Independent Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Gets New Secret Service Protection

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been granted Secret Service protection by President Joe Biden days after former President Donald Trump was shot on stage at a campaign rally in Bulter, Pennsylvania.

"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.," Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of Homeland Security, announced during Monday's White House press briefing.

The announcement comes amid growing calls for the Secret Service to extend protection to Kennedy as well. Two days after being grazed by a bullet, Trump agreed that it was "imperative" for Kennedy to also get Secret Service detail, saying, "Given the history of the Kennedy Family, this is obviously the right thing to do!"

Previously, Kennedy had repeatedly been denied Secret Service protection due to a nearly 800-page Freedom of Information Act document that detailed 34 instances of threats and bizarre rants directed toward Kennedy.

He re-upped those requests in early June on the anniversary of his father's assassination. The late Robert Kennedy was shot on June 15, 1968, after winning the Democratic primary in California and died the next day. Former President John F. Kennedy, the independent candidate's uncle, was also shot and killed on November 22, 1963, while riding a motorcade in Dallas, Texas.

Mayorkas said Monday that since the shooting, there have been security adjustments made to the protection for Trump, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Homeland Security Secretary also said that Trump's detail has been enhanced for the Republican National Convention, which is taking this week from Monday through Thursday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In the wake of the attempted assassination of Trump, Trump, Democratic Colorado Governor Jared Polis, conservative activist Charlie Kirk and former George W. Bush White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer have all called for the Secret Service to provide protection to Kennedy.

This comes after Donald Trump's attempted assassination on Saturday and Kennedy's house being broken into twice since running his presidential campaign.