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Sen. John F. Kennedy said Sunday night in Weirton that he believes West Virginians will reject the intervention of Teamsters boss James R. Hoffa in the May 10 Democratic presidential preference primary.

"I think people do not want Jimmy Hoffa to determine who is to be the nominee," Kennedy said. "The Teamsters through Hoffa intervened in Wisconsin and the people of Wisconsin rejected that intervention."

Hoffa was accused Sunday by a Kennedy aide of supporting Kennedy's opponent, Sen. Huber H. Humphrey in the primary.

Eugene Carter, president of the West Virginia Teamsters, said his union had endorsed Humphrey. Carter said the national organization had no hand in it. The West Virginia organization has 7,000 members.

Kennedy did no campaigning today in West Virginia, leaving the spotlight to Humphrey. Kennedy returned to Washington Sunday night after appearing at Weirton. Earlier in the day he was at Ravenswood and Parkersburg. Kennedy is scheduled to return to the state Tuesday.

The Massachusetts senator was still suffering from an infected throat and a brother, Ted, delivered his speeches Sunday. Some 1,000 persons listened to Kennedy's speech at Weirton.

Humphrey was scheduled to spend all of today in the Parkersburg area and then fly to Huntington late tonight. A supporter of Humphrey, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Karl Rolvaag, also was active today. Rolvaag left Charleston for a three-day tour covering 34 towns in southern West Virginia.

Lieutenants for Humphrey and Kennedy traded verbal punches Sunday.

Matt Reese, executive director of West Virginians for Kennedy, charged that Hoffa had intervened in the campaign in behalf of Humphrey.

"In the past few days, the head of the Teamsters in West Virginia, Gene Carter, has been touring the state showing a bitter anti-Kennedy movie made by Sen. Wayne Morse of Oregon," Reese said.

Reese added "The intervention of Mr. Hoffa in West Virginia is just added evidence to the character of the gang up against Senator Kennedy in West Virginia."

Marshall West, state co-chairman of the Humphrey campaign replied, "This is getting ridiculous, sooner or later we hope the Kennedy forces will get tired of silly name calling and begin discussing issues."

Anybody who knows anything about Senator Humphrey [k]nows that he has fought corruption all his life whether he found it in labor, management or politics," West said.

And the religious issue cropped up Sunday when a Catholic priest charged a Baptist minister with spreading anti-Catholic literature.

Father Paul Fahey of Belle said Rev. Edward Turns passed out the literature which was falsely alleged to be the oath of the Knights of Columbus to which Kennedy belongs.

Fahey said the oath was quoted out of context of the congressional Record of Feb. 13, 1913 when it was entered as evidence in an election case. It was entered to prove its falsity and printed as an exhibit in the election case, Fahey said. The falso oath, among other things, swears death to all Protestants.