The Secret Service is changing its approach to protecting presidential candidates after a protester charged former Vice President Joe Biden at a California rally.
The agency is responsible for developing the standards and timetable it follows before issuing protection to presidential candidates. Officials are now considering changes to its plan after an incident at a Biden rally in Los Angeles that saw the 2020 Democratic candidate’s wife jumping in to protect him, according to CNN.
Typically, candidates for president must submit a request for federal protection that must be approved by congressional leaders and the head of the Department of Homeland Security. In certain instances, the Secret Service will offer protection details to candidates absent an official request.
Two anti-dairy protesters rushed the stage at Biden’s Tuesday rally yelling for the candidate to “let dairy die.” A private security guard, a handful of Biden campaign aides, and Biden’s wife stepped between the 77-year-old former vice president and the protesters before they could reach the podium.
Symone Sanders, a senior adviser to Biden’s campaign, was also involved in the scrum and held off one of the two protesters trying to reach the candidate. Sanders appeared Wednesday on Fox News to give a recap of the event.
“It was a split-second moment,” Sanders said. “Our security acted very quickly, and then a number of staffers, including myself, jumped in to have Vice President Biden, Dr. Biden, and Valerie Biden Owens’s back as they were on the stage. And so, I don’t think we even really thought. We just saw what was happening and jumped in. We’re happy no one was hurt.”
The protest resembled a similar occurrence at a Feb. 16 rally for independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is also running in the Democratic primary for president. Two topless anti-dairy protesters charged the stage during the 78-year-old socialist’s speech, chanting until security dragged them off.
