Kennedy threatens legal action after 5th protection denial

NATION & WORLD BRIEFS

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatened to sue the Department of Homeland Security after being denied Secret Service protection for the fifth time.

In a March 29 letter posted to X, Kennedy’s attorney said the department was “ignoring the real risks” to the candidate, including an event attendee who carried two loaded handguns, and withholding protection because Kennedy is challenging President Joe Biden.

The Secret Service began protecting presidential and vice presidential candidates after the 1968 assassination of Kennedy’s father. Criteria for independent and third-party candidates include polling at 20% in the Real Clear Politics national average for 30 days, according to the Secret Service website. Kennedy was polling at around 11% Thursday.

The Homeland Security secretary also has “broad discretion” in determining which candidates qualify, the website says.

free gun locks for residents

DETROIT – Gun locks will soon be available free to the public at local health department offices in Michigan as part of a new program by the Michigan State Police and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The locks are to be given out at MDHHS county offices and many local health departments statewide to help Michiganders comply with a new secure gun storage law that went into effect in February.

The law now requires all unattended firearms to be unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a locked box or safe if a child could have access to it. Anyone who fails to properly lock a gun that a child later uses to injure themselves or another person can be charged with a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $7,500.

If an unsecured gun is used by a child to kill another person or themselves, the owner can be charged with a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.