Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he released a roadkill bear in Central Park
Robert F. Kennedy told Roseanne Barr that he picked up a dead bear on the side of the road and then left it in Central Park.
A New York judge ruled Monday that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cannot appear on the state’s ballot in November, siding with a Democratic-backed political action committee that had challenged Kennedy’s candidacy on the grounds that he had listed his place of residence in order to run.
The judge’s decision could pave the way for similar challenges to Kennedy’s candidacy in other states.
New York Judge Christina Ryba of Albany ruled that Kennedy falsely stated in his nomination petition that his “place of residence” was an address in Katonah, NY, outside New York City, where he rents a guest room, rather than his home in California, which he bought in 2021 after marrying actress Cheryl Hines in 2014.
Ryba ruled that the nomination petition filed by Kennedy and his running mate Nicole Shanahan was invalid due to false identification of a residency and ordered the New York State Board of Elections not to place the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket on the 2024 ballot.
In a 34-page ruling following a brief trial, Ryba wrote that the New York address given in the petition, “based on clear and convincing credible evidence,” was “not Kennedy’s true and lawful residence, but merely a ‘sham address’ that he had adopted in order to maintain his voter registration and to pursue his own political ambitions in this State.”
More: DNC-backed New York voters sue to bar Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the ballot
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Kennedy testified that his residence at the New York address began “sometime in May 2023,” but confirmed that none of his pets or family members live at that address. Kennedy told the court he slept in the New York home only once, “a month ago, three weeks ago.” A neighbor of the New York address who has lived there for 35 years testified that he often walks his dog past the house but has never seen Kennedy.
Kennedy remains a registered voter in New York and has not updated his voter registration since moving to California. “I did not want to change my voter registration to California because I am a New Yorker,” Kennedy said in court.
The lawsuit, filed by three New Yorkers, was supported by the Democratic-affiliated political action committee Clear Choice.
It is expected that the Kennedy campaign team will be called.
“Democracy is about trusting voters to make the best choice for themselves and their families, not using the courts as a weapon to limit voters’ freedom of choice and prevent Americans from supporting the candidate they like best,” Kennedy campaign manager Amaryllis Fox Kennedy said in a statement.
“Over a million voters have signed their names for Kennedy’s candidacy – more than ever before in American history. If the Democratic Party does not begin to respect the democratic process, all the legal wrangling in the world will not stop the American people from voting them out of office.”
More: RFK Jr. releases video in which he admits to dumping a dead bear in New York’s Central Park in 2014
Kennedy is polling in the single digits in most national polls. Democrats have attacked Kennedy as a “spoiler candidate” designed to help Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. Although New York is firmly in the favor of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Kennedy’s performance in the hotly contested swing states could swing the election.
“The RFK Jr. running for president is the same RFK Jr. portrayed in this story: a deeply disturbed, reckless and dangerous man,” Democratic National Committee spokesman Matt Corridoni said in a statement.
“He doesn’t believe the rules apply to him and he refuses to consider the consequences of his actions. That’s why he’s willing to play the role of spoilsport for Donald Trump in this election,” Corridoni said.
Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.
