Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused Democrats of violating the First Amendment during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on restrictions that limited public gatherings and religious services.

“Democrats obliterated the second leg of the First Amendment: the guaranteed right of assembly, by social distancing regulations that were completely unscience based,” Kennedy said during his remarks at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas Thursday.

Kennedy then turned to religious freedom, arguing that pandemic restrictions went beyond legitimate public-health measures.

“Democrats violated the third leg of the First Amendment: the freedom to worship,” he said. “They closed every church in our country for a year. Who could imagine that would ever happen?”

The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, the press, religion, peaceful assembly and petitioning the government. During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal, state and local governments implemented a range of restrictions on gatherings and businesses, while rules governing religious services varied by jurisdiction and changed over time.

Kennedy has made criticism of the government’s pandemic response a recurring part of his political message. His remarks in Dallas placed those concerns within a broader argument about constitutional rights and limits on government authority.

Kennedy, who served as an independent presidential candidate in 2024 before endorsing President Donald Trump, now serves as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. He was one of the featured speakers during the second night of the Republican Party’s two-day midterm convention in Dallas. The official convention schedule placed Kennedy in the 8 p.m. hour, alongside other administration and Republican figures.

Trump is expected to give the event's closing remarks.