Nikki Haley wants to play it safe.
The former South Carolina governor and current Republican presidential contender confirmed she has applied for Secret Service protection following an uptick in violent threats.
“We’ve had multiple issues,” Haley told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) after a campaign event in South Carolina on Monday. “It’s not going to stop me from doing what I need to do.”
According to ABC News, Haley has been the target of two recent swatting incidents. Last week, a woman also tried to rush the stage at a Haley campaign event, before she was tackled by a member of the Haley’s security detail.
The act of swatting, making an intentionally false 911 call (oftentimes a shooting or hostage situation) is designed to draw a large police presence (such as a SWAT team) to the victim’s address. The increasingly common criminal act has led to deaths, with law enforcement not knowing the call is a hoax.
The WSJ noted an increase in the number of protesters at her events in recent days, demonstrating against her support for additional aid to Ukraine and Israel.
“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 the WSJ.
The Department of Homeland Security will ultimately determine whether Secret Service protection will be approved, after consulting with Congress.
Haley’s request comes days before the Nevada caucuses and primaries are scheduled to begin this week.
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