RFK Jr. Swims in Sewage-Tainted Creek with Grandchildren Despite National Park Service’s Bacteria Warning

[Pelican Press 0]

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RFK Jr. Swims in Sewage-Tainted Creek with Grandchildren Despite National Park Service’s Bacteria Warning

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. swam in a creek in Washington, D.C., that has been deemed unsafe due to its high levels of bacteria

Kennedy, the Health and Human Services secretary, took his young grandchildren along for the swim and posted photos of them by the water with him

The National Park Service has warned that Rock Creek could have dangerous pathogens harmful to pets and humans

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plunged into a creek deemed a “hazard” to human health as part of his Mother’s Day celebrations on Sunday, May 11.

The Department of Health and Human Services secretary, 71, posted photos to X of himself and his family at Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. In one of the images, Kennedy is fully submerged with his head underwater. In another, he holds one of his grandchildren as the child’s feet dip into the creek. The

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banned swimming and wading in the creek due to “high bacteria levels” in the water.

“Mother’s Day hike in Dumbarton Oaks Park with Amaryllis, Bobby, Kick, and Jackson, and a swim with my grandchildren, Bobcat and Cassius in Rock Creek,” Kennedy captioned his post on Sunday.

The NPS warns that possible infectious pathogens in Rock Creek — a tributary of the Potomac River — could pose a risk to human and **** health. The agency urges visitors, “Please protect yourself and your pooches by staying on trails and out of the creek.”

Many of D.C.’s waterways are not fit for recreational swimming due in part to contamination from the city’s sewer system, which is more than 200 years old, according to

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. The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority recently found a

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in the ceiling of a sewer tunnel next to Rock Creek.

Kennedy, who

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the idea that germs cause disease in his 2021 book The Real Anthony Fauci, has a long history of dubious health claims. He recently incorrectly stated that the MMR vaccine includes

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and said bird flu should be allowed to

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, suggesting the infected birds should be isolated and left to breed, not culled.

In late March,

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, a top vaccine official at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),

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, and listed Kennedy’s work at HHS as one of the factors that drove him out.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in 2023

“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” he wrote at the time.

The HHS secretary most recently came under fire for his

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, alleging that they are unable to live normal, full lives and are “suffering.” His words sparked immediate backlash, including from

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, whose son was diagnosed with autism, and Big Brother contestant

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, who was diagnosed at age 30.

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Kennedy’s cousins even

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blasting his “slurs and statements” about people diagnosed with autism.

“We have been reminded again and again that people with autism can and will continue to be wonderful children, brothers and sisters, and members of families,” read the joint letter from Best Buddies Founder & CEO 

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 and his brother, Special Olympics International Chairman 

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.

HHS did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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#RFK #Swims #SewageTainted #Creek #Grandchildren #National #Park #Services #Bacteria #Warning

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