Kathleen Kennedy

Robert F Kennedy Jr has filed election paperwork to run for US president in 2024 as a Democrat.

The 69-year-old is The Son of assassinated Senator Robert F Kennedy and nephew of President John F Kennedy.

The environmental lawyer's campaign treasurer, John E Sullivan, confirmed the filing on Wednesday.

Mr Kennedy is an outspoken anti-vaccine campaigner. Instagram removed His account in 2021 for " repeatedly sharing debunked claims" The Company said.

Both Democratic and Republican parties hold their own contests - called primaries - to find their presidential nominee. Mr Kennedy will be a rank outsider for the Democratic nomination.

US President Joe Biden has indicated he will run for re-election, though he has Not Yet formally declared His candidacy.

He was previously expected to launch His campaign in early April, but top aides say His timeline has shifted.

Cbs News , The Bbc 's US partner, has reported that he is expected to formally announce a run in Early Summer now.

Last month, another Democrat, Marianne Williamson , jumped into the presidential race.

In March, Mr Kennedy shared on Twitter that he was considering a run for president.

At The Time , He Said : " If I run, my top priority will be to end the corrupt merger between state and corporate power that has ruined our economy, shattered the Middle Class , polluted our landscapes and waters, poisoned Our Children , and robbed us of our values and freedoms. "

Mr Kennedy told a New Hampshire crowd in March that he had " passed the biggest hurdle" - His wife greenlighting The Run .

As the co-founder of an Environmental Law firm, Mr Kennedy won plaudits for campaigning on issues such as clean water, including working to clean up the Hudson River in New York .

But His anti-vaccine views go back years and have provoked a strong backlash, including from His own family. In 2021 His sister, Kerry Kennedy , called him " very dangerous" on the issue.

In 2019, three other Family Members penned an op-ed in The News outlet Politico, denouncing Mr Kennedy's anti-vaccine views.

His sister Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, brother Joseph P Kennedy II and niece Maeve Kennedy McKean said His views were " tragically wrong" and have " deadly consequences".

In 2022, Facebook and Instagram removed accounts for an anti-vaccine group founded by Mr Kennedy, Children's Health Defense, for " repeatedly" violating company policies on medical misinformation.

Although Mr Kennedy's vaccine scepticism long predates Covid, he found a new audience during the pandemic, when revenues to Children's Health Defense doubled to $6. 8m (£5. 5m).

Mr Kennedy also published a book, The Real Anthony Fauci , in which he accused the former US Infectious Disease chief of " a historic coup d'etat against Western democracy".

He also invoked Nazi Germany during an anti-vaccine speech in Washington, DC Last Year .

Mr Kennedy has a voice disorder, spasmodic dysphonia, which affects the muscles in His voice box.

He married actress Cheryl Hines in 2014 and lives Los Angeles , California.

Source of news: bbc.com