Biden orders Secret Service protection for RFK, Jr. following Trump assassination attempt

President Joe Biden ordered Secret Service protection for long-shot independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Monday, two days after an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced.

“In light of this weekend’s events, the president has directed me to work with the Secret Service to provide protection to Robert Kennedy Jr.,” Mayorkas said during a White House press briefing.

He added that threats toward Biden and Trump had increased since the weekend.

“We are in a heightened and very dynamic threat environment,” Mayorkas said.

The Secret Service is required to protect major party presidential and vice presidential candidates — and their families — 120 days out from a general election. Third-party candidates can receive protection as needed.

Mayorkas said the agency had received requests for protection from candidates earlier than usual this election cycle.

Kennedy, Jr. previously requested government protection. Former President John F. Kennedy, his uncle, was shot and killed in Dallas in 1963. Robert Kennedy, his father, was fatally shot in Los Angeles while campaigning for president in 1968 on the night he won two primaries.

“Thank you, President Biden, for extending me Secret Service protection,” RFK, Jr. said in a statement.

Earlier Monday, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said the agency had “reviewed and strengthened” its plans for security at this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in the wake of the Pennsylvania shooting at a Trump rally.