Former Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is no longer under the protection of the Secret Service following the suspension of his campaign.
Kennedy announced on Friday that he would be suspending his campaign in key red and swing states and formally endorsed former President Donald Trump. His press secretary, Stefanie Spear, confirmed to CBS News on Sunday that Kennedy “no longer has USSS protection.”
Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi also confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that Kennedy is “no longer a protectee of the U.S. Secret Service,” but declined to offer further details.
Securing Secret Service protection had been a challenge for Kennedy throughout his campaign, which began in April of the previous year. After months of requests, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced on July 15 that Kennedy would be granted Secret Service protection.
This decision came just days after an attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13, in which a 20-year-old man, Thomas Matthew Crooks, tried to kill Trump. The incident left one person dead—former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore—while Trump sustained a minor injury, and two others in the crowd were seriously wounded.
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Following the attack, Trump called for Kennedy to be granted immediate Secret Service protection through a post on Truth Social.
“In the current heightened threat environment, we, alongside the FBI and other federal partners, take these threats seriously and adapt security measures accordingly. The safety of the president and former president during their campaigns remains a top priority,” said Mayorkas at the time. “Given recent events, the president has directed me to work with the Secret Service to ensure protection for Robert Kennedy Jr.”
Now, with his campaign suspended, Kennedy confirmed in an interview on Fox News on Sunday that he will be “actively” campaigning for Trump moving forward.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.