Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to appear in Pennsylvania and New York courts next week to defend himself in lawsuits, brought by Democrat-aligned groups, that challenge the validity of voter signatures he was required to gather to make the ballot as an independent candidate.
"Mr. Kennedy will now be testifying in court next week in Harrisburg, PA, on Tuesday and Mineola, NY, on Wednesday or Thursday to defend ballot access challenges," campaign spokeswoman Stefanie Spear told ABC News in a statement.
Spear added that RFK Jr.'s campaign has canceled its event in Chicago on Sunday and Monday next week in preparation of the court appearances.
The Pennsylvania case mirrors one that Kennedy lost this month in upstate New York, as it argues he listed on his nominating petition forms an address where he doesn’t live.
Plaintiffs in the Long Island case argue that contractors hired by the Kennedy campaign to gather signatures engaged in fraudulent activity, citing a New York Times piece in May that quoted voters who said Kennedy-aligned petitioners who approached them folded over the page to conceal Kennedy's name.
"We should make it very clear that nobody wanted this to happen and did everything they could to make it stop happening," William F. Savino, a lawyer representing Kennedy in the case, told ABC News Thursday.
"Nobody wanted improper signatures, and we had the luxury of so many extra signatures, there was no incentive to bend the rules or fold the paper," Savino added.
-ABC News' Will McDuffie