In response to new reporting from TheGrio examining how RFK Jr. falsely accused two men of color of murder, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison released a video statement reminding RFK Jr. that he can’t run from his racist past. 

TheGrio’s reporting dives into RFK Jr. using racial stereotypes to falsely accuse two innocent men of color of murdering a white woman in order to exonerate his white cousin who had been convicted of the crime. While promoting his baseless theory on a book and media tour, RFK Jr. continuously spread these racist stereotypes and prejudices. Not only did he profit and gain media notoriety from the lie, he devastated these men’s lives – just like Donald Trump and the “Central Park Five.” 

Watch DNC Chair Jaime Harrison’s full response here. You can read the full transcript below. 

HARRISON: Did you know that Donald Trump took out a full-page ad falsely accusing five Black & Latino men of a crime that they didn’t commit and that they should get the death penalty?

Well, Donald Trump is not the only person running for president who has falsely accused young men of color of a crime.

In a 2016 book, RFK Jr. accused two innocent men — one of them Black, one of them mixed race — of committing a murder when they were teenagers.

But let’s back up.

 In 1975, a 15-year-old girl was brutally murdered in Greenwich, Connecticut. 

The case went cold for decades, but in 2002, Michael Skakel, RFK Jr.’s cousin, was put on trial, and convicted of the murder.

But RFK Jr. couldn’t accept the verdict — just like how he can’t accept science, historical facts, and established truths.

He instead tried to pin this murder on  an innocent black man and an innocent man of mixed race, accusing them of a murder they didn’t commit and making claims that had already been dismissed by a court – all while levying racist stereotypes.

Y’all, he described these men as …

VIDEO OF RFK JR.: “Two men, or two kids, kind of gangsters.”

HARRISON: He said because they’re …

VIDEO OF RFK JR.: “They are 6’3”, 6’4”, respectively, 250 pounds, and very strong.”

HARRISON: He even said …

VIDEO OF RFK JR.: “They were going to go caveman on a girl in Greenwich.”

HARRISON: The racism here couldn’t be more bleak.

And with a book deal and a TV deal, RFK Jr. also profited off these false and racist claims.

But folks, that’s RFK Jr. — conspiracy theories are the foundation of his campaign, because they’re the foundation of who he is. 

A man who will do and say anything — including deploying some of the most vile, racist stereotypes against innocent, young men — if it means fueling his deranged, delusional lies.

Bottom line is this:

Someone like this should not be elected to office in this country. At any level. Especially the presidency.

Folks, we have to make sure that this man does not get elected to the White House. 

BACKGROUND: As RFK Jr. attempts to lean on his family’s history of strong civil rights leadership and pitch himself as the continuation of that legacy, he is finding it hard to hide from his past. Reporting today from TheGrio examines how RFK Jr. falsely accused two innocent men – one of them Black, and one of them mixed race– of murdering a white woman to exonerate his white cousin who was convicted of the crime. Just like Donald Trump and the Central Park Five, RFK Jr. tried to ruin these men’s lives. In the process, RFK Jr. raked in money from book and TV deals while peddling racist stereotypes.