Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted the shocking news on his Twitter/X account 23 minutes after midnight on Saturday morning:
I’m very grateful that alert and fast-acting protectors from Gavin de Becker and Associates (GDBA) spotted and detained an armed man who attempted to approach me at my Hispanic Heritage speech at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles tonight. The man, wearing two shoulder holsters with loaded pistols and spare ammunition magazines was carrying a U.S. Marshal badge on a lanyard and beltclip federal ID. He identified himself as a member of my security detail. Armed GDBA team members moved quickly to isolate and detain the man until LAPD arrived to make the arrest. I’m also grateful to LAPD for its rapid response. I’m still entertaining a hope that President Biden will allow me Secret Service protection. I am the first presidential candidate in history to whom the White House has denied a request for protection.
I’m very grateful that alert and fast-acting protectors from Gavin de Becker and Associates (GDBA) spotted and detained an armed man who attempted to approach me at my Hispanic Heritage speech at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles tonight. The man, wearing two shoulder… pic.twitter.com/vvJc0Gtk4o
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 16, 2023
The Epoch Times reported Friday night that the LAPD “received a call at around 4:30 p.m. reporting that a male was in front of the event venue with ‘a badge on their lapel, a gun, and a shoulder holster, and claimed to be a U.S. Marshall [sic].’”
Breitbart noted, also on Friday, that “the man arrived at the event and claimed to be employed by the organizers. Campaign security officials, however, did not recognize him, and detained him until police arrived. The man was found to be carrying a handgun and ammunition. He will likely face charges of impersonating a police officer or federal agent, and possibly unlawful possession of firearms.”
That’s about all we know at this point, but it’s enough to send a chill down the spine. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s father and uncle were both assassinated in two of the most famous and traumatic incidents in the history of the United States. Back in July, RFK Jr. himself announced that “since the assassination of my father in 1968, candidates for president are provided Secret Service protection. But not me.” He added: “Typical turnaround time for pro forma protection requests from presidential candidates is 14-days [sic]. After 88-days [sic] of no response and after several follow-ups by our campaign, the Biden Administration just denied our request. Secretary Mayorkas: ‘I have determined that Secret Service protection for Robert F Kennedy Jr is not warranted at this time.’”
Mayorkas was operating within the letter of the law. The Secret Service itself explains that “by law” it is “authorized to protect,” among others, “major presidential and vice presidential candidates, and their spouses within 120 days of a general presidential election.” That would mean that the agency is only required to protect RFK from July 5, 2024, if he is still a major presidential candidate by then. In practice, however, candidates can get Secret Service protection before the 120-day threshold if they are receiving serious death threats.
Is a guy claiming to be a U.S. marshal and/or employed by organizers of a Kennedy event and carrying loaded pistols and spare ammunition magazines a serious death threat to the candidate? The possibility cannot be discounted at this point. And in his July tweet about not receiving Secret Service protection, Kennedy said that he had given the agency a “67-page report from the world’s leading protection firm, detailing unique and well-established security and safety risks.”
Related: RFK Jr. STILL Pushing 20% in Dem Primary Polling Despite Constant Attacks, Censorship, Smears
There are precedents for giving RFK Jr. Secret Service protection now. When another one of his uncles, Ted Kennedy, was running for president in 1980, the man he was trying to unseat, Jimmy Carter, acted swiftly. The Washington Post reported on Sept. 21, 1979, that “President Carter ordered the Secret Service yesterday to provide immediate protection for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D.Mass.), whose consideration of a presidential campaign has raised the fear of an assassination attempt such as those that struck down two of his brothers.” By law, Ted Kennedy would only have been entitled to Secret Service protection starting in early July 1980.
The Biden regime should demonstrate the same decency now if it is capable of doing so. Given the regime’s contempt for the law and determination to crush all opposition, however, it won’t surprise anyone if it ignores or refuses RFK Jr.’s renewed request for Secret Service protection, even after this incident. Surprise us for once, Joe, and do the decent thing. It won’t redeem the rest of your miserable public career, but it will give you a chance to show that you’re not entirely a mendacious, self-serving kleptocrat.
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