Hours ahead of RFK Jr. announcing the other half of a presidential ticket with no chance of winning in November, the Daily Beast published the shocking story of how RFK Jr. and American Values 2024, the super PAC supporting his campaign, took more than $250,000 from a New Jersey man who shot and killed his brother whom he suspected was part of a plot killing him with pesticides. The donor, Daniel Thropp, was found not guilty of the 2006 murder by reason of insanity and spent nearly five years in a psychiatric hospital until he was released by the court in 2016.
RFK Jr. is no stranger to conspiracy theories about pesticides. Last year, RFK Jr. suggested pesticides contained chemicals that were turning children gay, feminizing boys, and masculinizing girls.
Learn more about RFK Jr.’s support from Daniel Thropp:
- Thropp told The Daily Beast that there’s a dotted line between that awful episode and his support for RFK Jr., who has been disavowed by much of his family for his anti-vaccine activism, platforming of conspiracy theories, and other questionable statements.
- At trial, the defense argued that Thropp suffered a delusion that his brother was part of a local “mafia” conspiring to poison him with insecticide—a “classic, textbook” case of insanity that was the result of sustained exposure to organophosphates.
- “That’s why I’m supporting Kennedy, because he takes atypical views on medical issues,” Thropp said.
- Thropp gave the maximum $6,600 to RFK Jr.’s campaign and another $260,000 to the super PAC supporting him. He declined to answer whether he had ever had personal contact with Kennedy or any campaign staff, but said an unspecified person “around the campaign” whom he met at a rally explained how to break down his contributions between the candidate’s official presidential committee and his supporting American Values PAC.
- Kennedy campaign manager Stefanie Spear did not respond to questions about Thropp’s support of the campaign.
- American Values PAC, the greatest beneficiary of Thropp’s largesse, did not say whether it was aware of his past when he donated.
Read the entire Daily Beast story here.
Published: Mar 26, 2024 | Last Modified: Apr 4, 2024