RFK Jr. says he once had a freezer full of meat from animals run over on the road

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 place it in Central Park as a prank Ten years ago, he said he had been collecting roadkill “all his life” and once had a “freezer full of them” at home.

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

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

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

In a video posted to social media Sunday, Kennedy told comedian Roseanne Barr that he planned to skin the bear, which was in “really good condition.” He went on to say, “I was going to put the meat in my refrigerator,” but did not specify what he planned to do with it.

Speaking to reporters in a hallway after the trial ended Wednesday, Kennedy was asked if he had picked up any other animals that had been run over on the road.

“I’ve been picking up roadkill all my life. I’ve got a freezer full of them,” he said, drawing laughter.

Kennedy campaign spokeswoman Stefanie Spear later said in a text message that he wasn’t joking. She said that’s how Kennedy, a falconer who trains crows, feeds his birds. She added that he no longer has the 1,000-cubic-foot refrigerator that was in suburban Westchester County, New York.

On the witness stand, Kennedy was questioned for a second day about where he lives and whether he should be barred from the November ballot in New York.

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

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

During a tense exchange in the Albany courtroom, attorney Keith Corbett repeatedly asked Kennedy whether his move to California with his family and pets demonstrated his intention to reside in the state.

Kennedy hesitated to answer “yes” or “no,” saying the reality was more nuanced.

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

“My intention is to return to New York and that is the only condition for obtaining residency,” he said.

Questioned by his own lawyer, Kennedy said he moved to California out of love for his wife and concern for his career.

“I said I would find a way to make a living in California until we could come back, and that was our deal,” he said.

He said it was difficult for him to leave New York because he had built his life there.

The residence in question is a bedroom in a house in the affluent Katonah neighborhood, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of midtown Manhattan. Kennedy said Wednesday that he had slept in the room only once, citing his constant travel for his campaign.

When shown a photograph of the room, Kennedy acknowledged that the furniture and paintings in the room did not belong to him, but he said the paintings on the nightstand did.

“I think one of them is a picture of me and Mick Jagger,” he said.

Kennedy’s lawyer, William F. Savino, asked him why he had not simply rented or bought a home in New York City in the past decade. Kennedy responded that home ownership takes time and is expensive.

“It snows a lot here,” he said. “The pipes break, the driveway has to be plowed and you have to deal with all these other issues that come with owning a home.”

Kennedy, who lived in New York for years before moving to California, noted that his father was similarly accused when he ran for the New York State Senate in 1964 and won. A few months before that election, his father, Robert F. Kennedy, had rented a house on Long Island.

“He was also accused of not being a New Yorker,” he said.

The owner of the Katonah property said Tuesday that Kennedy rents a room for $500 a month, but she acknowledged that those payments began in May, a day after a New York Post story questioned the candidate’s claim that he lives in New York. Kennedy testified that he believed his assistant had paid the previous year’s rent and that he made sure the payments began after the newspaper story.

The Kennedy lawsuit is backed by Clear Choice PAC, a super PAC run by supporters of Democratic President Joe Biden. A judge is expected to decide the outcome of the non-jury trial.

Kennedy’s campaign said he had enough signatures to qualify in a majority of states, but his campaign has faced challenges and lawsuits in several states, including North Carolina And New Jersey.

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Associated Press reporter Dave Collins in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this report.