The Biden administration is continuing to refuse to provide Secret Service protection to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., despite a high likelihood of politically inspired violence against the independent presidential candidate.
Kennedy has expressed dismay at the decision and claimed that every presidential administration for the past 55 years has afforded early protection to candidates who requested it.
Kennedy’s campaign has submitted formal requests for Secret Service protection on multiple occasions to the Department of Homeland Security, but Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, has refused to approve it.
This decision is all the more puzzling given the fact that Kennedy has a unique and well-established security and safety risk profile, as evidenced by several recent incidents in which an intruder attempted to break into his home and an armed man showed up at a campaign event pretending to be a US Marshal.
On Wednesday, an intruder was arrested after climbing a fence and attempting to break into the home of Robert F. Kennedy and his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, best known for her role as Larry David’s wife on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Kennedy and Hines were home at the time of the incident. Protectors from Gavin de Becker & Associates (GDBA) detected and detained the intruder, who asked to see the candidate. The intruder was turned over to the LAPD.
After being released from police custody, the man immediately returned to Kennedy’s residence and was arrested again. The candidate was home at the time of both arrests.
GDBA had notified the Secret Service about this specific obsessed individual several times in recent months and shared alarming communications he has sent to the candidate.
This is just the latest example of the Biden administration’s refusal to provide Secret Service protection to Kennedy, despite the clear and present danger he faces.
In September, a man posing as a U.S. Marshall sought to enter a campaign event in Los Angeles where Kennedy was about to speak while carrying a fully loaded weapon.
The person, 44-year-old Trump-loving internet conspiracy theorist Adrian Paul Aispuro, was accompanied by a second individual who carried additional weapons and ammunition.
Aispuro was intercepted by a private security detail before he could harm anyone, and he was arrested by Los Angeles police officers.
These incidents highlight the real and serious threat that Kennedy faces.
It is unclear why the Biden administration is refusing to provide Secret Service protection to Kennedy.
Some have speculated that the decision is politically motivated, given Kennedy’s outspoken criticism of the Biden administration and his support for progressive causes. Others have suggested that the administration is simply failing to take the threat to Kennedy’s safety seriously.