Mayorkas Personally Denied RFK Jr.’s Secret Service Protection

Kennedy, who entered the presidential race as a Democrat earlier than switching to unbiased, has cited threats to his private security to justify his three requests for Secret Service assist.

“I get a lot of threats, a lot of death threats,” Kennedy instructed Tucker Carlson in August. “About two weeks ago, a mentally ill person made it to the second story at my house. And that is very, very common.”

According to Kennedy’s marketing campaign, the intruder who entered the candidate’s Los Angeles house had written a whole bunch of emails shared with the Department of Homeland Security, together with one threatening to place a “bullet in [Mr. Kennedy’s] brain.” An earlier incident occurred at a marketing campaign occasion when a person confirmed up with loaded weapons and dressed like a U.S. marshal. Kennedy’s personal safety apprehended each people.

Kennedy’s marketing campaign made repeated requests for Secret Service safety final yr, in response to the paperwork obtained by Judicial Watch. The first request got here on May 26, 2023, accompanied by a 62-page “expert risk assessment.” Kennedy’s staff adopted up on July 7, 2023, with an “urgent request” for Mayorkas, solely to be denied two weeks later.

The Secret Service started providing safety to presidential candidates after the assassination of Kennedy’s father in 1968.

Speaking to Carlson in August, Kennedy recounted an assortment of presidential candidates who had been granted safety. They embody Kennedy’s late uncle, Edward Kennedy, who was given Secret Service safety in 1980 though he was difficult President Jimmy Carter, a fellow Democrat. In May 2007, after receiving a loss of life menace, then-Sen. Barack Obama was given safety 18 months earlier than the presidential election.

“We were not able to find a single presidential candidate who requested a protection from the president and was not given protection,” Kennedy instructed Carlson. “It’s just standard operating procedure.”

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley final week requested Secret Service safety.

In 2023 when he made the requests, Kennedy was polling round 20%. He nonetheless boasts the very best favorability score of any presidential candidate—and the one candidate whose numbers are extra favorable than unfavorable, in response to 538.

Kennedy stated the Secret Service had been “wonderful” when his marketing campaign first made the request.

“They were very, very encouraging, and they were very helpful at every step along the way,” he instructed Carlson. “I believe that their assumption was that they were going to get Secret Service protection.”

Last week, Judicial Watch revealed different paperwork associated to Kennedy’s request, together with an order from Secret Service Assistant Director Michael Plati instructing his employees not to reply to a request from Kennedy’s head of safety.

Kennedy surmised the Democratic National Committee was answerable for “playing hardball,” requiring him to spend upwards of $200,000 per 30 days on safety slightly than different marketing campaign wants.

He is now asking supporters to signal a petition.