R.F.K. Jr.’s Campaign Expressed Sympathy for Jan. 6 Rioters, Then Retracted It

The presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the vaccine skeptic running as an independent candidate, said in an email on Thursday that rioters charged with crimes in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and held in a Washington jail had been “stripped of their constitutional liberties.”

Nearly four hours later, the campaign retracted the statement. Stefanie Spear, the press secretary for Mr. Kennedy’s campaign, said the statement “was an error that does not reflect Mr. Kennedy’s views,” adding “It was inserted by a new marketing contractor and slipped through the normal approval process.”

Ms. Spear said that the campaign was reviewing the contract with the marketing company, and stressed that “anybody who violated the law on Jan. 6 should be subject to appropriate criminal and/or civil penalties.”

The email appeared to align the candidate closer to the position of former President Donald J. Trump, one of his opponents in the presidential race, as well as others on the right who say the rioters have been treated unfairly by the justice system — even painting them as martyrs. It follows comments from Mr. Kennedy this week suggesting that President Biden posed a greater threat to American democracy than Mr. Trump.

The Kennedy campaign email, soliciting donations from supporters, focused mostly on the plight of Julian Assange, the embattled WikiLeaks founder who is facing extradition to the United States to face charges of violating the Espionage Act. The campaign described Mr. Assange as a “political prisoner” and asked supporters to sign a petition urging the United States to drop the charges against him.

“The Brits want to make sure our government doesn’t kill Assange,” the email said, before adding