Republican leader Nikki Haley has applied for Secret Service protection amid the increased threats she has been receiving on the campaign trail and days after another swatting incident.
Currently engaged in a fierce Republican presidential nomination race with former president Donald Trump, Haley discussed the request for protection in an interview on Monday (Feb 5).
“We’ve had multiple issues. It’s not going to stop me from doing what I need to do,” Haley told The Wall Street Journal.
A request to beef up her security has already been submitted to the federal officials. According to reports, Haley’s campaign officials are worried that the intense security might affect her campaign schedule and travels.
While Haley’s intense competition with Trump might be the reason for the increase in threats, her work at the United Nations involving Iran could also be a factor. There have also been protesters in recent days at her events upset about her support for Ukraine and Israel.
Last week, a rogue woman was tackled by Haley’s private security in Columbia when she tried to rush to the former South Carolina governor.
Quizzed about the greater levels of security at her events, Haley conceded that there was a need to “put a few more bodies around us”.
“When you do something like this, you get threats. It’s just the reality,” she told reporters.
Swatting attempt against Haley
The Republican leader became the target of a second “swatting” on New Year’s Day when a hoax caller told law enforcement agencies that Haley had shot her daughter who was lying in a pool of blood.
The January 1 swatting attempt had not been previously reported but Haley alluded to the incident during NBC’s “Meet the Press” programme.
“I will tell you that the last thing you want is to see multiple law enforcement officials with guns drawn pointing at my parents and thinking that something happened. It was an awful situation,” the former South Carolina governor at the time.
Prior to the New Year’s Day incident, Haley’s Kiawah Island home had also been swatted on December 30 last year. At the time, a man called the police and claimed to have shot a woman and threatened to harm himself at her home.
Craig Harris, Kiawah Island director of public safety, cleared that it was a fake emergency as Haley was not on the island.
Haley, a former UN ambassador, is the only candidate left in the race with Trump to secure a presidential nomination from the Republican party.
So far, she has suffered defeats in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries but has vowed to keep going till the end.
(With inputs from agencies)
