Republican Presidential Candidate Nikki Haley is requesting Secret Service protection after multiple incidents of swatting and increased threats to her safety. The former United Nations ambassador is now the lone challenger to former President Donald Trump — whose fans appear to be turning up the heat on his political opponent.
Haley’s South Carolina home was “swatted” — meaning someone called in a hoax to law enforcement authorities with the intention of scaring or harming her. The former South Carolina Governor wasn’t there, but she said that her parents and their caregivers were at home.
Suggested Reading
“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,” she told NBC News. “It was an awful situation.”
Haley has not disclosed whether the threats against her have anything to do with Trump’s recent post implying that she isn’t a U.S. citizen — a racist conspiracy he weaponized against former President Barack Obama and other of his non-white political opponents. Haley is Indian American and was born in Bamberg, South Carolina. Trump also mocked her birth name, which is Nimarata Nikki Randhawa, calling her “Nimbra.”
We don’t know what kinds of messages are coming her way from Trump’s supporters, calling for her to drop-out. But this certainly wouldn’t be the first time that Trump supporters regurgitated racist tropes. Although seeing as Haley doesn’t believe racism is a significant problem in the United States — having repeatedly stated that “America has never been a racist country.” So it’s possible that even if she were receiving racist threats, she wouldn’t tell the media.
If Homeland Security grants her request for Secret Service, it wouldn’t be the first time a Presidential candidate has been given protection relatively early in the race. In 2007, Obama received Secret Service protection after growing concerns that he was an assassination target for white supremacist groups. However, if you ask Haley, Obama is the reason we have racial divisions in the first place.
It’s unclear whether her request will be granted. Late last year, Homeland Security denied Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s request for Secret Service.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.