Asked about bear carcass prank, RFK Jr. says he once had a freezer full of roadkill meat

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.

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

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.

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

The residence in question is a room in a home in well-to-do Katonah, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of midtown Manhattan. Kennedy testified Wednesday that he has only slept in that room once, citing his constant travel for his campaign.

Shown a photograph of the room, Kennedy acknowledged the furniture and painting in the room are not his, but he said pictures on the nightstand belong to him.

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

Kennedy's lawyer, William F. Savino, asked him why he didn’t just rent or buy a house in New York in the last 10 years. Kennedy said homeownership is time consuming and expensive.

“It snows a lot here," he said. “The pipes break, the driveway needs to be plowed and all these other burdens that are associated with home ownership.”

Kennedy, who lived in New York for years before moving to California, noted his father was similarly accused when he ran for a New York Senate seat in 1964 and won. Months before that election, his father, Robert F. Kennedy, rented a home on Long Island.

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

The woman who owns the Katonah property testified Tuesday that Kennedy rents a room for $500 a month, but she acknowledged 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 thought his assistant had been paying rent for the previous year and that he made sure payments started after the newspaper story.

The lawsuit against Kennedy is backed by Clear Choice PAC, a super PAC led by supporters of Democratic President Joe Biden. A judge is set to decide the outcome without a jury.

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

Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., leaves after giving testimony at the Albany County Courthouse, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. Kennedy is fighting a lawsuit claiming he falsely claimed to live in New York as he sought to get on the ballot in the state. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., right, arrives at the Albany County Courthouse to fight a lawsuit he falsely claimed to live in New York state, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

A election campaign sign for Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,is seen outside the Albany County Courthouse Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., right, waves to a group of supporters as he arrives at the Albany County Courthouse to fight a lawsuit he falsely claimed to live in New York state, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,right, turns to look at supporters as he arrives at the Albany County Courthouse to fight a lawsuit he falsely claimed to live in New York state, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

A small group of supporters wait for Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to arrive at the Albany County Courthouse, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., right, waves to a group of supporters as he arrives at the Albany County Courthouse to fight a lawsuit he falsely claimed to live in New York state, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., right, arrives at the Albany County Courthouse to fight a lawsuit he falsely claimed to live in New York state, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Tropical Storm Francine was strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, drenching coastal Mexico and Texas on its way to hit Louisiana as a hurricane on Wednesday night.

“We’re going to have a very dangerous situation developing by the time we get into Wednesday for portions of the north-central Gulf Coast, primarily along the coast of Louisiana, where we’re going to see the potential for life-threatening storm surge inundation and hurricane-force winds,” said Michael Brennan, director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Heavy rain was already falling in northeastern Mexico and deep South Texas, where some places could get up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) into Monday night, Brennan said. By early Monday afternoon, the hurricane center said the storm was becoming stronger and better organized.

Francine is taking aim at a stretch of coastline that has yet to fully recover since hurricanes Laura and Delta decimated Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 2020, followed a year later by Hurricane Ida. Over the weekend, a 22-story building in Lake Charles that had become a symbol of the destruction was imploded after sitting vacant for nearly four years, its windows shattered and covered in shredded tarps.

The storm surge pushed by Francine could reach as much as 10 feet (3 meters) along a stretch of Louisiana coastline from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay, forecasters said. And if the current track holds, the storm could blow northward up the Mississippi River, into the Illinois area by Saturday.

“Francine is expected to bring multiple days of heavy rainfall, considerable flash flooding risk,” Brennan said.

Louisiana officials urged residents to immediately prepare for the storm while “conditions still allow” for it, Mike Steele, spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, told The Associated Press.

Storms like Francine can rapidly intensify, and people don't have the luxury of days to prepare, Steele said.

“We always talk about how anytime something gets into the Gulf, things can change quickly, and this is a perfect example of that,” Steele said.

Residents of Baton Rouge, Louisiana's riverfront capital, began forming long lines as people filled up their gas tanks and stocked up on groceries. Others went to fill sandbags at city-operated locations to try to keep floodwaters from entering their homes.

“It’s crucial that all of us take this storm very seriously and begin our preparations immediately,” Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said during a news conference Monday morning.

She urged residents to prepare a disaster supply kit, complete with enough food, water and essential supplies for three days.

A mandatory evacuation was ordered for seven remote coastal communities by the Cameron Parish Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness. They include Holly Beach, a laid-back stretch dubbed Louisiana’s “Cajun Riviera,” where many homes sit on stilts. The storm-battered town has been a low-cost paradise for oil industry workers, families and retirees, rebuilt multiple times after being struck by hurricanes.

And in Grand Isle, Louisiana’s last inhabited barrier island, Mayor David Camardelle recommended residents evacuate and ordered a mandatory evacuation for those in recreational vehicles. Hurricane Ida decimated the city three years ago, damaging almost all of its 2,500 structures and destroying 700 homes.

Officials warn that flooding in the area is likely to begin Tuesday afternoon and persist through Thursday. There are also threats of high winds, downed trees and power outages.

The hurricane center said early Monday afternoon that Francine was located about 180 miles (285 kilometers) south-southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande, and about 450 miles (720 kilometers ) south-southwest of Cameron, Louisiana, sustaining top winds of about 60 miles per hour (95 kilometers per hour). It was moving north-northwest at 5 mph (7 kph).

Flooding in northern Mexico forced schools to close Monday and Tuesday in Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas. Marco Antonio Hernandez Acosta, manager of the Matamoros Water and Drainage Board, said they were waiting for Mexico's federal government to provide pumps to drain the affected areas.

The storm is expected to be centered just offshore through Tuesday, and then intensify significantly from Tuesday night into Wednesday as it nears the upper Texas coast and Louisiana, according to the hurricane center.

A storm surge watch is in effect from the Texas coast near Houston across the entire coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi, while a hurricane watch has been issued for much of the Louisiana coast, from Cameron to Grand Isle.

Stengle contributed to this story from Dallas and Alfredo Peña contributed to this report from Ciudad Victoria, Mexico.

Weather begins to form from Tropical Storm Francine on the Harrison County Beaches in Pass Christian, Miss. Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)

Tuff Gary, left, and Morgan LeBlanc with their children Hudson, Tuff, Jr., and Zander, of Jenning, La., watch the implosion of the Hertz Tower, that was heavily damaged after Hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020 in Lake Charles, La., Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The Hertz Tower, which was heavily damaged after Hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020, is imploded in Lake Charles, La., Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Weather begins to form from Tropical Storm Francine on the Harrison County Beaches in Pass Christian, Miss. Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)

Weather begins to form from Tropical Storm Francine on the Harrison County Beaches in Pass Christian, Miss. Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)

Tropical Storm Francine forms off Mexico, aiming for the Louisiana coast

Tropical Storm Francine forms off Mexico, aiming for the Louisiana coast

This Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024 satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico expected to bring significant rainfall to parts of Texas and Louisiana this week, possibly developing into a stronger storm, including a hurricane, according to the National Weather Service. (NOAA via AP)