The U.S. Secret Service has ended its protection for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The announcement follows the independent presidential candidate suspending his campaign in battleground states.
“Mr. Kennedy no longer has USSS,” Stefanie Spear, Kennedy’s press secretary, informed CBS News.
Secret Service ending protection for RFK Jr. https://t.co/20zJ4ZyD0s pic.twitter.com/5erTP81E0l
— New York Post (@nypost) August 25, 2024
After previous denied requests, RFK Jr. received Secret Service protection after the assassination attempt against President Trump.
“RFK Jr. will no longer receive Secret Service protection. Friendly reminder: Biden/Harris denied FIVE requests by RFK Jr. for Secret Service. They censored him, waged lawfare against him, and put him and his family at risk by denying them Secret Service,” Holden Culotta noted.
RFK Jr. will no longer receive Secret Service protection
Friendly reminder: Biden/Harris denied FIVE requests by RFK Jr. for Secret Service.
They censored him, waged lawfare against him, and put him and his family at risk by denying them Secret Service.
They won’t stop doing… pic.twitter.com/wnrF4WR0HZ
— Holden Culotta (@Holden_Culotta) August 25, 2024
Per CBS News:
In remarks in Phoenix on Friday, Kennedy said he was backing Trump because he could see no viable path to the White House. And although he said he wasn’t “terminating” his campaign — remaining on the ballot in some noncompetitive states — he pledged to remove his name from states where he could be a spoiler. Kennedy was on the ballot in more than 20 states when he suspended his White House bid.
President Biden directed the Secret Service to afford protection to Kennedy after the assassination attempt against Trump in July. Kennedy’s campaign had long requested the protection for the independent presidential candidate — an issue that was especially acute for Kennedy, whose father and uncle were assassinated in the 1960s.
The Secret Service is required by law to protect major presidential candidates and their spouses within 120 days of a general election. Other candidates can be designated for protection as needed.
Breaking: RFK Jr. will no longer be provided Secret Service protection.
Biden/Harris are not even trying to hide weaponizing their government anymore.
RFK Jr. partners up with Trump and they decide protection for RFK, his family, and supporters no longer matters.
If any… pic.twitter.com/rUmNxfrIXD
— End Tribalism in Politics (@EndTribalism) August 25, 2024
BREAKING: White House has ENDED Secret Service for RFK Jr.
They offered it on July 15th, 2 days after the Trump assassination attempt.
Here’s why this is a DOUBLE DUMB move by Biden/Kamala administration.
They’re forcing RFK to go on the campaign trail with Trump which only…
— Patrick Bet-David (@patrickbetdavid) August 25, 2024
From the New York Post:
Kennedy had publicly and privately lobbied for Secret Service protection for months, citing various security scares and suggesting that political motivations were behind the delay in his getting it.
At one point, Kennedy’s legal team claimed to have received evidence of 34 instances of threats or concerning screeds against him, Newsweek reported. Kennedy’s uncle President John F. Kennedy and father Bobby Kennedy were both assassinated in the 1960s.
Then Friday, RFK Jr., a onetime independent presidential hopeful, effectively bowed out of the race, announcing that he was “suspending” although “not terminating” his White House bid.
The environmental lawyer revealed plans to yank his name off the ballot in about 10 battleground states and also endorsed Trump, joining him at an Arizona rally Friday.