{"slug":"rfk-jr-heroin-possession-charge-1983","title":"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Pleaded Guilty to Felony Heroin Possession in South Dakota (1983 Charge)","date":"1983-09-16","lastUpdated":"2026-10-09","description":"In September 1983 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was charged in Rapid City, South Dakota, with possession of heroin, a felony then carrying up to two years' imprisonment, after police found slightly less than a gram of the drug in his luggage. He later pleaded guilty to the felony charge, The New York Times reported; UPI reported a suspended sentence and two years' probation, and the Times reported two years' probation and community service.","summary":"Kennedy was arrested on the order of the Pennington County State's Attorney after heroin was found in his bags in Rapid City. The charge was a felony. Kennedy pleaded guilty, according to The New York Times, and PBS Frontline reported that community service was part of the plea deal.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"pre-office","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,949812,00.html","title":"Crash Landing For Bobby","publisher":"TIME"},{"url":"https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/08/20/Now-its-ADA-John-F-Kennedy-Jr/7659619588800","title":"Now it's ADA John F. Kennedy Jr.","publisher":"United Press International"},{"url":"https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/the-rise-of-rfk-jr/","title":"The Rise of RFK Jr.","publisher":"PBS Frontline"},{"url":"https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2024/11/29/kennedys-inheritance-how-addiction-and-trauma-shaped-a-turbulent-life/","title":"Kennedy's inheritance: How addiction and trauma shaped a turbulent life","publisher":"The New York Times (via Boston.com)"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["drug-charge","pre-office"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[],"location":{"name":"Rapid City, SD"},"custom":{"posture":"documented","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Robert F. Kennedy Jr.","role":"Private individual"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2026-10-09","summary":"Added for the Before Office record. Kennedy first joined the administration on February 13, 2025."}],"keyPoints":["TIME reported that Pennington County State's Attorney Rod Lefholz ordered Kennedy's arrest for possession of heroin after police found slightly less than one gram in his bags","The offence was a felony punishable by up to two years' imprisonment and a $2,000 fine","UPI reported that on September 16, 1983, Kennedy was charged with heroin possession in Rapid City, entered a drug treatment programme, and received a suspended sentence and two years' probation","The New York Times reported that Kennedy pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possessing heroin and was sentenced to two years' probation and community service; PBS Frontline reported that community service was part of the plea deal"],"verificationStatus":"cross-referenced","postureNote":"Felony heroin-possession charge in Pennington County, South Dakota (1983), resolved by a guilty plea (The New York Times; PBS Frontline). Sentence: two years' probation and community service (NYT); UPI (1989) reported a suspended sentence and two years' probation. The plea date is not given in the sources fetched for this entry.","subjects":["rfk-jr"],"legalStatus":"pleaded-guilty"}}