Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be given Secret Service protection in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced on Monday.
RFK Jr., whose father Bobby Kennedy was infamously murdered on the campaign trail, had long requested protection due to multiple security incidents.
Mayorkas said that “in light of this weekend’s events, the president [Joe Biden] has directed me to work with the Secret Service to provide protection to Robert Kennedy Jr.”
“Thank you, President Biden, for extending me Secret Service protection,” Kennedy said in a statement, also expressing gratitude to the security firm Gavin de Becker & Associates for “keeping me safe for the past 15 months of my presidential campaign.”
The announcement comes shortly after Trump demanded that Kennedy receive protection. “In light of what is going on in the world today, I believe it is imperative that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receive Secret Service protection – immediately,” the former president wrote on Truth Social. “Given the history of the Kennedy family, this is the obvious right thing to do!”
Kennedy met with Trump earlier on Monday to discuss “national unity,” and said he hoped to meet with “Democratic leaders about that as well,” dismissing rumors that he was planning to drop out of the race.
Trump survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday when a gunman fired at least five rounds from an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in his direction, with one bullet grazing his right ear. A Trump supporter was killed, and two others were severely wounded in the attack. The assailant was shot dead on site by Secret Service officers.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose uncle, former US President John F. Kennedy, and father, a New York senator and presidential candidate, were both assassinated over half a century ago, filed an application for Secret Service protection last year. Despite several follow-ups, his requests were rejected by the White House.
Kennedy, who initially challenged Biden for the Democratic nomination before launching an independent bid last year, has suffered multiple security incidents on his campaign trail. Last September, an armed man impersonating a federal officer was detained at his campaign event, while in October, a man was arrested for trespassing at his Los Angeles home.