Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s story about decapitating a whale is coming back to bite him. During an Arizona campaign event for former President Donald Trump on Saturday, RFK. Jr. revealed that he’s under investigation for the incident, which took place decades ago but first made headlines earlier this year.
“Right after I endorsed President Trump, I received a letter from the National Marine Fisheries [Service] saying that they were investigating me for collecting a whale specimen 20 years ago,” he said, according to a video published by NBC News. “It’s 15 y vears past the statute of limitations, but they’re opening an investigation.”
The former independent presidential candidate claimed that the investigation “is all about the weaponization of our government against political opponents of the party in power.”
“It’s dangerous for our democracy, as my father understood,” RFK Jr. said of the late democrat, Robert F. Kennedy. “Every American, whether you’re Democrat or Republican, should be offended by it.”
Days after RFK Jr. claimed that the incident is being looked into, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed as much to CNN, before noting that they do not comment on ongoing investigations.
The story initially came to light in 2012, when RFK Jr.’s daughter, Kick Kennedy, gave an interview to Town and Country. During the chat, Kick revealed that her dad once drove five hours after hearing a whale carcass had washed up onto the beach. According to his daughter, RFK Jr. proceeded to cut the dead animal’s head off with a chainsaw, before attaching it to the roof of their car via bungee cords.
“Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet,” Kick said. “We all had plastic bags over our heads with mouth holes cut out, and people on the highway were giving us the finger, but that was just normal day-to-day stuff for us.”
The tale took off in earnest in August, days after RFK Jr. suspended his presidential bid and threw his support behind Trump.
At the time, The Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund called for an investigation into the matter.
“There are good reasons why it is illegal for any person to collect or keep parts of any endangered species,” said Brett Hartl, the fund’s national political director. “Most importantly, vital research opportunities are lost when individuals scavenge a wildlife carcass and interfere with the work of scientists. This is particularly true of marine mammals, which are some of the most difficult wildlife species in the world to study.”
Animals have long played an interesting role in RFK Jr.’s life. He once claimed a parasite ate half his brain, has denied an allegation that he barbecued a dog carcass, and admitted to planting a deceased bear cub in a New York City park.
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