𝗜𝗧'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗥~𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗗𝗠𝗜𝗧𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗞𝗘𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗭𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗢𝗙 𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗗𝗞𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗧

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

BY  MICHAEL HILL

Updated 6:41 PM CDT, August 7, 2024

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — It wasn’t just the dead bear.

Days after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. admitted to taking a bear carcass from the side of the road and placing it in Central Park as a prank a decade ago, he said that has been picking up roadkill his “whole life” and once had a “freezer full of it” at home.

The comment came as the independent presidential candidate was leaving an upstate New York courtroom Wednesday where he had testified in a lawsuit seeking to exclude him from the state’s ballot in November.

The trial has focused on whether Kennedy improperly listed a residence in the New York City suburb of Katonah as his home address on his nominating petitions, when he has actually been living in the Los Angeles area since 2014.

But the substance of the trial has been largely overshadowed in recent days by a story, unearthed by The New Yorker, that Kennedy once put a dead bear cub in his car while on a hiking trip, drove around with it for a day, then dumped it in Central Park with a group of friends when he realized he had to catch a flight.

Speaking to reporters in a hallway after court ended Wednesday, Kennedy was asked whether he picked up other roadkill.

“I’ve been picking up roadkill my whole life. I have a freezer full of it,” he said, eliciting laughter.

Kennedy campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spear later said by text that he wasn’t joking. She said that’s how Kennedy — a falconer who trains ravens — feeds his birds. She added that he no longer has the 21 cubic foot (0.59 cubic meter) refrigerator, which had been in New York’s Westchester County suburbs.

On the witness stand, Kennedy was grilled for a second day about where he lives and whether he should be kept off New York’s ballot in November.

He testified that his move to California a decade ago was only temporary so he could be with his wife, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actor Cheryl Hines, and that he always planned to return to New York.

Attorneys representing several New York voters have sought to demonstrate Kennedy is not a New York resident, relying on government documents and even a recent social media video in which Kennedy talks about taming ravens he feeds at his Los Angeles home.

In a testy exchange in the Albany courtroom, attorney Keith Corbett repeatedly asked Kennedy whether moving to California with his family and pets demonstrated his intention to reside in that state.

Kennedy balked at providing a “yes” or “no” answer, saying the reality was more nuanced.

“Do you want a yes or no answer, or do you want the truth?” Kennedy said.

“My intention is to return to New York and that’s the only requirement for residency,” he said.

Under questioning from his own lawyer, Kennedy said he moved to California out of love for his wife and concern for her career.

“I said I would figure out a way to make a living in California until we could move back, and that was our agreement,” he said.