Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday urged the Biden administration to provide Secret Service protection after an alleged stalker invaded his Los Angeles property twice on the same day.
Kennedy noted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he had two previous requests rejected by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and his campaign applied more pressure in its third effort.
“Every presidential administration for 55 years has afforded early protection to candidates who requested it. The Biden administration is the sole outlier,” his campaign claimed in a statement.
The actual letter, also shared by Kennedy, noted that the trespasser, identified as Jonathan Macht, will likely be released soon, leaving several threats for the controversial candidate.
“That will mean three people ― all of whom have made dangerous approaches to the candidate ― will be at large and able to continue their efforts to encounter the candidate,” the letter read.
However, The Associated Press noted, “While major candidates for president or vice president can get Secret Service protection, the vast majority of primary candidates do not.” The Department of Homeland Security decides on Secret Service guarding of candidates with a congressional advisory committee, not the agency itself, the wire service pointed out.
Kennedy dropped from the Democrat race against Biden to run as an independent. He is a longshot but is seen as a potential disruptor to the anticipated general election between Biden and former President Donald Trump. A recent poll suggested that the controversial Kennedy, whose anti-vaccine views have drawn interest from conservatives, will siphon more votes from Trump than Biden.
Here’s more from the AP on the recent trespassing incident:
A man was arrested after trespassing twice in one day at the Los Angeles home of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., police confirmed Thursday.
Police first responded to a call about the 28-year-old man trespassing at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Drake Madison, an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department.
The man was served an emergency protective order and released, but he returned to the property later that day, prompting police to arrest him for violating the order. He remained in police custody Thursday.
Kennedy’s campaign said in a statement that the man climbed a fence at the candidate’s home but was detained by the candidate’s private security company. Kennedy was home at the time of both arrests, the campaign added.
The incidents come over a month after an armed man accused of impersonating a federal officer was arrested at a Kennedy campaign event.
In September, Kennedy’s then-campaign manager wrote to President Joe Biden urging him to provide Secret Service protection to the candidate. Kennedy’s uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, and his father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, were assassinated.
The campaign’s statement said Kennedy’s private security company was already aware of the trespasser, whom the campaign called an “obsessed individual.” The campaign said the company had alerted the Secret Service about him and shared “alarming communications” he had sent to Kennedy.
The campaign said it sent a new request for protection to DHS on Wednesday, its third formal request so far. DHS did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment Thursday from The Associated Press.
A law enforcement official on Thursday said the Secret Service does not monitor people it is not actively protecting, like Kennedy. When a request for protection comes in, the official said, the service does an assessment but stops monitoring when it is complete. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the situation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, said Kennedy was not being assessed at the time of Wednesday’s incidents.