In the wake of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, President Joe Biden has granted independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Secret Service protection.
“Thank you, President Biden, for extending me Secret Service protection,” Kennedy, 70, said in a statement on Monday, July 15, the Associated Press reported.
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Kennedy also thanked his private security firm, Gavin de Becker & Associates, “for keeping me safe for the past 15 months of my presidential campaign,” the AP reports.
Both Kennedy’s uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and his father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, were assassinated.
The news comes after gunfire broke out on Saturday, July 13 as Trump, 78, was campaigning at a rally in Pennsylvania. The bloodied former president was rushed off the stage by Secret Service agents. He later said in a statement via his Truth Social social media app that he was grazed by a bullet.
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On Monday, Politico reported that Trump met with Kennedy in Milwaukee ahead of the Republican National Convention opening to discuss the possibility of Kennedy endorsing Trump as the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election.
“Yes, Mr. Kennedy met with President Trump today to discuss national unity, and he hopes to meet with leaders of the Democratic Party as well,” Kennedy campaign press secretary Stefanie Spear said in a statement, per Politico.
Spear continued, “And no he is not dropping out of the race. He is the only pro-environment, pro-choice, anti-war candidate who beats Donald Trump in head-to-head polls.”
The Secret Service has updated its security plan for the Republican National Convention, which kicks off Monday evening.
“I am confident in the security plan our Secret Service RNC coordinator and our partners have put in place, which we have reviewed and strengthened in the wake of Saturday’s shooting,” U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle wrote in a statement.
As for Kennedy, prior to Biden, 81, granting him Secret Service Protection, an armed man, later identified as Adrian Paul Aispuro, was arrested for impersonating a U.S. Marshal at a presidential campaign event Kennedy hosted in Los Angeles back in September.
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At the time, a spokesperson for the LAPD told PEOPLE that the suspect “had a loaded gun and shoulder holster and a badge stating he was a U.S. Marshal.”
“Security at the location didn’t recognize them as being part of their security detail, so the LAPD was called and the suspect was detained,” the spokesperson stated, adding that the FBI was also at the scene.
Another man was also arrested for trespassing twice in one day at the independent candidate’s Los Angeles home in October.
