At the Sept. 15 Los Angeles campaign event last evening of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., an armed infiltrator was identified, detained and later arrested, who was attempting to gain close contact with the candidate. The initial identification was done by Kennedy’s private security guard service, then the Los Angeles Police Department forces came and arrested the perpetrator. The incident delayed the candidate’s rally, which then proceeded safely.
Federal authorities have continued to deny Kennedy, a declared candidate for President, Secret Service protection. His campaign is guarded by the private Gavin de Becker and Associates service.
Given the assassinations of RFK, Jr.’s uncle President John Kennedy, and his father Robert F. Kennedy, it poses the question dramatically: What is “democracy” in the U.S. worth? Where is the vaunted “rules-based order” in the United States, where the system cannot even protect “a Kennedy”?
Notably, the location of the RFK Jr. campaign event last night, involving hundreds of people at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, was only within three miles from the site of the June 6, 1968 assassination of his father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, then running for President. The killing occurred at the Ambassador Hotel, now the site for the Robert F. Kennedy High School, named in his memory.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. put out the following message after the incident:
“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 holsters with loaded pistols and spare ammunition magazines was carrying a U.S. Marshal badge on a lanyard and belt clip federal ID. 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 still entertaining a hope that President Biden will allow me Secret Service protection. I am the first presidential candidate in history to whom the White House has denied a request for protection.” (Emphasis in original.)
