Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley
requested the protection of the Secret Service
, the body of agents that ensures the security of American political leaders,
due to the threats
she is receiving in the race for the White House.
Haley is now
the only one with a real chance of challenging Donald Trump
, CNN reported.
In recent months, the former United States ambassador to the UN had been the victim of two episodes of
'swatting',
that is,
false telephone alarms
due to non-existent accidents at her home that caused the intervention of elite police units.
The White House candidate told the Wall Street Journal that additional security was needed due to
"multiple issues."
"That's not going to stop me from doing what I have to do," Haley said.
Photo: AP
"That won't stop me from doing what I have to do," he said daily.
Trump has urged Haley, who trails Trump in opinion polls,
to drop out of the race
and unify the party against Democrat Joe Biden.
Haley, a former UN ambassador and governor of South Carolina, currently
uses personal security
during her campaign.
The local police are also present at the events.
"When you do something like this, you get threats," he told reporters in South Carolina last week.
"
It's just reality
. "
"That's not going to deter me," he said.
"Does that mean we have to put a few more bodies around this? Yeah, okay."
Former ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley.
Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP
Any decision to provide him with a Secret Service security team would be made by the US secretary of Homeland Security, who
would first consult with a joint congressional committee.
Haley's home was recently the target of a
'swatting'
hoax , in which someone places a call to emergency services trying to trigger a response from a heavily armed police squad.
She said she was not home at the time, but that her elderly parents were there with a caregiver.
Protesters have shown up at Haley's campaign events
to criticize her support for Israel and Ukraine.
When does the Secret Service provide security?
Secret Service protection
is granted to "major" candidates
under federal law, usually
when they appear certain to become their party's nominee.
As former president of the United States,
Trump receives lifetime protection from the Secret Service
.
Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly asked for Secret Service protection but said
he was denied it.
His uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and his father, Senator Robert Kennedy, were assassinated while in office.
Barack Obama received Secret Service protection in May 2007,
unusually early in that election cycle,
amid security concerns as he campaigned to be
the nation's first black president.
With information from agencies