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Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr canceled an upcoming campaign event because of “increased security concerns,” his campaign said Wednesday.
Kennedy, 70, had been slated to appear at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday afternoon, but he called off the appearance because the outdoor venue posed a heightened risk to his safety.
“We were unable to secure a venue stage indoors that satisfies our security requirements for Mr. Kennedy’s safety,” a campaign official told The Post.
The Des Moines Register first reported on Kennedy’s cancellation at the outlet’s fair event, noting that he was one of 10 political candidates scheduled to speak.
The paper’s executive editor, Carol Hunter, said she was told of no specific threats against Kennedy and called the campaign’s concerns about having the candidate attend an open-air event at the crowded fairgrounds “understandable.”
Kennedy, who has faced death threats and has been hounded by stalkers since launching his White House bid, had long pleaded for Secret Service protection and was finally granted that protection last month by the Biden administration after the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, 78.
His father and uncle — former New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and former President John F. Kennedy — were both gunned down by assassins in the 1960s.
The Secret Service reportedly encouraged the Trump campaign to stop scheduling outdoor events in the wake of the July 13 shooting at his Butler, Pa., rally.
Trump, 78, vowed in an interview with Fox News last month that he would continue to host outdoor rallies, but all his events since the assassination attempt have been indoors.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, held an outdoor rally on Wednesday in Eau Claire, Wis.
Kennedy made headlines this week after he admitted on Sunday that he disposed of a dead bear by dumping the carcass in New York’s Central Park in 2014 and making it seem like the animal was hit by a bicyclist.
The independent candidate has 5.3% support in the 2024 presidential race, according to a FiveThirtyEight average of national surveys.
