Robert Kennedy Asked for Secret Service Protection
He's the first Presidential candidate in history to be refused
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., son of the assassinated Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy and now a candidate for President in his own right, has been denied Secret Service protection. The decision as to whether or not a candidate gets Secret Service protection is made by the Department of Homeland Security. Guidelines state that major candidates get Secret Service details about 100 days before the election, which would mean late summer of 2024. However, viable candidates who ask for Secret Service protection have always gotten it. In 2015, both Ben Carson and Donald Trump got Secret Service a year before the election. So what’s going on?
The Secret Service first started to protect presidential candidates way back in 1968 following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, who is—not unimportantly to the story we might add—Robert F. Kenney’s uncle. Secret Service guidelines say that people running for president are “eligible” for protection, but the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) makes the decision. The current DHS, Alejandro Mayorkas, is not unimportant to the story, either—he happens to work for the Biden administration and Joe Biden is running against Robert Kennedy.
Actually, the DHS secretary diffuses responsibility by working with a committee of high-ranking politicos. They have certain factors that they are supposed to consider such as whether the candidate is a major or minor candidate, how realistic the threat level is, and how soon the election will be held. Security can be a major concern for politicians. In 2020, when Joe Biden was a mere candidate, a protestor rushed onstage in a threatening way. The attack amounted to nothing, but he said then that candidates ought to receive protection earlier than usual. It’s a dangerous world out there.
Every other candidate in this and prior elections got Secret Service protection upon request. Donald Trump got approved for it in 2015, a year ahead of the 2016 election. Ben Carson got Secret Service protection then, too. Right now, Trump has a Secret Service detail as a former president—those who hold the office have lifetime security. Biden has Secret Service protection as the incumbent. Robert Kennedy right now is paying the tab for his own security company to protect him.
Robert F. Kennedy sent out a detailed report to DHS requesting Secret Service protection, citing credible threats. In an interview, Kennedy said he not only has received many death threats, he has had people break into his home. Just today, September 16, 2023, an armed man who was dressed to impersonate a U.S. Marshal got arrested at a public event for Robert Kennedy’s campaign in Los Angeles. The man claimed to work for Kennedy’s security team, which was not true. He was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon. What was he up to? We don’t know, but he was probably not volunteering as a campaign worker.
The DHS has defended its decision to refuse Secret Service protection to Kennedy, because he is considered a minor candidate at no particular risk and the election is over a year away. This breaks all precedent. Not only has no other candidate ever been denied Secret Service protection, no other presidential candidate has ever been in the unique situation of Robert Kennedy—the son of one assassinated leader and the nephew of another.
Robert Kennedy himself speculated on the real reason for the Biden administration to block his access to security—money. Kennedy has a top-notch security detail, it’s just one that is self-funded. Security at this level can run six figures a month and if you factor in travel and hotel and other expenses that are typical of a vigorous campaigner, it adds up to a very large amount of money that can be siphoned off Kennedy’s campaign. Robert Kennedy has said he wondered if the denial of Secret Service protection was not just a way to take money from his campaign—money that neither Trump nor Biden would have to ante up. It’s money that Kennedy could be spending on other things, such as advertising, travel, and campaign workers.
John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. His brother Robert F. Kennedy—the late father of this candidate—was assassinated in 1968. Despite this legacy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. entered politics. Kennedy is from an American political dynasty, so you could say he is one of the elites; he is a lifelong Democrat, big on climate change, negative on COVID vaccines. Whether you like his politics or not, he has been a credible public servant. Out of respect for his legacy and the terrible history of murdering presidents in this country, Robert F. Kennedy ought to have Secret Service protection tomorrow. No, today.