RFK Jr. appeals to Trump supporters by pledging to close border, probe Jan. 6 prosecutions

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is appealing to supporters of former President Donald Trump by pledging to crack down on illegal immigration and investigate the prosecution of Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot defendants. 

Kennedy's campaign said in an email last week that he would appoint a special counsel to "investigate whether prosecutorial discretion was abused for political ends in this case. And I will right any wrongs that we discover," Axios reported Wednesday. 

Clarifying his stance on the day during an interview this week on NewsNation, Kennedy said: "I think it was a protest that turned into a riot. I don't know what your definition of an insurrection is, but if your definition is armed men who were intending to take over the United States government, it wasn't that. People committed criminal acts, and those people deserve to be in jail."

Kennedy previously said that the first step to solving the humanitarian crisis facing illegal immigrants is to seal the border, and his vice presidential pick, Nichole Shanahan, visited the border last week. Both Kennedy and Shanahan pledged to implement new immigration policies.   

While Kennedy has been a vocal critic of certain medical interventions, such as vaccines, on Wednesday he hinted that Dr. Anthony Fauci, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, committed a crime by lying under oath. Republicans have referred Fauci for criminal prosecution before. 

Other conservative points that Kennedy has echoed in recent days include criticizing CNN, pushing against environmental regulations that may impact small businesses and stressing the need to reduce the deficit.

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