Kennedy scion arrested after Aspen bar fight, police say
ASPEN, Colo. -- Police say a member of the Kennedy family was arrested after a bar fight in the tony resort town of Aspen.
Police say 22-year-old John Conor Kennedy was charged with disorderly conduct in the Thursday morning scuffle. Kennedy is the oldest son of Robert Kennedy Jr., an environmental activist, and the grandson of Robert Kennedy.
A spokesperson for Robert Kennedy Jr. confirmed the arrest, and said Kennedy had retained Aspen attorneys Matt Ferguson and Ryan Kalamaya to represent him on a disorderly conduct citation. A court appearance is set for Feb. 22.
Police say Kennedy and another man were fighting in the street and rolling around on the ground when officers tried to separate them. Officers reported seeing Kennedy punch the man in the head four or five times.
According to police, the incident happened just after 1:30 p.m. at the Bootsy Bellows nightclub. According to reports, people wouldn’t leave the bar, CBS Denver reports.
An officer reported that he saw a fight break out between two men. According to a statement by Kennedy’s attorneys, Kennedy “rebuked” two men who allegedly used a “homophobic slur and threats to [Kennedy’s] close friend.”
The Aspen Times reports Kennedy told officers “he called my friend the f-word.”
Officer Andy Atkinson reported seeing Kennedy grab another man by his shirt, pull him down so he was bent over and hit him four or five times in the back of the head with his fists, according to the Aspen Times.
Kennedy allegedly struggled against an officer who was trying to restrain him before they both fell into a snowbank.
Kennedy “was arrested with the help of a bystander,” according to Aspen police Sgt. Rick Magnuson, CBS Denver reports. Kennedy’s attorneys said in a statement that he was “cooperative, compliant and respectful.”
Kennedy has made headlines before, most notably for his high-profile relationship with Taylor Swift in 2012. His mother, Mary Richardson Kennedy, died in 2012 in an apparent suicide.
Kennedy was previously arrested in 2013 during a protest outside the White House.