Haley applies for Secret Service protection due to increasing threats
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Monday confirmed reporting that she has applied for Secret Service protection, amid an uptick of threats.
“We’ve had multiple issues,” Haley told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Monday, after a campaign event in South Carolina. “It’s not going to stop me from doing what I need to do.”
Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, had been the target of two “swatting” attempts at her home in the Palmetto State, according to reporting from ABC News.
On Monday, the WSJ noted an increase in the number of protestors in recent days at her events, demonstrating against her support for additional aid to Ukraine and Israel. The news outlet noted that, last week, a woman tried to rush the stage at a Haley campaign event, but she was tackled by a member of the candidate’s security detail.
“When you do something like this, you get threats,” Haley told reporters last week, per the WSJ. “It’s just the reality.”
She added that her campaigning has not been impeded, despite the fact that she has needed to “put a few more bodies around us.”
“At the end of the day, we’re going to go out there and touch every hand, we’re going to answer every question, we’re going to make sure that we are there and doing everything that we need to,” Haley told WSJ.
The Hill has reached out to Haley’s campaign, which also confirmed the request to Reuters.
Haley’s request for protection comes amid an increase in political violence and threats to lawmakers. The Department of Homeland Security will ultimately determine whether Secret Service protection will be approved, after consulting with Congress.
The news comes ahead of the Nevada caucuses and primary this week. As a result of a feud between the state and the GOP, Haley’s name will appear on the state-run primary ballot on Tuesday — where no delegates will be awarded.
Former President Trump, the current GOP front-runner and Haley’s chief rival, will participate in the caucuses on Thursday.