in Washington D.C., Kennedy said: "Even in Hitler's Germany, you could cross the Alps into Switzerland, you can hide in the attic like Anne Frank did…Today the mechanisms are being put in place that will make it so none of us can run, none of us can hide."[\[266\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-267) The [Auschwitz Memorial](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Auschwitz_Memorial "Auschwitz Memorial") stated on Twitter: "Exploiting of the tragedy of people who suffered, were humiliated, tortured & murdered by the totalitarian regime of Nazi Germany – including children like Anne Frank – in a debate about vaccines & limitations during global pandemic is a sad symptom of moral & intellectual decay."[\[267\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-268) Two days later, Kennedy apologized for his comment,[\[261\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-The_Guardian-262) In June 2023, Instagram reinstated his account after previously suspending it over anti-vaccine and COVID-19 comments.[\[268\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-269) At a dinner event in July 2023, Kennedy said "there is an argument that (COVID-19) is ethnically targeted", adding "COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese ... we don't know whether it’s deliberately targeted or not." His remarks were condemned by the [American Jewish Committee](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/American_Jewish_Committee "American Jewish Committee") and the [Anti-Defamation League](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Anti-Defamation_League "Anti-Defamation League"), with the latter stating that Kennedy's statement "feeds into sinophobic and antisemitic conspiracy theories".[\[269\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-270)[\[270\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-:0-271) Kennedy responded by stating that he "never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews", and that he does not "believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered". Kennedy explained his remarks by citing a 2021 study that he said showed that "COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect certain races" due to racial differences in the effectiveness of COVID-19's [furin](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Furin "Furin") cleave docking site, thus COVID-19 "serves as a kind of [proof of concept](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Proof_of_concept "Proof of concept") for ethnically targeted bioweapons".[\[271\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-272) However, these further claims were roundly criticized by experts who pointed out that the study said nothing about Chinese people or bioweapons and that both Chinese people and Ashkenazy Jews suffered COVID at rates similar to other ethnic groups and nationalities. “ Virologist [Angela Rasmussen](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Angela_Rasmussen "Angela Rasmussen") responded to his false claims, saying, "Jewish or Chinese protease consensus sequences are not a thing in biochemistry, but they are in racism and antisemitism”.[\[270\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-:0-271) ### Medical racism conspiracy theory Kennedy targets Black Americans with anti-vaccine propaganda and conspiracy theories, linking vaccination with instances of [medical racism](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Medical_racism "Medical racism") such as the [Tuskegee Syphilis Study](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study "Tuskegee Syphilis Study").[\[272\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-NPR2021-06-08-273)[\[2\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-NBC_2021-03-11-2) Echoing others in the anti-vaccination movement, Kennedy's organization Children's Health Defense claimed that the United States government seeks to harm ethnic minorities by prioritizing them for COVID vaccines. In early March 2021, Kennedy's anti-vaccine organization, Children's Health Defense released an anti-vaccine propaganda video, "[Medical Racism: The New Apartheid](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Medical_Racism:_The_New_Apartheid "Medical Racism: The New Apartheid")" that promotes COVID-19 conspiracy theories and claims that COVID-19 vaccination efforts are medical experiments on the Black community. Kennedy himself appears in the video, inviting the viewers to disregard information dispensed by health authorities and doctors. Brandi Collin-Dexter, a Fellow at the [Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Shorenstein_Center_on_Media,_Politics_and_Public_Policy "Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy") states "the notorious figures and false narratives in the documentary were recognizable" and "the film's incompatible narratives sought to take advantage of the pain felt by Black communities".[\[2\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-NBC_2021-03-11-2)[\[273\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-FC-274)[\[274\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-275) At the urging of disinformation experts, the film was removed from Facebook, but Kennedy was permitted to keep his account.[\[275\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-276) ### HIV/AIDS denialism In his book [_The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the War on Democracy and Public Health_](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Real_Anthony_Fauci "The Real Anthony Fauci"), Kennedy says he takes "no position on the relationship between HIV and AIDS",[\[258\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Real_Fauci-259)^{<span><span>:</span><span> </span>347<span> </span></span>}  but he spends over a hundred pages quoting HIV denialists such as [Peter Duesberg](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Peter_Duesberg "Peter Duesberg") who question the isolation of HIV and the etiology of AIDS.[\[276\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Debunk-277) Kennedy himself refers to the "orthodoxy that HIV alone causes AIDS",[\[258\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Real_Fauci-259)^{<span><span>:</span><span> </span>348<span> </span></span>}  and the "theology that HIV is the sole cause of AIDS",[\[258\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Real_Fauci-259)^{<span><span>:</span><span> </span>351<span> </span></span>}  as well as repeating the [HIV/AIDS denialist](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/HIV/AIDS_denialism "HIV/AIDS denialism") false claim that no one has isolated the HIV particle and "No one has been able to point to a study that demonstrates their hypothesis using accepted scientific proofs".^{<span><span>:</span><span> </span>348<span> </span></span>}  Additionally, he repeats the false claim that the early AIDS drug [AZT](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Zidovudine "Zidovudine") is "absolutely fatal"[\[258\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Real_Fauci-259)^{<span><span>:</span><span> </span>332<span> </span></span>}  due to its "horrendous toxicity".[\[258\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Real_Fauci-259)^{<span><span>:</span><span> </span>298<span> </span></span>}  Molecular biologist [Dan Wilson](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dan_Wilson_(biologist) "Dan Wilson (biologist)") points out that Kennedy falsely claims that [Luc Montagnier](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Luc_Montagnier "Luc Montagnier"), the discoverer of HIV, was a "convert" to Duesberg's fringe hypothesis. Wilson concludes that Kennedy is a "full blown" HIV/AIDS denialist.[\[276\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Debunk-277)[\[258\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Real_Fauci-259) ### Push-back from the Kennedy family Several members from Kennedy's close family have distanced themselves from his anti-vaccination activities and conspiracy theories on public health, and condemned his comments equating public health measures with [Nazi](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Nazism "Nazism") atrocities.[\[277\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-278) On May 8, 2019, [Kathleen Kennedy Townsend](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Kathleen_Kennedy_Townsend "Kathleen Kennedy Townsend"), [Joseph P. Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Joseph_P._Kennedy_II "Joseph P. Kennedy II"), and [Maeve Kennedy McKean](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Maeve_Kennedy_McKean "Maeve Kennedy McKean") wrote an open letter stating that while their relative has championed many admirable causes, he "has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines".[\[278\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-ff-279) On December 30, 2020, Kennedy's niece Kerry Kennedy Meltzer, a physician, wrote a similar open letter. She argued her uncle published misinformation about the side effects of the new COVID-19 vaccines.[\[279\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-280) ## Other opinions ### Food allergies Kennedy was a founding board member of the [Food Allergy Initiative](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Food_Allergy_Initiative "Food Allergy Initiative"). His son suffers from [anaphylactic](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Anaphylaxis "Anaphylaxis") [peanut allergies](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Peanut_allergies "Peanut allergies"). Kennedy wrote the foreword to _The Peanut Allergy Epidemic_, in which he and the authors falsely link increasing food allergies in children to certain vaccines that were approved beginning in 1989.[\[280\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-281)[\[7\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-KW-7) ### Murder of Martha Moxley In January 2003, Kennedy wrote a controversial article in _[The Atlantic Monthly](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Atlantic "The Atlantic")_ about the 1975 [murder of Martha Moxley](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Murder_of_Martha_Moxley "Murder of Martha Moxley") in [Greenwich, Connecticut](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Greenwich,_Connecticut "Greenwich, Connecticut"), in which he insists that his cousin [Michael Skakel](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Murder_of_Martha_Moxley#Michael_Skakel "Murder of Martha Moxley")'s indictment "was triggered by an inflamed media, and that an innocent man is now in prison". The article argues that there is more evidence suggesting that Kenneth Littleton, the Skakel family's live-in tutor, killed Moxley. He also calls [Dominick Dunne](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dominick_Dunne "Dominick Dunne") the "driving force" behind Skakel's prosecution.[\[281\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-miscarriage-282) In July 2016, Kennedy released a book titled _Framed: Why Michael Skakel Spent over a Decade in Prison for a Murder He Didn't Commit_.[\[282\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-283) In 2017, the rights to Kennedy's book were optioned by [FX Productions](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/FX_Productions "FX Productions") to develop a multi-part television series.[\[283\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-284) In 2018, Skakel's conviction was [vacated](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vacated_judgment "Vacated judgment"),[\[284\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Casarez-285) and in 2020, prosecutors decided not to seek a new trial.[\[285\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-286) ### Assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy On the evening of January 11, 2013, [Charlie Rose](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Charlie_Rose "Charlie Rose") interviewed Kennedy and his sister [Rory](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Rory_Kennedy "Rory Kennedy") at the [Winspear Opera House](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Margot_and_Bill_Winspear_Opera_House "Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House") in [Dallas](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dallas "Dallas") as a part of then Dallas Mayor [Mike Rawlings](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mike_Rawlings "Mike Rawlings")' hand-chosen committee's yearlong program of celebrating the life and presidency of John F. Kennedy.[\[286\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-DiEugenio,_Jim_2013-287) On the [assassination](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy "Assassination of John F. Kennedy") of John F. Kennedy, he said his father was "fairly convinced" [Lee Harvey Oswald](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Lee_Harvey_Oswald "Lee Harvey Oswald") had not acted alone and privately believed the [Warren Commission](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Warren_Commission "Warren Commission") report was a "shoddy piece of craftsmanship". According to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in January 2013, "The evidence at this point I think is very, very convincing that it was not a lone gunman".[\[287\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-288) The 2013 edition of _[JFK and the Unspeakable](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/JFK_and_the_Unspeakable "JFK and the Unspeakable")_ was endorsed by Kennedy, who said it had moved him to visit [Dealey Plaza](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dealey_Plaza "Dealey Plaza"), the site of his uncle's assassination, for the first time.[\[288\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Orbis-289) Kennedy does not believe that [Sirhan Sirhan](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Sirhan_Sirhan "Sirhan Sirhan") fired the shot that [killed his father](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Assassination_of_Robert_F._Kennedy "Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy"), [Robert F. Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy "Robert F. Kennedy"). Based on the testimony of eyewitnesses, especially [Paul Schrade](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Paul_Schrade "Paul Schrade") who had been standing next to Kennedy and who was shot himself, as well as the autopsy findings he believes that there was a [second gunman](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_assassination_conspiracy_theories "Robert F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories").[\[289\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-WaPo20180605-290) He visited the [Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Richard_J._Donovan_Correctional_Facility "Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility"), San Diego, in December 2017 to meet Sirhan. After meeting Sirhan, he gave his support for a reinvestigation of the assassination.[\[289\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-WaPo20180605-290) ### Gender dysphoria In a June 2023 podcast interview with [Jordan Peterson](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Jordan_Peterson "Jordan Peterson"), Kennedy Jr. posited that several issues in children, including [gender dysphoria](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Gender_dysphoria "Gender dysphoria"), might be linked to [atrazine](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Atrazine "Atrazine") contamination in the water supply. He cited a study by Hayes from 2010,[\[290\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-291) which claimed that acute atrazine exposure caused [chemical castration](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Chemical_castration "Chemical castration") and [feminization](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Feminization_(biology) "Feminization (biology)") in frogs, leading some to become [hermaphrodites](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hermaphrodites "Hermaphrodites"). Kennedy Jr. went on to suggest that there was other evidence indicating potential effects on humans.[\[291\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Greg-292) [YouTube](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/YouTube "YouTube") removed the interview under its [vaccine misinformation](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vaccine_misinformation "Vaccine misinformation") policy, a decision criticized by Peterson and Kennedy as censorship.[\[292\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-293)[\[291\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Greg-292) Various publications denounced the theory, such as [NBC News](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/NBC_News "NBC News"),[\[293\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Kacala-294) _[Philadelphia Gay News](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Philadelphia_Gay_News "Philadelphia Gay News")_,[\[294\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Victoria-295) _[The Independent](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Independent "The Independent")_,[\[291\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Greg-292) and [_Vice_](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vice_(magazine) "Vice (magazine)").[\[295\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-296) Following media criticism, a spokesperson for Kennedy Jr.'s 2024 presidential campaign told _CNN_ that he was being mischaracterized, and that he not was claiming that endocrine disruptors were the sole cause of gender dysphoria but rather [proposing further research](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Further_research_is_needed "Further research is needed").[\[296\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-:1-297) [Andrea Gore](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Andrea_Gore "Andrea Gore"), a professor of [neuroendocrinology](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Neuroendocrinology "Neuroendocrinology") at the [University of Texas at Austin](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/University_of_Texas_at_Austin "University of Texas at Austin"), said "I don't think people should be making statements about the relationship between environmental chemicals and changes in sexuality when there's zero evidence".[\[296\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-:1-297) ## Personal life ### General interests Kennedy is a licensed master [falconer](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Falconry "Falconry") and has trained hawks since he was 11. He breeds hawks and falcons and is also licensed as a raptor propagator and a wildlife rehabilitator.[\[297\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-298) He holds permits for Federal Game Keeper, Bird Bander, and Scientific Collector. He was President of the New York State Falconry Association from 1988 to 1991. In 1987, while on Governor [Mario Cuomo](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mario_Cuomo "Mario Cuomo")'s New York State Falconry Advising Committee, Kennedy authored the examination to qualify apprentice falconers given by New York State. Later that year, he wrote the _New York State Apprentice Falconer's Manual_, which was published by the [New York State Department of Environmental Conservation](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/New_York_State_Department_of_Environmental_Conservation "New York State Department of Environmental Conservation"), and continues in use today.[\[298\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-299) Kennedy is also a [whitewater kayaker](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Whitewater_kayaking "Whitewater kayaking"). His father introduced him and his siblings to whitewater kayaking during early trips down the [Green](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Green_River_(Colorado_River) "Green River (Colorado River)") and [Yampa Rivers](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Yampa_River "Yampa River") in Utah and Colorado, the [Columbia River](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Columbia_River "Columbia River"), the [Middle Fork Salmon](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Middle_Fork_Salmon_River "Middle Fork Salmon River") in Idaho, and the [Upper Hudson](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Upper_Hudson "Upper Hudson") Gorge. Between 1976-81, Kennedy was a partner and guide at a whitewater company, "Utopian", based in [West Forks, Maine](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/West_Forks,_Maine "West Forks, Maine"). He organized and led several "first-descent" whitewater expeditions to Latin America including three hitherto unexplored rivers: the [Apurimac](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Apur%C3%ADmac_River "Apurímac River"), Peru, in 1975; the [Atrato](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Atrato "Atrato"), Colombia, in 1979; and the [Caroni](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Caron%C3%AD_River "Caroní River"), Venezuela, in 1982.[\[299\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-300) He made an early descent of [Great Whale River](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Great_Whale_River "Great Whale River") in northern Quebec, in 1993.[\[300\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-301) In 2015, he took two of his sons to the [Yukon](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Yukon "Yukon") to visit [Mount Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mount_Kennedy "Mount Kennedy") and run the [Alsek River](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Alsek_River "Alsek River"), a whitewater river fed by the [Alsek Glacier](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Alsek_Glacier "Alsek Glacier"). Mount Kennedy had been Canada's highest unclimbed peak, when the Canadian Government named it for the assassinated American president, in 1964.[\[301\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-302) In 1965, his father was the first person to climb Mount Kennedy.[\[302\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-303) ### Marriages and children On April 3, 1982, Kennedy married Emily Ruth Black (born 1957), whom he had met at the [University of Virginia School of Law](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/University_of_Virginia_School_of_Law "University of Virginia School of Law").[\[303\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-304) They had two children: Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy III (born 1984 and married to writer, peace activist, and former [CIA](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Central_Intelligence_Agency "Central Intelligence Agency") officer [Amaryllis Fox](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Amaryllis_Fox "Amaryllis Fox")) and Kathleen Alexandra ('Kick') Kennedy (born 1988).[\[304\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-305) The latter shares the nickname of her great-aunt, the late [Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Kathleen_Cavendish,_Marchioness_of_Hartington "Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington").[\[305\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-IrishCentral_11/7/2021-306) Kennedy and Black separated in 1992 and divorced in 1994.[\[306\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-307) On April 15, 1994, Kennedy married [Mary Kathleen Richardson](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mary_Richardson_Kennedy "Mary Richardson Kennedy") (1959–2012) aboard a research vessel on the [Hudson River](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hudson_River "Hudson River").[\[307\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-308) They had four children: Conor Richardson Kennedy (born 1994), Kyra LeMoyne Kennedy (born 1995), William Finbar "Finn" Kennedy (born 1997), and Aidan Caohman Vieques Kennedy (born 2001). On May 12, 2010, Kennedy filed for divorce from Mary; three days later she was charged with drunk driving. On May 16, 2012, Mary was found dead in a building on the grounds of her home in [Bedford, New York](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bedford_(town),_New_York "Bedford (town), New York"). The Westchester County Medical Examiner ruled the death to be a [suicide due to asphyxiation from hanging](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Suicide_by_hanging "Suicide by hanging").[\[308\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-309) Later it was reported that Mary had seen Kennedy's personal journal from 2001, in which he recorded his sexual encounters with 37 different women.[\[309\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-310) Kennedy married his third wife, actress-director [Cheryl Hines](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cheryl_Hines "Cheryl Hines"), on August 2, 2014, at the [Kennedy compound](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Kennedy_Compound "Kennedy Compound") on Cape Cod. They were introduced by Hines's co-star [Larry David](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Larry_David "Larry David"), from the HBO series _[Curb Your Enthusiasm](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Curb_Your_Enthusiasm "Curb Your Enthusiasm")_, and began dating in 2012.[\[310\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-311)[\[311\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-312) Kennedy and Hines currently reside in [Los Angeles](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Los_Angeles "Los Angeles"), California[\[312\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-313) and [Cape Cod, Massachusetts](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cape_Cod,_Massachusetts "Cape Cod, Massachusetts").[\[313\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-314) ### Health In his 40s Kennedy developed [spasmodic dysphonia](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Spasmodic_dysphonia "Spasmodic dysphonia"), a disorder which causes his voice to [quaver](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/quaver "wikt:quaver") and makes speech difficult. It is a form of an involuntary movement disorder called [dystonia](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dystonia "Dystonia") that affects only the [larynx](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Larynx "Larynx").[\[7\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-KW-7)[\[30\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-living-dangerously-30)[\[314\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-voice-disorder-315) ### Religion Kennedy is a [Roman Catholic](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Catholic_Church "Catholic Church").[\[315\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-globe1-316) In 2005, [Michael Paulson](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Michael_Paulson "Michael Paulson") called Kennedy "a deeply devout Catholic who attends daily Mass".[\[316\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-chron1-317) Kennedy considers [Saint Francis of Assisi](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Francis_of_Assisi "Francis of Assisi") his patron saint and a role model.[\[315\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-globe1-316) During a 2005 interview with _[The Boston Globe](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Boston_Globe "The Boston Globe")_, Kennedy stated that he was deeply inspired by Saint Francis's devotion to [social justice](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Social_justice "Social justice"), [helping the poor](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Poverty_relief "Poverty relief"), [animal welfare](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Animal_welfare "Animal welfare") and to [environmentalism](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Environmentalism "Environmentalism") as well—Francis is a [patron saint](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Patron_saint "Patron saint") of [ecology](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ecology "Ecology").[\[316\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-chron1-317) In 2004, Kennedy published a biography of Saint Francis, _Saint Francis of Assisi: A Life of Joy_.[\[316\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-chron1-317) He also stated Catholicism was a vehicle of his environmentalism, stating, "environmental work is spiritual work".[\[316\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-chron1-317) Despite identifying as [pro-life](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pro-life "Pro-life"),[\[316\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-chron1-317) Kennedy also identifies with [liberal Catholicism](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Progressive_Christianity "Progressive Christianity").[\[148\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-unherd1-148) He criticized the argument voiced within the church that [John Kerry](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/John_Kerry "John Kerry") should have been denied communion because of his support for abortion rights.[\[316\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-chron1-317) In a 2018 interview with _[Vatican News](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vatican_News "Vatican News")_, Kennedy expressed his admiration for [Pope John XXIII](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pope_John_XXIII "Pope John XXIII") and stated his belief that "the Church should be an instrument of justice and kindness around the world".[\[317\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-vat1-318) ## Selected works Kennedy has authored books on subjects such as the environment, his anti-vaccination stance, biography, and American heroes. - Kennedy Jr., Robert F. (1978). _Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr.: A biography_. [Putnam](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/G._P._Putnam's_Sons "G. P. Putnam's Sons"). [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-399-12123-4](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-0-399-12123-4 "Special:BookSources/978-0-399-12123-4"). - Cronin, John; Kennedy Jr., Robert F. (1997). [_The Riverkeepers: Two Activists Fight to Reclaim Our Environment as a Basic Human Right_](https://archive.org/details/riverkeeperstwoa00cron). New York: [Scribner](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Charles_Scribner's_Sons "Charles Scribner's Sons"). [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0684839080](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-0684839080 "Special:BookSources/978-0684839080"). - Kennedy Jr., Robert F. (2005). [_Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Highjacking Our Democracy_](https://archive.org/details/crimesagainstnat00kenn). New York: [HarperCollins](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/HarperCollins "HarperCollins"). [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-06-074687-2](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-0-06-074687-2 "Special:BookSources/978-0-06-074687-2"). - Kennedy Jr., Robert F., ed. (2014). _Thimerosal: Let the Science Speak: The Evidence Supporting the Immediate Removal of Mercury – a Known Neurotoxin – from Vaccines_. New York: [Skyhorse Publishing](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Skyhorse_Publishing "Skyhorse Publishing"). [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1632206015](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-1632206015 "Special:BookSources/978-1632206015"). - Kennedy Jr., Robert F. (2016). _Framed: Why Michael Skakel Spent Over a Decade in Prison For a Murder He Didn't Commit_. New York: [Skyhorse Publishing](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Skyhorse_Publishing "Skyhorse Publishing"). [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1510701779](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-1510701779 "Special:BookSources/978-1510701779"). - Kennedy Jr., Robert F. (2018). _American Values: Lessons I Learned from My Family_. [Harper](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Harper_(publisher) "Harper (publisher)"). [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0060848347](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-0060848347 "Special:BookSources/978-0060848347"). - Kennedy Jr., Robert F.; Russell, Dick (2020). _Climate in Crisis: Who's Causing It, Who's Fighting It, and How We Can Reverse It Before It's Too Late_. [Hot Books](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hot_Books "Hot Books"). [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1510760561](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-1510760561 "Special:BookSources/978-1510760561"). - Kennedy Jr., Robert F. (2021). _[The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Real_Anthony_Fauci:_Bill_Gates,_Big_Pharma,_and_the_Global_War_on_Democracy_and_Public_Health "The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health")_. [Skyhorse Publishing](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Skyhorse_Publishing "Skyhorse Publishing"). [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1510766808](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-1510766808 "Special:BookSources/978-1510766808"). - Kennedy Jr., Robert F. (2022). [_A Letter to Liberals_](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/A_Letter_to_Liberals "A Letter to Liberals"). [Skyhorse Publishing](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Skyhorse_Publishing "Skyhorse Publishing"). [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1510775596](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-1510775596 "Special:BookSources/978-1510775596"). - Leake, John; [McCullough, Peter A.](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Peter_A._McCullough "Peter A. McCullough"); Kennedy, Robert F. Jr. (2022). _The Courage to Face COVID-19: Preventing Hospitalization and Death While Battling the Bio–Pharmaceutical Complex_. [Skyhorse Publishing](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Skyhorse_Publishing "Skyhorse Publishing"). [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1510776807](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-1510776807 "Special:BookSources/978-1510776807"). ### Children's books - _St. Francis of Assisi: A Life of Joy_. [Hyperion](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hyperion_(publisher) "Hyperion (publisher)"). 2004. [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-7868-1875-4](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-0-7868-1875-4 "Special:BookSources/978-0-7868-1875-4"). - _Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s American Heroes: The Story of Joshua Chamberlain and the American Civil War_. New York: [Hyperion](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hyperion_(publisher) "Hyperion (publisher)"). 2007. [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1-4231-0771-2](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-1-4231-0771-2 "Special:BookSources/978-1-4231-0771-2"). - _Robert Smalls: The Boat Thief_. New York: [Hyperion](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Hyperion_(publisher) "Hyperion (publisher)"). 2008. [ISBN](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1423108023](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Special:BookSources/978-1423108023 "Special:BookSources/978-1423108023"). ## Select awards and recognition Kennedy has received awards in his name or groups he has been part of have received awards. - 2018, The National Trial Lawyers, Mass Tort Trial Team of the Year – for "groundbreaking case of Dewayne "Lee" Johnson v. Monsanto Company"[\[318\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Millican,_Scott-319)[\[319\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-320) Kennedy was co-counsel at one of the two law firms involved in the case. - 2017, [Earth Justice](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Earthjustice "Earthjustice") Mountain Heroes[\[320\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-321) - 2017, Foro La Region Award for "La Proteccion de los Recursos Naturales"[\[321\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-322) - 2014, Stroud Award of Freshwater Excellence[\[322\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-323) - 2009, _Rolling Stone_ "100 Agents of Change"[\[168\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-mercurynews.com-168) - 2008, USC Dornsife Sustainability Champion Award[\[323\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-324) - 2008, Theodre Gordon Flyfishers Conservation Award[\[324\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-pace.edu-325) - 2007, _Vanity Fair_ "The Green Team"[\[325\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-326) - 2005, William O. Douglas Award, on behalf of the Waterkeeper Alliance[\[326\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-327) - 2003, Professional Resource Award, NY State Council of Trout Unlimited[\[324\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-pace.edu-325) - 2001, Distinguished Service Award presented at [Pace Law School](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Pace_Law_School "Pace Law School")'s 25th Anniversary[\[327\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-328) - 2001, _Men's Journal_ "Heroes" Award[\[328\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-329) - 2000, 12th Annual Manhattan Award[\[329\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-pace.edu1-330) - 2000, Jacques Sartisky Peace Award[\[329\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-pace.edu1-330) - 2000, New York State Champion of the Environment[\[330\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-331) - 1999, _[Time](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Time_(magazine) "Time (magazine)")_'s "Heroes of the Planet"[\[168\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-mercurynews.com-168) - 1998, William E. Ricker Resource Conservation Award[\[331\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-332) - 1997, EPA Environmental Quality Award[\[329\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-pace.edu1-330) - 1997, The Brave 40 Award from NYC Department of Environmental Conservation[\[329\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-pace.edu1-330) - 1997, Thomas Berry Environmental Award, presented to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic[\[332\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto5-333) - 1995, Green Star Award presented by the Environmental Action Coalition[\[332\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-auto5-333) - 1991, Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Award[\[333\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-334) ## Note 1. [John F. Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/John_F._Kennedy "John F. Kennedy") was elected president in [1960](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/1960_United_States_presidential_election "1960 United States presidential election") in a successful [presidential campaign](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/John_F._Kennedy_1960_presidential_campaign "John F. Kennedy 1960 presidential campaign"). [Robert F. Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy "Robert F. Kennedy") ran for the [Democratic nomination](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/1968_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries "1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries") for president in [1968](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/1968_United_States_presidential_election "1968 United States presidential election"),[\[202\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Greenfield_2019_f993-202) but he was [assassinated](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Assassination_of_Robert_F._Kennedy "Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy") in June of that year. Kennedy's uncle-by-marriage [Sargent Shriver](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Sargent_Shriver "Sargent Shriver") ran for the nomination [in 1976](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/1976_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries "1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries"),[\[203\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-203) but later withdrew from the race. [Ted Kennedy](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ted_Kennedy "Ted Kennedy") ran for the [Democratic nomination](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/1980_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries "1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries") in [1980](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/1980_United_States_presidential_election "1980 United States presidential election"),[\[204\]](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Robert_F._Kennedy_Jr.#cite_note-Farrell_2022_n815-204) but he was defeated in the primaries by incumbent Democratic president [Jimmy Carter](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Jimmy_Carter "Jimmy Carter"). ## References ## External links ###### Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ###### Robert F. Kennedy ###### Kennedy family ###### (← 2020) 2024 United States presidential election (2028 →) ###### Authority control databases ## Image Gallery > [!grid|masonry] >  --- # Keep Digging **Related:** • ## Tags #Index/Person ### Footnotes & References