Los Angeles police arrest an armed man at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. event

The Democratic candidate for the White House had previously requested "Secret Service protection" from President Joe Biden. He claims that he is the first presidential candidate to be denied this security.

El candidato a las primarias demócratas Robert Kennedy. — (Cordon Press)

Published by

Verónica Silveri Pazos

16 de septiembre, 2023

Topics:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Los Angeles police have arrested an armed man who infiltrated an event for Democratic presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. by pretending to be one of the organizers.

According to Kennedy Jr., the man was "wearing two shoulder holsters with loaded pistols and spare ammunition magazines." The Democratic presidential candidate posted on X, formerly Twitter, to reiterate his request to President Joe Biden for "Secret Service protection." He claims that he is "the first presidential candidate in history to whom the White House has denied a request for protection."

Kennedy Jr. thanked the police for their work and summarized the incident in his post:

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.

The Biden administration rejects Kennedy Jr.'s request for protection

In July, Kennedy Jr. revealed that the Biden administration had denied his request for protection submitted to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The candidate requested protection from the Secret Service due to the "security and safety risks" of being a presidential candidate. His father, Robert "Bobby" Kennedy, was running for president when he was assassinated in 1968.

Since the assassination of my father in 1968, candidates for president are provided Secret Service protection. But not me. Typical turnaround time for pro forma protection requests from presidential candidates is 14-days. After 88-days of no response and after several follow-ups by our campaign, the Biden Administration just denied our request.