The Secret Service protection grudgingly bestowed upon independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been yanked away after he announced he is supporting former President Donald Trump.
Kennedy framed his support for Trump as suspending his campaign, which managed to make it onto the ballot in about 20 states, according to CBS.
He said his goal was to withdraw in areas where his presence on the ballot could detract from the effort to defeat Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Mr. Kennedy no longer has USSS,” said Stefanie Spear, Kennedy’s press secretary.
Kennedy had asked the Biden administration for Secret Service protection for months but only received it after the attempted assassination of Trump on July 13.
By law, the Secret Service is required to protect what are considered major presidential candidates and their spouses within 120 days of the election. Other candidates can be protected, as well.
A report in the New York Post said the Secret Service confirmed it was no longer guarding Kennedy.
“That’s correct. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is no longer receiving U.S. Secret Service protection,”a Secret Service representative said.
In 2023, the Kennedy campaign made multiple calls for protection for the candidate who is the son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy of New York, who was gunned down in 1968 while seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, was the candidate’s uncle.
The calls for protection spiked after an intruder was found at Kennedy’s home who said he wished to speak to the candidate, according to a news release from Kennedy’s campaign.
At that time, the campaign released a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, noting that failure to give Kennedy protection violated a 55-year precedent.
In September 2023, a man was arrested after coming armed to a Kennedy event while wearing a U.S. Marshal’s Service badge. He was arrested on a weapons charge and a charge of impersonating a U.S. marshal, according to KNBC.
Secret Service protection was not forthcoming after those incidents.
