Haley applies for Secret Service protection, reports say
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has applied for Secret Service protection, according to media reports.
Haley’s campaign did not immediately comment on the reported application.
Haley, who is running for the Republican nomination for president, has had increased and more visible private security with her at events recently.
“When you do something like this, you get threats. It’s just a reality, and that’s OK,”
Haley told reporters Thursday in Columbia. “Part of running for public life is that you’re going to deal with the threats that are there.”
Haley added, however, the threats would not deter her.
“Does that mean we have to put a few more bodies around us? Yes, that’s fine. But at the end of the day, we’re going to go out there and touch every hand,” Haley said. “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 has had demonstrators
calling for a cease-fire in Palestine at her rallies recently. They are usually quickly removed.
A woman shouting for a free Palestine moved toward Haley on Thursday during her remarks at a South Carolina barbecue restaurant before being removed by security.
Haley has been the victim of two swatting attempts in recent months.
The first occurred on Dec. 30, after an unidentified man called 911 to falsely report he had shot a woman at Haley’s home in South Carolina and threatened to harm himself, Reuters first reported. Emergency responders had arrived at the scene.
Though Haley was not home at the time, her parents were there with a caregiver, Haley said on NBC’S “Meet the Press.” The second incident occurred on New Year’s Day, after someone allegedly called authorities and said Haley shot her daughter and was threatening to harm herself, Reuters first reported.
Former President Donald Trump already has Secret Service protection because of his status as a former president. Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent, has also applied for secret service protection, but has been denied.
According to the Secret Service website, the secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation with a congressional committee, has discretion to award Secret Service protection. One of the criteria is whether a candidate is polling at 15% or more for 30 consecutive days.
Haley, who is the last remaining major candidate against Trump in the Republican field, has a 18.8% polling average in national polls according to Real Clear Politics.