LOS ANGELES, CA—SEPT. 18, 2023—Today, Kennedy Campaign Manager Dennis Kucinich sent a letter to President Biden urging him to provide Democratic Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Secret Service protection.

This request comes just days after a gunman posing as a U.S. Marshall sought to enter the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles where Kennedy was soon to give a speech for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Here’s Kucinich’s letter:

Dear President Biden,

This past Friday in Los Angeles, at a Hispanic Heritage event, a gunman posing as a U.S. Marshall sought to gain entrance to the venue where Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was about to speak. The man was carrying a fully loaded weapon and was accompanied by a second individual who carried additional weapons and ammunition. He was intercepted by a private security detail before he could harm anyone, and arrested by the LAPD.

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.

Sincerely,

Dennis J, Kucinich
Member of Congress, 1997-2013
Campaign Manager, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for President

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