Months after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was denied a request for Secret Service protection, an armed man impersonating a U.S. Marshal was arrested at one of his events in Los Angeles.
The LAPD received a call on Friday afternoon about a man, later identified as 44-year-old Adrian Paul Aispuro, who had "a loaded gun in a shoulder holster and a badge stating he was a U.S. Marshal."
In a statement posted on X, Kennedy Jr. said he was grateful to his private security team for detaining the man, who wanted to approach him “immediately.”
“The man, wearing two shoulder holsters with loaded pistols and spare ammunition magazines was carrying a U.S. Marshal badge on a lanyard and beltclip federal ID," the Democratic presidential candidate said on X. "He identified himself as a member of my security detail. Armed GDBA team members moved quickly to isolate and detain the man until LAPD arrived to make the arrest. I’m also grateful to LAPD for its rapid response.”
I’m very grateful that alert and fast-acting protectors from Gavin de Becker and Associates (GDBA) spotted and detained an armed man who attempted to approach me at my Hispanic Heritage speech at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles tonight. The man, wearing two shoulder… pic.twitter.com/vvJc0Gtk4o
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 16, 2023
Kennedy Jr. went on to emphasize that he’s still hoping the Biden administration will grant his request for Secret Service protection.
In July, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas 'determined' Secret Service protection was "not warranted at this time," a decision the Democrat blasted.
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“Since the assassination of my father in 1968, candidates for president are provided Secret Service protection. But not me,” he wrote on X at the time. “Typical turnaround time for pro forma protection requests from presidential candidates is 14-days. After 88-days of no response and after several follow-ups by our campaign, the Biden Administration just denied our request.”
On Monday, Kennedy Campaign Manager Dennis Kucinich wrote an open letter urging President Biden to reconsider.
The threat level to our candidate, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is increasing every day. He is not the only one in danger — every person who attends a campaign event is at risk. A specter of violence haunts our political process. Indeed, political assassinations pose a grave threat to democracy. It is not hard to imagine the civil chaos and political disintegration that could ensue with the return of the kind of assassinations of public officials and presidential candidates that marred the 1960s.
This ever-present threat of violence is something you are well aware of given the security requirements for you and members of your family.
It is astonishing that under such circumstances, you would deny Secret Service coverage to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has polled more than 20% in the first five primary states, and whose net favorability rating exceeds both yours and Donald Trump's.
Although it is a well-known historical fact, apparently in your case it bears repeating: Mr. Kennedy's uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated. Mr. Kennedy's father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated while a presidential candidate.
The American psyche still bears the scars of those devastating events. Together with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., they sent America into a tailspin from which many believe the country has not yet recovered.
I served in Congress for 16 years and joined you on the campaign trail in one of two efforts I made to gain the Democratic nomination. You and I have known each other for more than 50 years. I know that you do not want to see America reeling again from the consequences of another political assassination. Therefore, I ask you in the spirit of patriotism, of fairness, and of good conscience to grant Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. the Secret Service protection that his circumstances so obviously warrant. (Kennedy 2024)
“I ask you in the spirit of patriotism, of fairness, and of good conscience to grant Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. the Secret Service protection that his circumstances so obviously warrant.” — @Dennis_Kucinich, in an open letter today to President Biden.https://t.co/cO0OalsdQW
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 18, 2023
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