Project 2025 leader accused of bragging about killing neighbor's dog with shovel

Las Cruces, New Mexico - Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation and Donald Trump surrogate, is facing criticism after a report claimed that he bragged years ago about killing his neighbor's dog.

Donald Trump surrogate and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts is facing backlash for reports that he once bragged about killing a dog years ago.
Donald Trump surrogate and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts is facing backlash for reports that he once bragged about killing a dog years ago.  © Drew Angerer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Multiple sources recently told The Guardian that Roberts told the tale sometime in 2004, during his time as a professor at New Mexico State University.

One colleague recalled Roberts once telling "various members of the faculty... that a neighbor's dog had been barking pretty relentlessly and was, you know, keeping the baby and probably the parents awake, and that he kind of lost it and took a shovel and killed the dog – end of problem."

Another colleague and their spouse claimed to have heard an identical story at a dinner party Roberts hosted at his home that same year.

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In a statement to the outlet, Roberts called the allegations "patently untrue and baseless" and gave a different version of the story.

"In 2004, a neighbor's chained pit bull attempted to jump a fence into my backyard as I was gardening with my young daughter.

"Thankfully," he added, "the owner arrived in time to restrain the animal before it could get loose and attack us."

Kevin Roberts' connection to Donald Trump

Kevin Roberts speaking during an event for The Heritage Foundation on October 19, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Roberts speaking during an event for The Heritage Foundation on October 19, 2022 in Washington, DC.  © Chip Somodevilla / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The bizarre allegations come as Roberts serves as one of Trump's most outspoken conservative surrogates during his campaign for re-election.

As president of the Heritage Foundation, he led the publication of Project 2025 – a policy blueprint for a second Trump term that emphasizes Christian Nationalist values and seeks to dismantle the separation of powers.

Though Trump has repeatedly claimed he has no ties to Project 2025, a recent CNN report found that at least 140 people who either previously worked for him or under his presidential administration had contributed to it.

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JD Vance, Trump's running mate, also penned the forward to Robert's upcoming book.

Robert's alleged dog story has piqued the interest of many critics, as Trump and Vance, in recent weeks, have been pushing unfounded claims that Haitian immigrants in Ohio have been killing and eating peoples' pets.

The Guardian managed to reach out to the owner of the dog believed to be at the center of the stories, and he claims one of his pit bull pups went missing the year of Robert's story.

"I'm not here to make up stories or to say he did it," the dog's owner stated. "But it was right around 2004 when all that happened, that Loca was missing... and we never found her."

Cover photo: Drew Angerer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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